APPLICABLE TO MATHEMATICS, &C. 349 



consequence easily derived from it. It is not 

 difficult to show that the quantity of rays of force 

 which falls upon a material particle varies, as the 

 square of its distance, from the centre of forces. 

 Hence, as the same particle approaches the centre 

 of force, the quantity of forces falling upon it will 

 increase ; at half the distance the forces will be 

 four times as great, &c. As the rays of forces 

 converge to a centre, they may be considered 

 parallel for a small distance, which is the reason 

 why bodies moving vertically near the earth's 

 surface are uniformly accelerated. 



If we conceive that a particle of matter is 

 endued with a repulsive force, together with an 

 attractive force, and that this repulsive force is 

 constant in magnitude and unlimited in the dis- 

 tance to which it exercises its influence : there 

 will not be any difficulty in showing that the 

 effects of this constant repulsion will vary in- 

 versely as the square of the distance from the 

 repelling particle. 



Now if we propose to explain the finite exten- 

 sion of matter by means of the balancing of these 

 attractive and repulsive forces, we shall find that 

 it will be inadequate to the purpose. 



