180 Atonuc Matter and Luminiferous Ether. (April, 
poorer slag which is re-smelted in Mackenzie’s blast-furnace 
with lime as a flux. The valuable product from the cupola 
is a coarse copper of 85 per cent, which is treated in the 
same manner as the crude mineral, ‘and a poor slag carrying 
not over 3-10ths per cent of copper. 
One thousand pounds of coal are said to be consumed in 
the reverberatories to every 2000 lbs. of mineral smelted. 
Poling is done with birch rods. At Detroit, when poplar 
could no longer be obtained, oak was substituted without 
affecting the toughness of the metal. 
V. ON THE MODERN HYPOTHESES OF ATOMIC 
MATTER AND LUMINIFEROUS ETHER. 
By Henry DEACON. 
HE generally received opinion as to the constitution 
of the material universe can be summarised pretty 
accurately by saying that all natural objects consist 
of either atoms, which are solid centres of force or of 
motion,—or of ether, the medium through which the forces 
or motions of atoms are transmitted,—or of both atoms 
and ether. 
A molecule is defined as the smallest piece of any sub- 
stance that can retain all the properties of the substance, 
and therefore the constitutions of the molecule and of the 
substance are identical. 
The different qualities ascribed to atoms and to ether are 
best reviewed by parallel comparison, of which the following 
is an illustration :— 
Atoms are inelastic. 
Atoms are indivisible. 
Atoms do not touch, or atomic 
matter is not continuous in all di- 
rections. 
Atoms coalescing evolve energy, and 
in separating absorb energy. 
Atoms gravitate. 
Atoms possess ‘‘mass” and inertia, 
and in motion momentum, 
Atoms originate and transmute or 
convert motion and force. 
Atoms, being inelastic, move as a 
whole instantaneously, i.é., motion 
passes through or is imparted to the 
- whole of an atom, or continuous 
atoms, without any lapse of time. 
Ether is perfectly elastic. 
Ether is infinitely divisible. 
Ether is continuous. 
Ether coalesces, and is divided with- 
out evolving or absorbing energy. 
Ether does not gravitate. 
Ether has neither ‘*mass”’ nor inertia, 
and cannot be imbued with mo- 
mentum. 
Etheris merely a medium, and can only 
transmit motion or force unchanged. 
Ether is moved by degrees, and time 
elapses as motion passes through or 
is imparted to it. 
