130 Stevenson Macadam on a new Theory of the 



be then projected into it, the liquid does not, as might be 

 expected, wet or spread over the vessel, and then pass into a 

 state of violent ebullition, but, as it were, rolls itself up and 

 suddenly forms a globule or sphere, like a dew-drop, and 

 moves about from side to side of the vessel which contains it. 

 TJie water in these circumstances is said to have assumed the 

 spheroidal state. 



The sphere of water is not in contact with the heated 

 vessel, but executes its movements at a sensible distance 

 from its surface. The temperature of the water, moreover, 

 is not at its boiling point, and therefore evaporation proceeds 

 slowly, so that a measured quantity of water which would, 

 by ordinary ebullition at 212° be dissipated in vapour in one 

 minute, if in the spheroidal state in a vessel at 340° Fahren- 

 heit would take 50 minutes to evaporate. Such are the 

 chief phenomena attending, or characteristic of, this singular 

 condition of matter. 



Boutigny made similar observations upon many other 

 liquids, as well as on various solids, and arrived in conse- 

 quence at the following conclusions : — 



\st. That all bodies can pass into the spheroidal state. 



2d. That the temperature of bodies in the spheroidal state, 

 whatever be the temperature of the vessel which contains 

 them, is invariably inferior to their point of ebullition. 



^d. That there is no contact between bodies in the sphe- 

 roidal state and the surfaces of the heated vessels on which 

 they are placed. 



4M. That bodies in the spheroidal state exhibit absolute 

 reflection in regard to heat. 



The foregoing conclusions are the results of experiments 

 performed in heated shallow vessels, into which the sub- 

 stances to be acted upon were projected. This, however, is 

 not the only way in which the experiment can be performed. 

 If a rod of platinum be raised to a white heat^ and then 

 plunged into water, for a time no hissing sound is heard, 

 such as attends the quenching of red hot platinum in water, 

 nor is there any burst of steam such as accompanies sudden 

 ebullition. This is in consequence of the water assuming 

 the spheroidal state, and being repelled by the white hot 



