It is soluble in absolute alcohol and in ether.
A more delicate method consists in adding a very little anthraquinone and sodium amalgam; absolute alcohol gives a green coloration, but in the presence of minute traces of water a red coloration appears.
Henri Moissan obtained the metal of 99% purity by electrolysing calcium iodide at a low red heat, using a nickel cathode and a graphite anode; he also showed that a more convenient process consisted in heating the iodide with an excess of sodium, forming an amalgam of the product, and removing the sodium by means of absolute alcohol (which has but little action on calcium), and the mercury by distillation.
It is sparingly soluble in absolute alcohol.
Potassium cyanide is an excessively poisonous, colourless, deliquescent solid; it is readily soluble in water, but almost insoluble in absolute alcohol.
