ANTIMONY, in chemistry, a triad metallic element, but in some less staple compounds it appears to be pentad. Sym bol, Sb.; atomic weight, 122; sp. gr., 6.8; melting point, 450°. It can be distilled, but takes fire when strongly heated in the air, forming Sb203. Antimony is a bright bluish-white, brittle, easily pul verized metal, which occurs in Sb,S,, and as cervanite, Sb20.; also as valentinite and senarmonite, Sb203. The metal is oo tained by heating the sulphide with half its weight of metallic iron, or with potas sium carbonate. It is oxidized by nitric acid, forming Sb202. Type metal is an alloy of lead with 20 per cent. of anti mony. Finely powdered antimony takes fire when thrown into chlorine gas. Salts of antimony are used in medicine, in large doses they are poisonous. Antimony is detected by the properties of its sulphide, chloride, and of SbH,. It is precipitated by metallic zinc and iron from its solutions as a black powder.
In mineralogy, antimony occurs native, occasionally alloyed with a minute por tion of silver, iron, or arsenic. It is very
brittle. It occurs in Sweden, Germany, Austria, France, Borneo, Chile, Mexico, Canada, and New Brunswick.
In pharmacy, black antimony consists of native sulphide of antimony fused and afterward powdered. It is not itself used as a drug, but is employed in preparing tartar emetic, sulphurated antimony, and terchloride of antimony. It is given to horses as an alterative powder; two parts of sulphur, one of saltpeter, and one of black antimony. It is used in the prep aration of Bengal signal lights; six parts of saltpeter, two of sulphur, and one of black antimony. Chloride of antimony (SbC13) is a solution used as a caustic and escharotic; it is never given in ternally. Sulphurated antimony con sists of a sulphide of antimony with a small admixture of oxide of antimony. It enters into the composition of com pound calomel pills.