suggested by Mr. Babbage's notice of it. 501 



placed very near each other, in certain cases both will become 

 enveloped in one atmosphere, and these will have polarity ; 

 prop. 15. cor. 4. 5th. If three tenacious atoms with their at- 

 mospheres are placed sufficiently near, they become enveloped 

 in one atmosphere. Particles composed of three or more atoms 

 will possess polarity ; prop. 16, and cor. 4. 6th. It will be 

 found in the explanations of several phenomena, that the com- 

 binations of two or more atoms may retain more or less aethe- 

 real matter in their atmospheres than one of them separately; 

 p. 96 to 100, and 140 to 160. 



These several requisites of a good theory are with perfect 

 ease derivable from my principles ; but some of them are in- 

 consistent with those of Mossotti, as is easily demonstrable. 

 It may be said that on the electrical hypothesis of one fluid, as 

 well as on that of two fluids, bodies will be repelled, or at- 

 tracted, or held in a state of equilibrium, according to the di- 

 stance ; but it should be recollected that these hypotheses 

 have the earth and its atmosphere as a foundation, or as a se- 

 parate existing matter, and on this ground may be convenient 

 as far as they go, although not physically true ; but Mossotti's 

 theory has no such support. If his conclusion from his ma- 

 thematical investigations were correct, viz. that all distant 

 molecules attract each other, we have shown they would al- 

 ways do so, and his theory could not be true ; but we reject 

 that conclusion, by proving that, according to his principles, 

 not one of the forms of solids, liquids, or gases could exist. 



First conceive that the atoms have no solid centres, then a 

 molecule plunged into the aether would attract into its own 

 centre just so many centres of the aethereal atoms as by their 

 united forces would exactly equal the whole force of the mole- 

 cule ; therefore the attraction of the compound atom on any 

 distant atom of either kind would be equal to its repulsion on 

 the same distant atom : hence the result is neither attraction 

 nor repulsion. Next let the small central spherical solid be 

 restored, and the concentrated aether now symmetrically dis- 

 posed about the solid as an atmosphere ; this atmosphere will 

 have the same effect on any distant atom as when placed in 

 the centre (Newt. Prin. B. I. pr. 76.); but this atmosphere is 

 that which the molecule would acquire when plunged into the 

 aether, since, as is evident, its atmosphere would increase till 

 its repulsion on any distant atom is equal to its attraction, and 

 no more: therefore still its resultant action on any di- 

 stant atom of either kind is null, and the same is true of any 

 other molecule; hence, on these principles there could be 

 neither cohesion nor elasticity, and the forms of bodies, as 

 solids, liquids or gases could not exist. 



