MECHANICAL PARADOXES. 



instead of a single striking ball, two or three 

 be employed, one behind the other, all moved 

 together and made to strike together, the balls 

 which are struck will display a still greater 

 degree of intelligence. They will always appear 

 to know what was the number of balls which 

 struck them, and will depute the same number 

 of their own row to respond by moving off 

 at the other end. 



This seems a very puzzling display of in- 

 telligence on their part. When two or three 

 balls strike instead of one, the total striking 

 energy is two or three times as great, supposing 

 the striking speed to remain the same. Ac- 

 cordingly, it would not be surprising ii all 

 the balls in the row displayed the influence of 

 this twice or three times greater energy. Or 

 granting that all the energy must for some reason 

 be conveyed to and displayed by the last ball 

 of the row, it would be natural that it should 

 start off with a force two or three times as 

 great. 



But that the intervening balls should be 

 able in some way to tell those at the end of 

 the row that only one had struck and only 

 one must move, and to despatch two or three 

 when two or three had been the number of 

 the striking balls, this seems indeed a truly 

 mysterious puzzle. 



It must be remembered that the energy 

 of moving bodies depends upon their mass 



38 



