684 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 203; 



As the case stands (no inertia) , the region 

 is the fund of the whole energy imparted 

 by the impulse. In other words, Jpdv can 

 not vary for the triturated region if no new 

 impulse is at hand. But the ether, like the 

 jelly, is supposed to be self-sealing under pres- 

 sure; i. e., the tendency to va.2ike Jpdv van- 

 ish . Hence, in homogeneous ether the tritu- 

 rated region, if alone, can not be at rest ;* 

 it may either break down fresh continuous 

 ether on one side as fast as it seals itself up 

 again on the diametrically opposite side, 

 always retaining Jpdv constant ; or it may 

 seal internally while it increases in area ex- 

 ternally, foi-ming an ever-widening closed 

 shell whose energy per on^ eventually obeys 

 the orthodox law ; if a body were present 

 the region might become distributed among 

 its vibrating molecules, etc. 



First law of motion. — Now, as the break- 

 down progresses from layer to layer succes- 

 sively, the region will seal up soonest where 

 it broke down first ; for the pressure is con- 

 stant throughout the region. Hence the mo- 

 tion of the region must be uniform and 

 linear in the direction of the impulse. This 

 seems to me to be an approach to Newton's 

 first law. Rest, though impossible for a 

 single region, may occur in a cluster of re- 

 gions (see below) , the individuals of which 

 move. 



Since energy imparted to the region in 

 any other direction must act in the same 

 way, I conclude that the new velocity may 

 be compounded vectorially with the initial 

 velocity. 



Second law of motion. — The next question 



body in place, Tvith each of its ultimate particles as- 

 sociated with triturated ether, analogously to the 

 mercury projectiles in the above experiment. But 

 since my remarks can be made -without reference 

 to material molecules, I have preferred to drop the 

 body (unwisely perhaps) as an unnecessary compli- 

 cation. 



*The rate of motion varies with the fineness of 

 trituration, as will be indicated below; i. e., it varies 

 ■with the pressure in the region. 



at issue is this : Can the region be made to 

 behave like a massive body, even though 

 made of stuff destitute of inertia. For ul- 

 terior reasons it is undesirable to change the 

 volume of the region appreciably ; any en- 

 ergy can, nevertheless, be stored within, by 

 increasing the fineness of trituration. The 

 effect of this is to increase the internal pres- 

 sure and to increase proportionally, at the 

 same time, the rate of recementation behind 

 (in the direction of motion) and the rate of 

 breakdown in front. Hence the region 

 may be treated as moving faster in propor- 

 tion as the energy imparted by the impulse 

 is greater. Sealing is supposed to occur 

 more rapidly under pressure, and the two 

 rates must keep pace with each other if 

 there is to be conservation of energy. 



The resistance to increased breakdown 

 would thus vary in the first place with the 

 change per second of the velocity ; for a 

 regular succession of impulses, i. e., a con- 

 stant force, must produce a correspondingly 

 regular succession of increments of velocity, 

 or constant acceleration ; it would vary in 

 the second place with the total fi-ont of 

 ether broken down. The latter quantity is 

 thus left to account for mass. For simplic- 

 ity let the regions occur clustered like the 

 molecules of a body, and be all of the same 

 spherical volume. Then the resistance to 

 breakdown will vary, caet. par., with their 

 number per unit of volume, or, in other 

 words, with the density of distribution of the 

 regions within the body. This seems to be 

 an approach to Newton's second law re- 

 garded as a manifestation of the ether. 



A body built up of such similarly circum- 

 stanced regions would virtually be a mas- 

 sive body.* Each component region, if not 



* The third law of motion, inasmuch as it deals 

 with the occurrence of stress between two or more 

 regions, must ultimately culminate in an explanation 

 of gravitation. One naturally shrinks from touching 

 this, though I hope to consider the reflection and col- 

 lision of the regions at some other time. 



