38 ORIGIN AND NATURE OF LIFE 



disembodied, so to speak, from matter, which 

 is just as difficult a conception as a disem- 

 bodied spirit, or a soul away from its 

 body. 



In what way, then, it may be asked, does 

 ether differ from ordinary matter ? Recently, 

 it has been discovered that the particles, 

 or electrons, discharged from the negative 

 pole or cathode of an X-ray bulb, or the 

 particles thrown off almost with the velocity 

 of light from radium are so minute that they 

 possess less than a thousandth part of the 

 mass of a hydrogen atom, which disposes once 

 and for all of the supposition that the chemical 

 atoms are ultimate divisions of matter, and 

 suggests that atoms are built up of electrons. 

 Now, rf it be supposed that ether is either 

 non-particulate or made up of particles of an 

 infinitely lower size than electrons and devoid 

 of energy, and that the electron is the first 

 stage in the building up of matter, a hypo- 

 thesis is supplied on the simplest basis yet 

 attained for placing in one long chain of 

 continuity both inorganic and organic evolu- 

 tion, and also for the inclusion of many out- 

 standing facts of the new science of radio- 

 activity. Also, the reason for one interesting 

 fact regarding energy transmission by the 

 ether becomes obvious, and that is that all 



