A WONDERFUL WORLD 



ferent ways, the atoms of carbon or of hydrogen 

 probably carry different amounts of potential energy, 

 so that the order in which they stand related to one 

 another accounts for the different properties of the 

 same chemical compounds. Different groupings of 

 the same atoms of any of the elements result in a 

 like difference of physical properties. 



The physicists tell us that what we call the quali- 

 ties of things, and their structure and composition, 

 are but the expressions of internal atomic move- 

 ments. A complex substance simply means a whirl, 

 an intricate dance, of which chemical composition, 

 histological structure, and gross configuration are 

 the figures. How the atoms take hold of hands, as it 

 were, the way they face, the poses they assume, the 

 speed of their gyrations, the partners they exchange, 

 determine the kinds of phenomena we are dealing 

 with. 



There is a striking analogy between the letters of 

 our alphabet and their relation to the language of 

 the vast volume of printed books, and the eighty or 

 more primary elements and their relation to the 

 vast universe of material things. The analogy may 

 not be in all respects a strictly true one, but it is an 

 illuminating one. Our twenty-six letters combined 

 and repeated in different orders give us the many 

 thousand words our language possesses, and these 

 words combined and repeated in different orders 

 give us the vast body of printed books in our li- 



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