On the Aiomic Philosophy. 135 
to the modems it is necessary to fill up the interstices of their 
caloric balls; and yet a great advocate of this doctrine, in order 
to clear up a perplexing difficulty, runs into the absurdity, merely 
to suit the circumstances of the case, of supposing there must 
have been interstitial caloric, than which a greater inconsistency 
was never heard of : interstitial heat and interstitial vacuums are 
incompatible with each other. Both ancients and moderns have 
asserted the existence of a vacuum with as much confidence as 
they would assert the existence of water : but it can only be con- 
sidered as hypothetical ; for there never has a fact been brought 
forward in favour of the actual existence of a vacuum, that can 
be considered as conclusive. Mr. Dalton supposes the atoms of 
all gaseous substances, whatever may be the form of the ultimate 
“particle or nucleus, to be perfectly globular, and will be arranged 
in horizontal strata like a’pile of shot. It is easy to demonstrate 
this to be an error both in number and in form. Mr. Dalton’s 
atom of water is globular, and his atom of steam or aqueous va- 
pour is also globular. It is well known that when water is con- 
verted into steam it is increased in bulk 1986 times; or, in Mr. 
Dalton’s language, the atom of water is surrounded by 1985 
atoms of caloric. | will exhibit a section of Mr. Dalton’s atom 
of a gaseous vapour ; the central ball is water, all the rest are ca- 
loric. (See Plate I. fig. A.) 
Section of Mr. Dalton’s atom of steam or aqueous vapour. The 
coats or layers of caloric, or the matter of heat, are 
, 6 12 18 24, &c. 
The second strata asf ie 3 9 15 °21,,&c. 
And I have shown in my Essays™, fig. 4, Plate I. that the first 
coat or covering will be 12; from which I have composed the fol- 
lowing Table: 
peri pete so US ee ae ie ad 
Coats oro her Ast | 2d |, Sum ot Equal to| Ist | 2d 3d 
Cover- |NU™YE"| Diffe- | Diffe-| the '42 multi-|Diffe- Difie- Diffe- 
ings. |!" each. rence. | rence. Coats. |plied by rence. rence.|rence. 
cok fet 
2 | 48 | 80 | 24 | ri ee ee 
a) 108 | oA PRES TOR hs OA ag Ay ae fag 
4 | 192 | og | 24 | 360 | 30 |o:| 9] 9 
5 | 300 | jo5 | 24 | 660) 55 oe thus 
6 | 432 | 36 | 24 | 1092 | 91 19 | 12} 2 
7 | 588 | y99 | 24. | 1680 | 140 64 | 2° 
8 | 768 204 24 | 2448 | 204 
9 | 972 &e. | 
ih AA WC OOD eh TEPER IE on col 
# Of which see notice in last Number of Phil. Mag. 
14 The 
