THE ATOMIC VIEW OF NATURE. 



417 



of matter as the most convenient method of expressing the 

 formulae of chemical compounds. Ever since that time 23. 



A conveni- 



the atomic view has served as a kind of symbolism by 

 which different chemical elements could be characterised, 

 their compounds described, and the actual weights prac- 

 tically calculated. And here we must note the reserve 

 with which some of the greatest representatives of 

 chemical science expressed themselves up to the middle 

 of the century regarding the actual physical existence of 

 those elementary particles with which they operated so 

 freely in their formulae, and which they even represented 

 by balls and coloured discs in their demonstrations. 

 Wollaston, one of the first who accepted Dalton's 1 views 



1 Dalton does not seem to have 

 been troubled by any philosophical 

 doubts or by the anticipation of 

 the mathematical difficulties which 

 would stand in the way of a con- 

 sistent development of the atomic 

 view. He was led to formulate and 

 employ his atomic theory by ponder- 

 ing over the most convenient man- 

 ner in which certain chemical facts 

 the facts of definite and multiple 

 proportions and certain physical 

 discoveries the separate existence 

 of aqueous vapour from the other 

 constituents of the air could be 

 represented, and he adopted the 

 view suggested by Newton in his 

 ' Queries,' "that matter was formed 

 in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, 

 movable particles " (see Sir H. 

 Roscoe, ' John Dalton,' Century 

 Series, p. 128, &c.) Wollaston and 

 Davy were much more cautious : 

 the former foresaw the complicated 

 and far-reaching mathematical pro- 

 blems which were involved in the 

 atomic view, the latter thought 

 the generalisation premature. His 

 labours had been largely in the 

 direction of showing that bodies 



VOL. I. 



which had been looked upon as 

 elementary were compound, and 

 he " doubts whether we have yet 

 obtained elements" (ibid., p. 155). 

 Even as late as 1826, in his award 

 to Dalton of the Royal Medal, he 

 speaks of his " Development of the 

 Chemical Theory of Definite Pro- 

 portions, usually called the Atomic 

 Theory," he emphasises its practical 

 usefulness, "making the statics of 

 chemistry depend upon simple 

 questions in subtraction or multi- 

 plication, and enabling the student 

 to deduce an immense number of 

 facts from a few well authenticated, 

 accurate, experimental results." He 

 refers to Wollaston 's table of equi- 

 valents, which "separates the prac- 

 tical part of the doctrine from the 

 atomical or hypothetical part." It 

 has, in fact, been maintained that 

 the hesitancy which Wollaston dis- 

 played on this subject deprived him 

 of his well-deserved share of the 

 glory which the introduction of the 

 atomic view of matter has shed 

 upon Dalton and Berzelius. (See 

 Peacock, ' Life of Dr Young,' p. 

 469.) 



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