STEPS TOWARDS A KINETIC THEORY 

 OF MATTER. 



[Opening Address to the Mathematical and Physical Section 

 of the British Association , Montreal meeting, 1884 (Brit, 

 Assoc. Report, p. 613).] 



THE now well-known kinetic theory of gases is 

 a step so important in the way of explaining 

 seemingly static properties of matter by motion, 

 that it is scarcely possible to help anticipating in 

 idea the arrival at a complete theory of matter, 

 in which all its properties will be seen to be merely 

 attributes of motion. If we are to look for the 

 origin of this idea, we must go back to Democritus, 

 Epicurus and Lucretius. We may then, I believe, 

 without missing a single step, skip 1,800 years. 

 Early last century we find in Malebranche's 

 Recherche de la Ve'rite the statement that La 



