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32 UNEXPLAINED ORIGINS. ae 
existed in the beginning. La Place says that “at some 
point concentration took place in the homogeneous mass, ; 
this contraction produced radiation of heat and light, and a 
through the differences in temperature, motion and dy- a 
namic reaction were produced.” The difficulty which in- " 
heres in this postulate is the unquestioned fact that all 
motion in nature follows certain immutable /aws*, and 
the origin of these laws is not accounted for by the theory. ss 
Laws never make themselves, and their complexity ,—im- Q 
measurably beyond our power of exploration—yet ey- 
erywhere adjusted to a definite end, is so intricate that 
their origin can by no means be accounted for by chance. , 
3. According to the theory, matter was first in “ne- 
bular” (gas) form, and the gases which existed diffused 
through space were, through the motion which originated, 
changed from a huge ball of fire-mist to a semi-solid 
sphere, which threw off smaller spheres (the planets) 
that gradually became solid. Now, this is contrary to 
our knowledge of gases. Gases may be produced from 4 
solids, but an incandescent gas will not, through simple 
motion, become a solid substance. Gases may be solidi- 
fied, but only in two ways, by pressure or when greatly 
cooled,—when they become ice. But they do not retain 
this form when the pressure or the cooling agency is 
removed. Gases, as we know them, all have a tendency 
to expand indefinitely. They have no tendency to solidi- 
fy, as the hypothesis presumes. 
ee ee es 
4. La Place assumed that the solar system when still 
in gaseous state, began to revolve upon its axis, and that, 
as the gas ball continued to revolve, it condensed. As ; 
condensation went on, the rotation became faster, and a 
ze 
> 7 
ring of matter was thrown off from the hardening core.. — 3 
‘ 
* These laws, so far as known, form the basis of what we call a 
physics and chemistry. : 
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