408 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



these substances are less dense in the solid than in the liquid state at the 

 melting temperature. And D. Forbes stated that glass floats on melted 

 glass, and, similarly, Bessemer steel on melted steel.' " 



These facts indicated, I thought, that the intensely agitated ether had 

 made the heated mass heavier : I therefore made a more careful experiment. 

 A mass of iron was heated white-hot and weighed, the weight being over 

 twenty pounds. After cooling for more than half-an-hour it was weighed 

 again ; and after being made cold in water it was weighed a third time, but 

 there was found to be no distinct difference in the weight ; if there was any 

 difference, I think it must have been less than a quarter of an ounce. Both 

 times, however, the iron was weighed when cooling, while the reverse of 

 this would have been more likely to show a difference in the weight. 



Second Experiment, Mechanical. — The ether is so marvellous that I should 

 not have thought of trying to make any mechanical experiment if I had not 

 read an account of the wonderful action of a saw called " Beese's Saw." 

 This saw was described as a disc made to revolve with an enormous velocity 

 — at a velocity, as far as I can remember, of from one to two thousand 

 revolutions per second. It was said to cut bars of steel without touching them. 

 Mr. Reese himself ascribed this to the action of the disc upon the ether — 

 the ether entering near the axis and being thrown out at the circumference, 

 it was supposed. If any action of the ether produced gravitation I con- 

 sidered that this rapidly revolving disc should have very little weight. I 

 thought by making the disc a very thick one that a moderate velocity would 

 show some difference of weight. The disc that I had made was about 

 seventy pounds, and could be driven so as to make about thirty revolutions 

 per second. The oscillations were, however, so great that it could only be 

 weighed when making three or four revolutions per second. Various 

 modifications were made but with scarcely any improvement ; no appreciable 

 difference in weight could be detected. Experiments would have to be 

 made with nicely fitting mechanism of a comprehensive character to enable 

 a high velocity to be obtained, but a comparatively moderate velocity might 

 produce an appreciable difference in the weight. 



Third Experiment, Magnetic. — Light, heat, magnetism, and electricity are 

 believed to be manifestations of one agent — the ether. Now, if some action 

 of the ether also produces gravitation, I thought it very probable that when 

 a strong magnetic pull was exerted horizontally it would weaken that verti- 

 cal action of the ether which I supposed might produce gravitation. I tried 

 the experiment with a permanent magnet but with no definite result. I do 

 not profess to be well acquainted with electrical facts, though I have read 

 most of the best standard works on electricity and a good deal more besides, 

 go an important experiment made by Faraday was unknown to me till the 



