﻿Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 333 



are in fact determined by the electrostatical situation of these 

 elementary charges which attach to corporeal atoms of various 

 fluids. According to this theory, the work of dissociation which 

 must be expended in order to decompose an electrically-neutral 

 molecule into its constituents which are charged with electricities 

 of opposite polarity, must be identical with the work to be 

 expended in removing the electrical valency-charges from their 

 actual distances in the molecule to such distances that we can 

 regard the molecules as dissociated. The heat of dissociation must 

 then be partially or wholly equivalent to electrical work. "We shall 

 see that this is actually the case, that the heat of dissociation is 

 already entirely consumed in overcoming the electrical attractions 

 of the valency-charges, so that, compared with the electrical, 

 purely chemical forces altogether recede. 



If the valency- charges + e and — e at the position of valency 

 adhere each to an atom united to form an electrically neutral 

 molecule, they would attract electrostatically at the distance r with 

 the force /= —e 2 /r 2 dynes. 



How these elementary quantities are arranged in the atoms we 

 are ignorant. From the fact of radiation, which we may refer to 

 vibrations of the valency-charges, we must conclude that they must 

 oscillate about certain mean positions, yet nothing exact is known 

 as to the distance of these centres of oscillation in the molecule. 



As a first approximation we may regard the atoms as spheres 

 which lie close to each other in the molecule. The diameter d of 

 what is called the sphere of action of the molecule is then of the 

 order of the sum of the diameters of the spheres. The simplest 

 assumption which we could make as to the oscillations of the 

 valency-charges would be that we regard them as taking place in 

 each atom symmetrically about the centre. The mean reciprocal 

 distance of the valency-charges in the non-dissociated molecule is 

 then = ±d. Accordingly, in order to move the valency-charges from 

 their distance from each other in the molecule, to such a distance 

 that they no longer act on each other, the work required for each 

 molecule would be a— — e 2 /(^d) ergs, and for the molecular weight 

 the work A=— ze 2 /(±d) ergs, z being the number of molecules. 



If, therefore, in comparison with the electrical forces those of 



" convergence of electrical lines of force " (Maxwell, Treatise, i. § 25, 

 p. 29, 2nd edition ; compare also Heaviside, Electrical Papers, i. p. 210, 

 1892). So that we may also say, the convergence of electrical rays of force 

 towards an atom of ponderable matter cannot sink below a certain limit. 

 According to this the existence of electrical elementary quantities is 

 closely connected with the geometriccd properties of our space and its 

 being filled with matter. By resting on definite mechanical representa- 

 tions further reasons may be adduced : thus, for instance, tubes of 

 force are identified with vortex threads of the aether, as in some 

 mechanical theories of the electrical field. Such threads can return to 

 themselves, or may end in the corporeal atoms in the aether. But as 

 they must have a definite cross section, only a limited number can ter- 

 minate on a smallest corporeal particle. 



