Quotation from: General Science

Written by: Bertha M. Clark


Chlorine is a very active substance and combines readily with most
substances, but especially with hydrogen; if chlorine comes in contact
with steam, it abstracts the hydrogen and unites with it to form
hydrochloric acid, but it leaves the oxygen free and uncombined. This
tendency of chlorine to combine with hydrogen makes it valuable as a
bleaching agent. In order to test the efficiency of chlorine as a
bleaching agent, drop a wet piece of colored gingham or calico into
the bottle of chlorine, and notice the rapid disappearance of color
from the sample. If unbleached muslin is used, the moist strip loses
its natural yellowish hue and becomes a clear, pure white. The
explanation of the bleaching power of chlorine is that the chlorine
combines with the hydrogen of the water and sets oxygen free; the
uncombined free oxygen oxidizes the coloring matter in the cloth and
destroys it.

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