LIFE AND THE COSMOS 277 



the dielectric constant, and ionizing power. 

 Further, it is of course most probable that 

 numerous other properties are necessarily 

 associated with these; and finally it is not 

 surprising that elements of low atomic weight, 

 which become concentrated in the atmos- 

 phere on account of the small specific gravity 

 of their gases, should possess unusual proper- 

 ties, like high specific heat, or if one property 

 leads to another, many unusual properties. 

 Be that as it may, chemical science is still 

 a very long way from accounting for the simul- 

 taneous occurrence of the various character- 

 istics of water, especially if we include such 

 things as heat of formation, solvent power, 

 the process of hydrolytic cleavage, the degree 

 of solubility of carbon dioxide, the anomalous 

 expansion on cooling near the freezing point, 



etc. 



There is, in fact, exceedingly little ground 

 for hope that any single explanation of these 

 coincidences can arise from current hypotheses 

 and laws. But if to the coincidence of the 

 unique properties of water we add that of the 

 chemical properties of the three elements, a 

 problem results under which the science of 

 to-day must surely break down. If these 

 taken as a whole are ever to be understood, it 

 will be in the future, when research has pene- 



