E. B. Hunt on the Nature of Forces. 247 
the adjacent repulsion branch, and that the successive attraction 
and repulsion branches embrace about equal areas. Hence the 
attraction between A and the gravitating atoms in the line is de- 
cidedly greater in its aggregate than the sum of the adjacent re- 
pulsions ; as is amply realized when we consider that the attrac- 
tion area extends to infinity between the curve and the asymp- 
tote axis. Hence the action of A would be to draw the gravita- 
ting part of the column towards itself with a much greater force 
than it repels the adjacent portion, so that a large surplus of at- 
tractive pressure is passed along the column to the next attractive 
branch, which is thus made greatly to surpass the next repulsion 
and so on through the whole curve, until the interior repulsion is 
reached, where the aggregate attractive surplus is balanced by the 
final indefinite repulsion. The action of B, C, D, &c. is entirely 
similar, except in the successive pruning of the inner extremity 
of the curve. Hence the aggregate action of A, B, C, D, &c. on 
, 2, 3, 4, &c. is simply a prevailing attraction which is only ef- 
fectively resisted by the final indefinite repulsion, and thus the 
whole mechanism of this curve serves only to make some pertur- 
bations in attraction with no palpable result whatever. 
Passing now from a line of atoms to a medium or mass of 
matter, the same result is found only vastly exaggerated. Refer- 
ting the medium to three rectangular axes of X, Y, Z, and con- 
ceiving the line of atoms already discussed as coinciding with 
the axis of X, we wish to determine the aggregate forces which 
counteract each other in a superficial unit of the plane Y Z. 
"he total action of the column A, B, C, D, &c. on the matter 
filling the space beyond the plane Y Z, affords the true criterion 
Straight line parallel to the axis of X, giving an infinite aggre- 
gate attraction for an infinite medium. In other words, all grav- 
tating shells give equal total attractions. For the atoms B, C, 
: &c. nearly the same result will be found, by a like process, 
the only difference being in the cutting off portions from the ori- 
