14 THE BODIES OF SPACE, 



two or three turns in a second, " the liquid sphere first takes 

 rapidly its maximum of flattening, then becomes hollow 

 above and below around the axis of rotation, stretching out 

 continually in a horizontal direction, and finally, abandoning 

 the disc, is transformed into a perfectly regular ring" At 

 first, this remains connected with the disc by a thin pellicle of 

 oil ; which, however, on the disc being stopped, breaks and 

 disappears, and the ring then becomes completely disengaged. 

 The only observable difference between this ring and that of 

 Saturn, is that it is rounded, instead of being flattened ; but 

 this is accounted for by the learned professor in a satisfactory 

 way. 



A little after the stoppage of the rotatory motion of the 

 disc, the ring of oil, losing its own motion, gathers once more 

 into a sphere. If, however, a smaller disc be used, and its 

 rotation continued after the separation of the ring, rotatory 

 motion and centrifugal force will be generated in the alcoholic 

 fluid, and the oil-ring, thus prevented from returning into the 

 globular form, divides itself into several isolated masses, each 

 of which immediately takes the globular form. These " are 

 almost always seen to assume, at the instant of their forma- 

 tion, a movement of rotation upon themselves, a movement 

 which constantly takes place in the same direction as that of 

 the ring. Moreover, as the ring, at the instant of its rupture, 

 had still a remainder of velocity, the spheres to which it has 

 given birth tend to fly off at a tangent ; but, as on the other 

 hand, the disc, turning in the alcoholic fluid, has impressed on 

 this a movement of rotation, the spheres are especially carried 

 along by this last movement, and revolve for some time round 

 the disc. Those which revolve at the same time upon them- 

 selves, consequently then present the curious spectacle of 

 planets revolving at the same time upon themselves and in their 

 orbits. Finally besides three or four large spheres into 

 which the ring resolves itself, there are almost always pro- 

 duced one or two very small ones, which may thus be 

 compared to satellites. The experiment presents, as we 

 see, an image in miniature of the formation of the planets, 

 according to the hypothesis of Laplace, by the rupture 



