THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE; BEING A PRESENTATION 



OF PROFESSOR OSBORNE REYNOLDS' THEORY 



OF GRAVITATION. 



(With Experiments.) 



By John Mackenzie, Minneapolis. 



Fir^t Statement of Reynolds' Theory in This Country. 



The title of my lecture this evening sounds high. When one 

 talks about the structure of the universe it would seem that he has 

 a large subject on his hands. I may also state that as far as I 

 know what I will present to you this evening has not up to the pres- 

 ent time been presented to or dealt with by any other scientific, 

 philosophical or literary society in this country, and with the excep- 

 tion of the general mention of Reynolds' theory of gravitation by my 

 friend Professor Henry Crew of the Northwestern University, in his 

 recent work on "General Physics" I am not aware that the theory has 

 yet been noticed in the United States. 



Wonderful Developments of Modern Science. 



Numerous and wonderful have been the discoveries of science 

 from the time of Newton to the present day; and the end is not yet. 

 As Henry C. Jones, Professor of Physical Chemistry in Johns Hop- 

 kins University in his work entitled, "The Electrical Nature of Mat- 

 ter" remarks: "It seems not too much to predict that as the 19th 

 century surpassed the preceding 18th in the development of scientific 

 knowledge and the discovery of truth, just so the twentieth century 

 will exceed them all in the gifts of pure science to the story of human 

 knowledge." I hope my lecture this evening will show you to some 

 extent how true this is, and that indeed, already in this century the 

 portals have been opened by the master mind of Osborne Reynolds 

 to a new and further advance of dynamical science by the solution of 

 the problem of all problems, — the cause of gravitation. 



As To Professor Reynolds. 



Professor Osborne Reynolds was born at Belfast, Ireland, on Aug. 

 23, 1842. He graduated at Queen's College, Cambridge, in 1867, his 

 name being fifth in the list of wranglers in the mathematical tripos. 



In 18G8 he became Professor of Engineering in Owens College, 

 Manchester, England, — an institution which is regarded as probably 

 the greatest engineering college in the world. Owing to ill health he 

 resigned his professorship a year and a half ago. Professor Reynolds* 

 researches and contributions dealing with various mechanical and 

 dynamical subjects rank very high with all engineers, and, as all 

 students of the subject know, his researches have largely created the 

 modern science of hydrodynamics.* The third volume of Reynold's 



♦ He has been presented with many honors by various scientific institu- 

 tions, and his name is familiar throughout the world to all who take an 

 interest in the physical sciences. 



