Latent Heat. 
1881.] 
643 
having to fight for the possession of a far smaller field of free 
space than the other. 
It might be well to cease at this point, yet there are cer- 
tain other interesting possibilities of the continued evolution 
of the universe, which may be briefly considered. Let us 
suppose that gravitation affeCts all matter, and that the rare 
matter of space is more condensed around the spheres than 
in interastral space. In such a case the density of this 
matter might greatly differ. But if all matter be in temper- 
ature equilibrium, the latent heat of the very rare interastral 
matter must considerably exceed that of the denser matter 
surrounding the spheres. But these spheres are rapidly 
plunging through space, and presumably leaving regions of 
condensed matter to enter regions of rare matter. A double 
result must follow. The condensed matter of the first 
region, being relieved from attractive pressure, must rapidly 
expand, and its temperature fall. The rare matter of the 
second region, being exposed to attractive pressure, must 
rapidly contract, and its temperature rise. In this manner 
a considerable disturbance of temperature equilibrium might 
result. And this disturbance would be augmented if chemical 
disintegration accompanied the first process, and chemical 
integration the second. Radiation would recommence from 
the heated to the chilled space, and from heated space to the 
spheres. And life, with all its powers, might arise from such 
an incessant disturbance of temperature equilibrium by the 
moving spheres. 
But such an aCtion could have but one result. A constant 
breaking away of the spheres from attracted matter must 
tend to decrease the motion of the spheres themselves, and 
eventually bring them to rest. And the heat activity pro- 
duced in this process would virtually amount to a conversion 
of the energy of spheral motion into heat energy. It there- 
fore could be but a temporary process. 
Another result of such a fridtional resistance must be the 
gradual yielding of the smaller spheres to the attraction of 
the larger, and a final aggregation of all spheres into a 
limited number of huge orbs. Only, in faCt, after all mass 
motion had finally ceased, and gravitation had produced its 
utmost possible change in the distribution of matter, could 
a fixed equilibrium of temperature arise, and all motion be 
reduced to the heat vibration of separate particles. 
This cosmical evolution, carried to this conceivable ulti- 
matum, would consist in a gradual change from an original 
condition of partial homogeneity of distribution in matter, 
temperature, and absolute heat, to a final condition of homo- 
