MECHANICAL MIXTURE • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Mechanical mixture

... spirit, if you please—which instituted it, and advanced the following problem: "Nitrous oxide gas is composed of the same elements as ordinary air, with a larger equivalent of oxygen, except it is a chemical compound, not a mechanical mixture, and its anaesthetic effects are said to be due to the excess of oxygen. If this be a fact, then why can you not produce a similar effect by rapid breathing for a minute, more or less, by which a larger ...

— Scientific American Supplement No. 275 • Various