1625.3 Mathematical Prindjples of Chemical Philosophy, 375 



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 ■In the present state of science, these numbers, as well as others 

 thatl have made public, are but approximations ; for in deduc- 

 ing them, the particles of all solids must be supposed to be simi*- 

 iarly situated, which is not the case ; and until the primary laws 

 are fully developed, their relative positions in different solids 

 cannot be determined. By inspecting the table, which might 

 have been much enlarged, it appears that the most inflammable 

 bodies have the least force of attraction of gravitation ; whilst 

 gold, silver, and lead, have great forces, and are scarcely inflam- 

 mable: iron, tin, and zinc, are very inflammable, and have 

 smaller forces ; and phosphorus, sulphur, and carbon^ have veryr 

 small forces, and are very highly inflammable. If the order of 

 specific gravity be compared with that of inflammability,, the 

 same analogy nearly is observed ; and could we discover how 

 far the specific gravity is affected in every particular case by 

 differences in the arrangement of the particles of different sub- 

 stances, the coincidence would ih all prObabihty be much closer. 

 Analogy 2.— Those substances which differ most from oxygen 

 in electrical relation have the smallest force of gravity. In all 

 galvanic decompositions, oxygen appears at the positive, and 

 inflammable matter at the negative pole ; those bodies which are 

 most remote from oxygen in the galvanic series have the most 

 powerful attraction for it: by the last analogy these are the 

 substances which have the least intense attraction of gravita- 

 tion. From the experiments Of Sir H. Davy und others (Phil. 

 Trans. 1807), when sulphur is separated from contact with a 

 metallic plate, it is in a positive, aiid the metal in a negative 

 state of excitation. ' Also phosphorus separates most, and char- 

 coal many metals froin thfeir acid solutions ; and from their gene- 

 ral galvanic relations, they undoubtedly stand above zinc in 

 drder of galvanism. - '^ i'< v^i > • *.il - 



|| Since then those substances have the least infeftsit;^ of ftttra**- 

 tipn to the earth which tend most powerfully to the negative 

 pole, or, which is the same thing, which have the greatest attrac- 

 tion for oxygen, either there is a remarkable accidental coinci- 

 dence, or the tendency of bodies to the poles of the galvanic 

 series, is determined by, or determines their tendency to the 

 earth. To suppose it accidental, since it extends to all bodies 

 of which we have sufficient data, would be extravagant ; for in 

 all branches of science we are led byphsenomena to a)cnovvledge 

 of the laws of action. To deny the validity of evidence of this 

 .sort would be to take away the foundation of every branch of 



