Structure of the Universe 391 



must be granular in its constitution. He shows that space is occu- 

 pied by uniform spherical grains of changeless shape and size. It 

 is occupied by what he calls "spherical grains in normal piling." The 

 opening statement in his "Sub-mechanics of the Universe" is: 



"By this research it is shown that there is one and only one, 

 conceivable purely mechanical system capable of accounting for all 

 the physical evidence, as we know it, in the universe." 



"The system is neither more nor less than an arrangement of 

 indefinite extent, of uniform spherical grains generally in normal pil- 

 ing so close that the grains cannot change their neighbours, although 

 continually in relative motion with each other; the grains being of 

 changeless shape and size; thus constituting to a first approximation, 

 an elastic medium with six axes of elasticity symmetrically placed." 



It is worthy of note that Newton also had the conception that 

 the real sub-stratum of the physical universe is granular in its 

 structure, for in the fourth edition of his "Opticks" page 375 he says: 

 "All things considered, it seems probable that God in the beginning 

 formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles, 

 of such sizes, figures and with such other properties, and in such, pro- 

 portion in space as most conduced to the end for which he formed 

 them, and that these primitive particles being solids, are incompara- 

 bly harder than any porous bodies compounded of them; even so 

 very hard as never to wear or break to pieces; no ordinary power 

 being able to divide what God himself made one in the first creation." 



The question has been asked, why are most sports but the variants 

 of one object, the propulsion of a sphere? Billiards, baseball, polo, 

 golf, slinging, marbles, squash, handball, football, racquets, cricket, 

 hockey, bagatelle, tennis, shooting, pelota, all have as their basic pur- 

 suit the driving of a ball, the propulsion of a sphere. Tipcat, shut- 

 tlecock and top spinning are the employment of modifications of the 

 sphere. May the reason not be that poor mortal man attempts oy 

 these means to get in a small way into the tremendous scheme of 

 the universe, which is the everlasting movement of the spheres?- 



The Fundamental Atom. 



We considered above the size of the chemical atom and also the 

 approximate size of the electron, aggregations of which, according to 

 the electron theory make up the chemical atom. We saw how very 

 small the electron is as compared with the chemical atom. We shall 

 now enquire as to the size of the grain in Reynolds' granular medium. 

 Reynolds shows that its diameter is the seven hundred thousand 

 millionth part of the wave length of violet light. A wave of violet 

 light is about the 70 thousandth part of an inch in length. Rey- 

 nolds' cosmic grain, then, is very much smaller than even the elec- 

 tron. It is at least as much smaller than the electron as the elec- 

 tron is smaller than the chemical atom, the sizes of all three being 

 equally inconceivable. This cosmic grain of Reynolds is the absolute 

 or fundamental atom of the universe. It is the smallest entity 

 which can exist in space. Reynolds has shown by dynamical and 



