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T. C. CHAMBERLIN 



latter seem, on the whole, to be overmatched by their opponents, 

 as implied by the very existence of the stars; and yet the forces of 

 dispersion are clearly successful in particular ways, as, for example, 

 in the matter of radiations and in some loss of high-speed mole- 

 cules and of electrons. 



In this state of wavering balance between internal contending 

 forces, those great seething bodies are plunging at high velocities 

 through what, in a material sense, is an approximate vacuum, but 

 what, in a dynamic sense, is an approximate plenum, a plexus of 

 lines of force of almost infinite complexity. They are thus speeding 

 through a perpetual succession of contingencies of external dis- 

 turbance. Their hold upon their own material hangs on the perpetu- 

 ated superiority of their concentrative forces, expressed typically 

 but not wholly in their spheres of gravitative control over their 

 dispersive forces. If the controlling spheres are invaded in a 

 shallow way there is likely to be only trivial loss; if they are invaded 

 deeply, serious disintegration is the logical effect. It is important 

 to note that this disintegration is a joint effect, as much due to the 

 approximate balance of the internal forces as to the disturbing 

 power of the external forces. 



And so in dealing with phenomena of this class, it is not more 

 important to inquire into the direct action of the external agencies 

 than into the state of balance of the powerful forces within these 

 supremely active organizations themselves. This is the more im- 

 perative because there is growing reason to believe that certain 

 orders of stars are at or near the limit where growth in mass is over- 

 matched by concurrent growth in dispersive forces. If this belief 

 is well founded, such nearly balanced giants of the skies may be 

 regarded as peculiarly susceptible to disturbances of equilibrium 

 arising from the intrusion of foreign dynamic influences into 

 their domain, or perhaps equally their own penetration into areas 

 of concentrated stress arising from special marshallings of other 

 great bodies. 



These considerations are deployed at some length here because 

 the stellar conditions that render dynamic encounter effective are 

 too commonly overlooked, and because these conditions are vital 

 in considering cosmic disorganization which in turn is regarded as 

 a step necessarily precedent to cosmic reorganization. 



