Atoms and Molecules. 913 



between the atoms. No terms in the inverse square due to 

 the rotation of: charges can possibly balance this great 

 repulsion. These repulsive terms will persist in other 

 positions of the atoms aside from the particular axis case 

 considered, and it may be concluded that helium must be 

 monatomic if it is as shown in fig. 1. 



The combination of hydrogen with helium on the axis 

 gives as a final result for the electrostatic force : 



F = ^{-126 2 r- 4 + 30(2 + l/ /3 )&V- 6 ...}, . (42) 



He on H ft 



electrostatic. 



and here a^ain the r~ 4 repulsive force appears, which 

 prevents helium from uniting with hydrogen. In a similar 

 manner it may, I believe, be shown generally that helium 

 will not unite with any of the other atoms shown in fig. 1. 

 The same statement may be made for neon, which has a 

 helium atom at its centre. The presence of this is sufficient 

 to cause a great repulsive force between the atoms of neon 

 and any other of the atoms shown. 



Summary. 



In Part I. is presented a concrete picture of the forms of 

 the atoms of the lighter elements including isotopes from 

 hydrogen to sodium inclusive, which are in conformity with 

 the Saha form of electromagnetic theory. The shape adopted 

 for the negative electron is an oblate spheroid with ratio of 

 axes about three to one, as determined in the first paper. 

 Although Rutherford's experimental results were unknown 

 to the writer at the time the models were made, the distance 

 between the centre of the nitrogen atom and the hydrogen 

 in nitrogen is just two diameters of the electron, as he has 

 found. 



General formulae not given in this paper have been deve- 

 loped for testing these atomic forms by determining how 

 they satisfy the known results of chemistry in combining 

 with each other to form molecules. 



In Part II. it is shown that the shape of the negative 

 electron is a most important factor in determining the equi- 

 librium distance between two atoms forming a molecule. 

 The approximately constant distance between the centres of 

 atoms in all solids is directly connected with the shape of the 

 electron, and for this reason it is a universal distance. In 

 order that these atoms may unite with each other at all, it is 

 shown that the eccentricity of the electron must lie between 



Phil. Mag. S. 6. Vol. 43. No. 257. May 1922. 3 N 



