72 WHAT IS LIFE 



other phenomena that involve matter^ must be found 

 in the structure and forces of the ninety-odd atoms 

 of the elements, research that treats of the "mole- 

 cules" of the "dispersion medium" and their "bom- 

 bardment" of the charged "particles" of the "disperse 

 phase" (particles much larger than molecules, chem- 

 ical constitution not necessarily given) and the 

 "surface" of these particles, and of phenomena and 

 relations in terms of these, obviously is a limited 

 inquiry that does not profess to be and is far from 

 being an ultimate analysis. 



Colloids throw little light on the peculiarities of 

 the organism that distinguish life from non-life; and, 

 as Hans Handovsky says, "it would be foolish to 

 believe that one can solve riddles of life with the 

 aid of colloid chemistry."^^ 



^' Leitfcden der Kolloid Chertiie fur Biologen und Mediziner, x. 



