Researches in the Theory and Calculus of Operations. 327 



Throughout the entire living body, the process of life is 

 carried on by this continuous operation of double decom- 

 position. The blood is decomposed, one moiety goes to 

 furnish the molecules of muscle, of gland, of nerve, of brain; 

 the other moiety to yield the fixtures membrane (or tissue) 

 and bone. Again muscle, nerve and brain are decomposed, 

 one moiety to furnish motion, sensation and reflection ; the 

 other moiety serves to forward the expulsion of the useless 

 resultant, to make room for the reception of fresh fuel 

 (Bichat, and successors). 



The chemical difference between forces of different de- 

 grees consists generally in their comparative facility of de- 

 composition, arising from greater complexity of combination 

 of elements in the higher degrees ; the higher the degree 

 of complexity, the greater the facility of decomposition and 

 recomposition possessed by a substance, and the higher 

 the degree in which it stands in relation to a substance of 

 less complexity. Thus blood = C 48 H 39 O 15 and albumen 

 = C 144 H 110 N 18 O 42 S 2 are both highly complex substances 

 of great facility of decomposition, and susceptible to furnish 

 a great number of inferior simpler compounds of less faci- 

 lity ; in both which qualities, the latter compound surpasses 

 the former one. 



41. " The Earth is a magnet;" a condition resulting from 

 the composition of radiating with rotating forces. Every 

 molecule within, upon and around our planet is permeated 

 with this compound force in its antagonizing condition of 

 positive and negative electro-magnetism. Beginning with 

 the metallic elements, the atoms of iron are endowed with 

 the strongest rotative relative to their radiative force ; and 

 from this point a series of simple and compound elements 

 may be arranged, descending in degrees of magnetic 

 energy down to zero, in which the centrifugal force of the 

 atom just balances its radiative or attractive force : thence 

 the series is continued by the over-balancing of the radia- 



