NOMOS. 197 



CONCLUSION. 



THE object of this work, then, has been to prove 

 that the world of inorganic nature is ruled by one 

 physical law, and not by several physical laws. 



It has been shown, first of all, that the phenomena 

 of electricity, magnetism, light, heat, chemical action, 

 and motion, which are developed experimentally, are 

 not to be understood unless they be regarded as signs 

 of one and the same action in ordinary matter. In 

 doing this (among other consequences of the argu- 

 ment) it has been found that we may dispense with 

 the idea of a repellent force in explaining electro- 

 magnetic rotation, that we may find a physical ex- 

 planation for the so-called repulsive power of heat, 

 and for the retention of magnetism by the loadstone 

 and steel, and that we may discover additional 

 reasons for discarding imponderable agents from the 

 interpretation of physical phenomena. 



Evidence was then adduced for believing that it 

 is not possible to understand the phenomena of elec- 

 tricity, magnetism, light, heat, chemical action, and 

 motion, which are naturally displayed in the world 

 around us, unless they be regarded as signs of the 

 action of the same central law. In this part of the 

 argument : 



