FARADAY'S LINES OF FOECE. 61 



dyne, which is now generally accepted. Now, aooXijv being the Greek for tube, if we 

 give it a more English appearance by adding an e we have solene, a term which may be 

 defined as signifying the " unit-tube of force " Thus, when indicating the distribution of 

 force in a magnetic field, instead of speaking of the number of unit-tubes of force per 

 square centimetre, we should speak of the number of " solenes" per square centimetre. 



If the term should at all commend itself, it would not be difi&cult to bring it gradually 

 into general use. It is not uncommon at present in text-books, in order to guard students 

 against error, to speak of the " so-called lines of force." Now, if instead of this, " so " were 

 put in a parenthesis before lines of force, so that it would read the " {so) lines of force," 

 then, with the help of an explanatory foot-note, the transition to '^ solenes" only ought 

 not apparently to be difficult. Solene need not necessarily be limited to unit-tubes, but 

 it would probably be belter so to keep it. 



