NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. 21 



language on the present occasion : " When we 

 reflect on the solar nebula in the act of con- 

 densing, it appears that the act consists in a 

 flow or rush of the nebulous matter from all 

 sides towards a central region ; which is yir- 

 tually equivalent, in a mechanical point of view, 

 to what we witness so frequently, both on a 

 small and large scale — the meeting and inter- 

 mingling of opposite gentle currents of water. 

 Now, what do we find on occasion of such a meet- 

 ing ? Herschel's keen glance lighted at once on 

 this simple phenomenon, and drew from it the 

 secret of one of the most fertile processes of 

 Nature ! In almost no case do streams meet and in- 

 termingle, tcithout occasioning^ where they intermingle, 

 a dimple or whirlpool ; and, in fact, it is barely pos- 

 sible that such a flow of matter from, opposite sides 

 could he so nicely balanced in any case, that the 

 opposite momenta or floods would neutralize each 

 other, and produce a condition of central rest. In 

 this circumstance, then — in the whirlpool to be ex- 

 pected where the nebulous floods meet — is the 

 obscure and simple germ of rotatory movement. 

 The very act of the condensation of the gaseous 

 matter as it flows towards a central district, al- 



