THEORY OF ETHER VORTICES 



constitution of aerial matter, and of atomic structure 

 generally, and by which theory the permanence and 

 strength of the molecular combinations might seem 

 to be assured, has failed, notwithstanding its ingenuity 

 and beauty, in obtaining corroborative proof. Lord 

 Kelvin, to whom the Hypothesis of the atomic vortex 

 rings is due, lately announced at a special meeting of 

 the American Philosophical Society, November, 1897, 

 in a discussion between himself, Prof. Barker and 

 other members of the Society, "that he had been un- 

 able to add any facts or suggestions even, to the 

 original conception ; and he was forced to say that 

 he felt compelled to abandon it as a working hypoth- 

 esis, for want of any sufficient base for theory, from 

 observations or from experiments, other than those 

 of the smoke-rings which he originally described." 

 Nevertheless, it offers the possibility that the struc- 

 ture of the chemical atom, and, therefore, of matter, 

 may be due to the formation of vortex rings or some 

 analogue thereof from the ultimate atoms of the ether. 

 As Maxwell writes : " If two vortex tubes are linked 

 together they can never be separated, and if a single 

 vortex tube is knotted on itself it can never become 

 untied. The motion at any instance of every part of 

 the fluid, including the vortex rings themselves, may 

 be accurately represented by conceiving an electric 

 current to occupy the place of each vortex, the 

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