THE BEARING OF OSMOTIC PRESSURE 



81 



of what follows should be clear. The whole science of chemistry 

 is only a branch of the science of solutions. Think of all the 

 chemical reactions you can, and see how many do not take place 

 in solutions in the broader sense of the term. Of course, all 

 reactions that take place at high temperatures between fused 

 masses are reactions in solution, because the term solution does 

 not raise any question as to temperature. 



You will find that the number of chemical reactions that 

 take place outside of solution is extremely small, and it is thus 

 obvious that solution is a fundamental condition for all chemistry. 



But let us turn to geology. The rocks are either precipitated 

 from aqueous solutions or aqueous suspensions, colloidal or other- 

 wise, or crystaUized from molten magmas — and the latter are 

 as true solutions as the former; the difference being chiefly a 

 difference in temperature. Thus, solutions underHe geology. 



Take the biological sciences. Physiology, both vegetable and 

 animal, what would it be without matter in the dissolved state? 

 Without solution of course no life. We often say without carbon 

 no life, but it is just as true that without solution we could not 

 have living matter persist for any long period of time and repro- 

 duce itself. Take pharmacology, therapeutics, and indeed the 

 whole science of medicine, where would they be without solutions? 

 The reason that processes go on in living matter in solution is 

 probably closely connected with the fact that chemical processes 

 in general take place entirely or very nearly so in solution, in the 

 broad sense in which we are using the term. 



The above would suffice to show the importance of matter 

 mixed with other matter, of solution, for the natural sciences in 

 general. If solutions did not exist the whole face of nature would 

 be changed. There would be no chemistry, consequently, no 

 biology, and no geology. It is appalling, not to say impossible 

 to think of what nature would be were it not for the properties 

 of matter in the dissolved condition. It is only when we bring 

 matter into the presence of some other kind of matter — into 

 solution — that it becomes active from the chemical, biological 

 and geological standpoints; and these various sciences owe their 

 existence to matter in the dissolved state. 



