278 M. Seguin on the Effects of Heat and Motion. 



not be augmented or diminished, excepting in so far as there 

 has been an approach or recession of the constituent parts with 

 respect to the common centre of gravity. This law may be 

 applied to a simple crystal, the matter of which is sufficiently 

 dense, that the interval which separates the particles may be 

 comparable to that which separates the celestial bodies in re- 

 spect to the space which they occupy. This leads to questions 

 of the most important kind, but upon which I do not feel my- 

 self capable even of hazarding conjectures. 



We see by experience that light, which, from its effects, we 

 regard as a compound body, may penetrate certain other bo- 

 dies Avith great facility. Magnetism does not seem to be stop- 

 ped by the densest bodies with which we are acquainted, nei- 

 ther is it impossible that a molecular mass may circulate round 

 the earth, subject to the same laws as the planets ; and since 

 we see magnetism and electricity pass through the densest bo- 

 dies, may we not conclude from this that currents of matter 

 circulate across the mass of the globe ? Astronomy affords 

 us, in the ring of Saturn, the belts of Jupiter, and, perhaps, 

 in the zodiacal light, an example of matter subject to revolve 

 in circular masses. If we suppose on the earth a series of 

 rings subject to move in ellipses, of which the centre of the 

 earth is one of the foci, we might give a sufficient and very 

 simple explanation of the changes in the pole of the magnetic 

 meridian, and of other observed phenomena. Thus it would 

 happen that, in certain points of the globe, the direction of 

 this current would be a tangent to the horizon ; that, in other 

 places, it would have an inclination determined by conditions 

 which it would be easy to verify ; and, in approaching the pole, 

 it would become almost nothing. The existence of similar sa- 

 tellites does not seem improbable. 



Since the existence of the celestial bodies, in general, is in- 

 dependent of their mass, their velocity may be computed at 

 from 5 to 6000 miles per second, which would be sufficient for 

 explaining the great velocity of these fluids. If we apply to 

 insulated bodies the suppositions made on the great scale to 

 the celestial mass, we may conceive the possibility of establish- 

 ing round two of them similar currents. Experience, indeed, 



