MATTER, A MODE OF MOTION 351 



by MacCuUagh and elaborated by Kelvin, in which the stiffness is associ- 

 ated with gyrostatic forces. Some consideration has been given to an alter- 

 native model consisting of a non-viscous liquid in a high state of fine scale 

 turbulence. It is well known that, by virtue of the gyrostatic forces associ- 

 ated with it, a vortex will transmit a wave of transverse displacement along 

 its axis. It would appear, therefore, that a gross wave involving similar 

 displacements would be passed along from vortex to vortex, much as a 

 sound wave is passed from molecule to molecule. However, since this model 

 has not yet been shown to be fully equivalent to Kelvin's, attention will be 

 confined to the latter. While this, as developed by Kelvin, gave a satis- 

 factory description of electromagnetic waves in free space, it had nothing 

 to represent matter. This was assumed to be something different from ether, 

 which might or might not be pervaded by it. A closer study of the model has 

 indicated that the peculiar nature of its stiffness makes possible sustained 

 oscillatory disturbances in which the energy remains localized about a 

 center which may move with any velocity less than that of a free wave. 

 It is proposed to use such quasi-standing wave patterns to describe material 

 particles. Matter, then, has no existence apart from the ether, and the 

 motion of particles is the motion of patterns of mechanical wave motion. 

 While the ether itself conforms to Newtonian mechanics, the mechanics of 

 such a wave pattern, considered as a particle located at its center, is much 

 more complicated than that of the familiar mass point of particle dynamics. 

 This complexity provides a bridge from the older concepts of particle be- 

 havior to the new. 



The study of this model given below reveals no insuperable obstacles such 

 as were encountered by the electromagnetic theory and the simpler ether 

 model. The properties of the wave-patterns are qualitatively consistent 

 with many of the concepts of modern physics, though in some cases not 

 with the generality of application which is now assigned to them. Among 

 these concepts are: the space-time of special relativity, relativistic mechanics, 

 de Broglie waves, proportionality of energy and frequency, energy thresh- 

 holds, and transfers of energy according to the quantum frequency formula. 

 The ether model also leads to certain concepts not found in the present 

 theories. It provides, for example, for a possible failure of the mass-energy 

 balance such as has been observed in nuclear reactions. It also suggests the 

 possibility of a new type of particle which, by virtue of its negative inertial 

 mass, is capable of exerting a binding force between other particles. 



These results make it more probable that classical mechanics may, after 

 all, afford a sufficient "foundation for the physical description of all natural 

 phenomena" even though the super-structure be very different from that 

 contemplated by its originators. The present argument, however, is not 

 that this particular description is necessary, but rather that it offers distinct 



