of Electrons in an Elastic Solid ^Ether, 147 



more detailed assignment o£ the minimum number, three, of 

 constants which inevitably present themselves than is implied 

 by the words large and small. The result is that the solid 

 behaves in an unmistakable manner, as if it were rotationally 

 elastic and practically incompressible. When we remember 

 how these properties have been forced on our unwilling 

 acceptance in studying the aether both optically and elec- 

 trically, this first indubitable result of our elastic solid theory 

 is of the highest significance, and goes far to persuade us 

 that we are seeking in the right direction. 

 (51) may be written 



w/A=— |Se(6±x)e f 



At the south saddle when c/b is large two of the roots of 

 +/% are each equal to — b and the third equal to 2b. As a 

 point passes on the diagram from the origin straight to the 

 saddle and beyond it, each of the first two roots of & + % 

 beginning with the positive value b diminishes to zero at the 

 saddle and becomes negative beyond. Hence at the middle 

 of a thread or web the corresponding term in v/A is negative, 

 near the middle where the saddle condition holds, this nega- 

 tive value passes through zero, and further from the middle 

 takes the usual or free aether sign, namely, positive. In so 

 far as the term depends on the curl e it varies as the square 

 of e. Hence e tends to increase in two of the three principal 

 directions at the middle of the singularity ; but at a minute 

 distance from the middle the usual free aether elastic re- 

 sistance to the establishment of curl sets in. If then a thread 

 projects radially from a knot curl will be attracted to the 

 thread. Other curl though elastically resisted must arise to 

 close the circuit of the first. There will thus come about 

 radial intrinsic elastically resisted curl. Here we have a 

 complete rational account of Sir J. Larmor's fundamental 

 aether and electron requirements. For free aether we have 

 as is required v/A = — §bY 2 SJr) ; for electrons we have as is 

 required radial intrinsic curl ; and the singularities forming 

 these electrons are perfectly mobile through the aether as is 

 required. 



This forms very strong evidence that an elastic solid con- 

 stitution of the aether can meet all demands. Strangely, as 

 it appears to me, every one of these satisfactory results flows 

 also from the elastic solid constitution of our second hvpo- 

 thesis. This is an additional encouraging feature, because it 

 implies that if our fundamental assumption of the possibility 

 of stable existence of the singularities should prove invalid 



L2 



