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IS'OTES 01^ Ii[EWTONIAIT CHEMISTHY. By EEY. SAMUEL 
HAUGHTOJN', M.D., President of the Academy. 
[Read May 12, 1890.] 
KoTE I. — Binary Compotinds. 
{SydrocJiloric Acid Type.) 
By the term " ITewtonian Chemistry," I mean the hypothesis that 
atoms of the chemical elements in acting upon each other obey the 
I^ewtonian laws of gravitation, with this difference, that whereas the 
specific coefficient of gravity is the same for all bodies, independent 
of the particular kind of matter of which they are composed, the 
atoms have specific coefficients of attraction which vary with the 
nature of the atoms concerned. 
Thus, the attraction of two atoms for each other is expressed 
by the equation 
mm' 
attraction = u — — , 
' ' 
where m, m' are the masses of the atoms, r their mutual distance, 
and //, their specific coefficient of attraction. 
Professor Mendeleje:^, in a lecture delivered at the Eoyal Insti- 
tution of Great Britain, May 31, 1889, popularised^ this method 
of viewing Chemistry by comparing binary compounds to systems 
of double stars in a condition of steady motion, such as HE, HCl, 
HBr, HI, HH, ClCl, BrBr, &c. &c. Ternary compounds, such as 
^ Mendelejeff says : " Of Newton's three laws of motion, only the third can 
be applied directly to chemical molecules when regarded as systems of atoms 
! among which it must be supposed that there exist common influences or forces, 
tand resulting compounded relative motions." 
This is not correct, for it is as easy to apply the first and second laws as the 
third, and to add on the principle of gravitation. Moreover, MendelejefF's method 
of dealing with the Law of Equahty of Action and Reaction, is open to Dynamical 
objections of a serious kind. 
E.I. A. PEOC, SEE. III., VOL. I. 2Z 
