﻿Principles of Molecular Physics. 107 



by the planets does not necessarily imply, as he supposes, that 

 the aether is not repulsive. For, in the first place, if the mole- 

 cules of the planetary mass have the constitution I have attri- 

 buted to them, the impinging aether must take effect upon either 

 the aethereal or the electric atmospheres of the molecules, and 

 so may be mostly expended in the generation of heat and elec- 

 tric currents. I have in fact undertaken to show, in my paper 

 on Molecular Physics, that the earth may derive its magnetic 

 condition and a certain portion of its heat from the impact of 

 the aether of space. Again, if the action of gravity be not 

 instantaneous, it will take effect in a direction slightly inclined 

 to the radius vector, and, in the existing state of the planetary 

 system, the tangential component resulting from this inclination 

 may be in equilibrium with the feeble overplus of resistance 

 from the aether. Besides, the supposed difficulty is not removed 

 by substituting an attractive for a repulsive aether. It is true 

 that when a molecule of the earth's mass encounters an atom of 

 the aether on the line of its advance, it will, upon Professor 

 Bayma's idea, pass through it and leave it behind ; but he has 

 failed to note the fact that during the approach of the two their 

 relative velocity will be equal to the sum of the velocity of the earth 

 and that due to their mutual attraction, and during their separa- 

 tion will be equal to the difference of the same velocities, and 

 hence that the atom of aether will continue to attract the molecule 

 during a longer interval of time while the two are separating 

 than while they are approaching. The molecule will therefore 

 on the whole be retarded by the action of the atom. If the at- 

 tractive aether be " immensely denser than atmospheric air/' the 

 resistance should certainly not be less than that of a subtile re- 

 pulsive aether. If Professor Bay ma should still hold to the 

 same line of argument, I do not see but he must abolish the 

 aether of space altogether. 

 He continues : 



Moreover the writer, after having assumed that the electric and 

 luniiniferous aethers are both made up of atoms that repel each other, 

 assumes also that electric aether attracts luminiferous aether ; for he 

 admits that a molecule is formed of an atom of gross matter with two 

 atmospheres, of which the first, consisting of condensed luminiferous 

 aether, is attracted by the aether which consists of electric aether. 

 Now, if the atoms of electric aether are repulsive, how can they 

 attract ? So, then, we must conclude that Professor Norton's theory, 

 as presented by him, in spite of the talent and learning of its author, 

 cannot be adopted in science. 



Professor Bayma has here entirely misunderstood me, and re- 

 presented what I threw out as a possible and perhaps probable 



