TRANSACTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC SEOTION, 165 
Succinea obliqua, Say.—Cold swamps and marshes ; 
common. Bech’s woods ; Glen at Vassar College. 
Succinea ovalis, Gould.—Marshy places; common. 
Bech’s woods ; marshes along Hudson River. 
APRIL 8, 1890.—EIGHTY-SECOND REGULAR MEETING. 
Edward Elsworth, chairman, presiding ; eight mem- 
bers and thirteen guests present. 
The following address was given, accompanied by ex- 
periments in demonstration : 
SIR WILLIAM THOMSON AND HIS ‘‘ GYROSTATIC BALANCE,” 
AND THE RELATION OF NUTATION TO PRECESSION, 
BY CHARLES B. WARRING, Ph.D. 
In an address before the Mathematical and Physical 
Section of the British Association, at Montreal, Sir 
William Thomson described what he called a Gyrostatic 
Spring Balance, illustrating his description by a drawing 
of the instrument. His object was to aid in ‘steps 
towards a kinetic theory of matter.”’ 
He says ‘‘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 attri- 
butes of motion.’? He adds, ‘‘The kinetic theory of 
gases stops absolutely short at the atom or molecule, and 
gives not even a suggestion towards explaining the 
properties in virtue of which the atoms, or molecules, 
mutually influence one another.”’ 
_ After pointing out what he stylesa ‘‘ fatal fault”’ in 
the kinetic theory of gases, he says, ‘‘ Even if this fatal 
fault did not exist, there would exist beyond it a grander 
theory,—to explain the elasticity of solids.”’ 
And it was to aid in this that he devised the Gyrostatic 
Balance. He then describes the instrument by help of 
115 
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