vacillation 
6683 
ing OIK- wav anil tl tlit-r: a reeling or stag- of licini; vMnoUttedj a system of 
gci-ing. Kin-til-, tint.. MX. *l*. 
Tln-y I the bones nf Ih.- fci-t] un- put In action by .-very VaCUole (vak'n-ol ). 11. [< V. rnr.uiile. < Mi. '>,/- 
i-iiiiliiiii, iliin. of I.. riii-HHin, mi i iiqity f.|i 
see iv/rumi!.] 1. A minute i-<-ll 
very 
or rii,-illnlii:ii i.l tin- l.o'lj. '/'ill'//, Sat TbeoL, xi. 
2. Vacillating conduct ; llnctnation of resolu- 
tion; inconstancy; clmngealilenoss. 
So ri'inailidi-l-H of doubt, no ,,irillnli,:ii. 
I',,. II:, II, IViic, Maker, II. i t. 
I(y your variety and rarilinii'in yu lost the acceptable 
time of the first grace. 
lluri'ii, rharuc in SI ai ( lianil, er against W. Talliot. 
vacillatory (viis'i-la-to ri), . [< vacillate + 
///. | [in-lined to vacillate; wavering; vacil- 
lating; uncertain; irresolute. [Kiii-e. | 
Surh riicUlattnry accounts of affairs of state. 
Itotjer North, Examen, p. 25. 
vacoa (vak'o-il), . [Native name.] A general 
iiamu in Mauritius for the screw-pines (Pan- 
diiHii.i}. which there abound in numerous spe- 
cies, forming trees 'JO or 30 feet high or more. 
P. utilin, Introduced from Madagascar, growing, if per- 
mitted, 30 feut or more high, is commonly planted for its 
leaves, which are fabricated into sugar-sacks or vacoa 
bags. See cut under Pandanut. 
vacua, ii. An occasional plural of raciuim. 
vacuate (vak'u-at), . t. ; pret. and pp. vacuateit, 
ppr. racuatinij. [< L. vaeuatus, pp. of vacuarc, 
make empty or void, < vacuus, empty: sec nn-- 
uoux.} To make empty or void; evacuate. 
[Bare.] 
Mistaken zeal, . . . like the Pharisee's Corban, under 
the pretense of an extraordinary service to God, vacuateit 
all duty to man. 
Secular Prieut Kxposed (1703), p. 27. (Lathain.) 
vacuation (vak-n-a'shon), . [< vacuate + 
-ion.} 
vanillin: M-I- im-iiuiii.} 1. A miniiti 
cavity in the tissue of organisms. 2. In mini., 
a minute s|>acc, vacuity, or interstice of ti^-u> 
in wliidi lymphatic vessels are supposed in 
originate. 3. In -<'</., any minute vesicle or 
vacuity in the tissue of a protozoan, as an ainu-- 
ba. Vacuolesaresornetlmes divided intopmnamnl, con- 
tractile or jniltatituj, and yantric. The first are Minn 
so numerous a* to give the organism a vesicular or bnbble- 
Ifke appearance. The second kind exhibit regular con 
traction anil dilatation, or pulsate, (Jastrtc vacuoles, or 
food-vacuolea, occur in connection with the Ingestlon and 
digestion of food ; these are formed by a globule of water 
which has been taken in with n particle of food, and are 
not permanent. See cuts under Actinoitjihtrriitm, Aocti- 
luca. Parameciuin, tun-animalcule, and Cettoidea. 
4. ID hot., a cavity of greater or less size within 
the protoplasmic mass of active vegetable cells, 
which is filled with water, or cell-sap as it is 
called. Active protoplasm possesses the power of Im- 
bibing water Into Its substance and, as a consequent-' , "t 
liicri-aftlng in size. When the amount of water is so great 
that the protoplasm may be said to be more than saturated 
with It, the excess Is separated within the protoplasmic 
mass in the form of rounded drops called taruiiet. In 
closed cells these may become so large and abundant as 
to be separated only by thin plates of protoplasm. As 
such vacuoles become larger the plates are broken 
through, and eventually there may be but one large vacu- 
ole surrounded by a thin layer of protoplasm, which Hues 
the interior of the cell-wall. Iletscy. 
vacuolization (vak-u-ol-i-za'shon), n. [< racu- 
ote + -izc + -ation.] 'In histoloyu, same as vacu- 
olation. Amer. Jour. Psychol., II. 634. 
The act' of emptying;*' evacuation, vacuolize (vak'u-o-liz), r. t.; pret. and pp. vacu- 
1731. [Hare.] <>li:ctl, ppr. vaciioliziny. To supply or furnish 
i i,/.- r,*i .. r/ .,...,, j. ,-., n r> with vacuoles. Thawing, Beer (trans.), p. 533. 
[Rare.] 
vacuous (vak'u-us), a. [= It. vacuo (ef. Sp. 
rii<-io = Pg. vdzio, < L. vacivus), < L. i-acmia, 
empty.] 1. Kmpty; unfilled; void; vacant. 
Boundless the deep, because I Am, who fill 
Infinitude: nor vacuous the space. 
Milton, f. L, viL 189. 
vacuist (vak'u-ist), w. [(vacuum + -int.} One 
who holds the doctrine of the reality of empty 
spaces in nature: opposed to plcnist. 
And the win/into will have this advantage, that If Mr. 
Hobbes shall say that It is as lawful for him to assume a 
plenum as for others to assume a vacuum, notonly it may 
be answered it is also as lawful for them to assume the 
contrary, anil he but barely assuming, not proving, a ple- 
num, his doctrine will still remain questionable. 
""lie, Examen of Hobbes, ii. 
, vacuities (-tiz). [< 
= Sp. vn- 
cuMild = Pg. vacuidade = It. vacuita, < L. va- 
cuita(t-)s, emptiness, < vacuus, empty: see vacu- 
ous.} 1. The state of being vacuous, empty, 
or unfilled; emptiness; vacancy; the state of 
being devoid or destitute of anything. 
Men . . . are at first without understanding or knowledge 
at all. Nevertheless from this vacuity they grow by de- 
grees till they come at length to be even as the angels 
themselves are. Honker, Eccles. Polity, i. 0. 
Leave weak eyes to grow sand-blind, 
Content with darkness and vacuity. 
vacuity (va-ku'i-ti), n. ; pi. va 
OF. (and t\) vacuite = Pr. vacuitat = Sp 
These pulpits were tilled, or rather made vacuouit, by 
men whose privileged education in the ancient centres 
of Instruction Issued in twenty minutes' formal reading 
of tepid exhortation or probably infirm deductions from 
premises based on rotten scaffolding. 
George Eliot, Felix Holt, XT. 
2. Without intelligence or intelligent expres- 
sion; (inexpressive; showing no intelligence: 
as, a vacuous look. 
Up the marble stairs came the most noble Farintosh, 
with that nieiiiiiix leer which distinguishes his lordship. 
Thackeray, Newcomea, xll. 
vacuousness (vak'u-us-nes), . The state of 
being vacuous, in either sense ; vacuity. 
2. Space unfilled or unoccupied, or apparently 
unoccupied ; a vacant space ; also, a vacuum 
Browning, Development, vacuum (vak'u-um), n.; pi. vacuums (-umz), 
sometimes vacua (-a). [= P. vacuum = Sp. Pg. 
id, 
vacuum-pan 
with tin- median!, a] form. (>cc m.-<- /., un- 
. I be Ilio-l ]M-lfeet Vacuum IB. .1,1;, lie . I when 
chemical nil-ail" an em|.!. -l.lli. la~l ti ... 
11 in ill.- r. -led l,> tin- mercury air- 
p. limp I lit Torricellian! :i. -1111111 tlrili-l!. 
Hi, lucidity in a can fully ni:ti.iiiiil:it' .1 barometer-tube 
n..iih pelted ill tin 
contain* a small amount of the- v.ip..i of not. ui > 
Torricellian. 
Variium . . . signifies space without !><*ly. 
Locke, Human rndi-mtanding. II. \ili. . 
A KKtit/tn, orpac. in which then- i- absolutely nobody, 
Is repugnant to reason. 
Dencartet, I'm.. ..f I'liil.,- Hi. >>> \.itch), II. 1 16. 
Ouertckian vacuum. Sec (juericlrian. 
vacuum-brake (vak'u-um-brak), H. A form of 
mi. .us brake used on railroails, i-mploj ing 
a steam-jet directly, and the pressure of the 
atmosphere indirectly, as a means of control- 
ling the pressure. A steam-jet on the engine Is al- 
lowed to escape through an ejector, In such a way as to 
create a partial vacuum In a continu- 
ous pipe extending under all the cars 
of a train. Collapsing bellows under 
each car are connected with the pipes, 
and, when exhausted of the air con- 
tained In them, close and draw the 
brake-roda. Two forms are used, the 
.smith brake and the Eames brake. See 
continuifu* brake, under brake*. 
vacuum-filter ( vak'u-um -fil*- 
ter), n. A form of filter in which 
the air beneath the Altering 
material is exhausted to hasten 
the process. 
vacuum-gage (vak'u-um-gaj), 
n. A form of pressure-gage 
for indicating the internal pres- 
sure or the amount of vacuum 
in a steam-condenser, a boiler 
in which the steam has con- 
densed, the receiver of an air- 
pump, etc. A common form consists 
of an Inverted graduated siphon of 
glass, open at one end, and connected 
at the other with the condenser or ves- 
sel to be tested, and containing a quan- vacuum^ age. 
tlty of mercury. When not in use, the 
mercury rises equally In Iwth legs of the siphon ; on con- 
necting the instrument with a vacuum, the mercury rises 
In the leg next the condenser or other vessel, and sinks In 
the other leg, the difference between them Indicating the 
amount of the vacuum. This form is also called barome- 
ter-gage. E. H. Knight. 
vacuum-pan (vak'u-um-pan), n. In the pro- 
cesses of sugar-making, condensed-milk manu- 
facture, etc., a large steam-jacketed vessel of 
copper or iron, used in boiling and concentrat- 
ing syrup, milk, etc. Two forms are used, one con- 
sisting of two parts bolted together to form a spheroidal 
vessel, and the other of a drum shape with a domed top. 
The syrup or milk Is placed In the pan, the vessel Is closed 
air-tight, and connections are made by means of pipes 
with a condenser and air-pump. Steam Is admitted to 
the jacket round the lower part of the pan, and to coils 
of pipes within it The air-pump serves to draw off the 
It. vacua, < L. vacuum, an empty space, a voi 
The sides of the vacuity are set w- column,. neut " of "'*-. , em P tv ; . see 22S.3 f ""^ 
Evelyti, Diary, Jan. 18, 1645. space ; space void of matter: opposed to plenum ; 
The world, so far as It is a negation, is a negation of in- 
finite vacuity in time and space. 
Veitch, Introd. to Descartes's Method, p. clxii. 
But yesterday I saw a dreary vacuity in this direction 
in which now I see so much. 
En^erson, Essays, 1st ser., p. 278. 
3. Want of reality; inanity; nihility. 
If they'll run behind the glass to catch at it, their expec- 
tations will meet with vacuity and emptiness. Glanville. 
4. Freedom from mental exertion; thought- 
lessness; listlessness ; idleness. 
A patient people, much given to slumber and vacuity, 
and but little troubled with the disease of thinking. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, ii. 1. 
5. Lack of intelligence ; stupidity. 
He was confounded, and continued looking with that 
perplexed vacuity of eye which puzzled souls generally 
stare with. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ill. 1. 
Vacuna (va-ku'njl), n. [< L. racuna, < vacare, 
be at leisure : see vacant, vacate.} In Latin 
mi/tli., the goddess of rural leisure, to whom 
husbandmen sacrificed at the close of harvest. 
She was especially a deity of the Sabines. 
vacuolar (vak'ii-6-liir), a. [< vacuole + -rS.] 
Of the nature of or pertaining to a vacuole ; re- 
sembling a vacuole : as, vacuolar spaces. See 
cut under liyilraiith. Amer. Nat. , October, 1890, 
p. 895. 
vacuolate (vak'u-o-lat), a. [< vacuole + -ate 1 .} 
Same as tatMolattd. Micros. Set., XXX. 6. 
vacuolated ( vak'u-o-la-ted), a. [< rncuolate + 
-i : <l.} Provided with vacuoles; minutely vesic- 
ular, as a protozoan. 
vacuolation (\ak n-o-la'shon), H. [< rncuolate 
+ -ion.] The formation of vacuoles; the state 
in practical use, an inclosed space from which 
the air (or other gas) has been very nearly re- 
moved, as by an air-pump. The metaphysicians of 
Elea, Parmenides and Mellssus, started the notion that a 
vacuum was impossible, and this became a favorite doc- 
trine with Aristotle. All the scholastics upheld the maxim 
that "nature abhors a vacuum." This is the doctrine of 
the plenlsts. Atomism, on the other hand, carried out in 
a thoroughgoing manner, supposes empty space between 
the atoms. That gases do not fill space homogeneously Is 
now demonstrated by the phenomena of transfusion and 
by the Impulsion of Crookes's radiometer ; while the other 
observed facts about gases, taken In connection with these, 
render some form of the kinetfcal theory of gases almost 
certain. This supposes the molecules of gases to be at 
great distances from one another as compared with their 
spheres of sensible action. This, however, does not ex- 
clude, but rather favors, Boscovich's theory of atoms 
namely, that atoms are mere movable centers of poten- 
tial energy endowed with inertia; and this theory makes 
each atom extend throughout all space In a certain sense. 
But this does not constitute a plenum, for a plenum is 
the exclusive occupation of each part of space by a por- 
tion of matter. It may be said that the spaces between 
the atoms are filled by the luminiferous ether, which 
seems to be the substance of electricity ; but the disper- 
sion of light by refraction seems to show that the ether 
itself has a molecular structure. A vacuum, in the sense of 
a space devoid of ordinary ponderable matter, is produced 
(more or less perfectly) when the air Is removed from an in- 
closed space, such as the receiver of an air-pump, a part of 
a barometric tube, etc. In the receiver of the ordinary air- 
pump the vacuum can only be partial, since with each 
stroke of the piston only a certain fraction of the air Is re- 
moved (depending upon the relatlvesize of the cyllndei an. 1 
the receiver), and hence, theoretically, an infinite number 
of strokes would be necessary. Practically, the degree of 
exhaustion obtained falls short of that demanded by the 
<">, owing to the imperfections of the machine; thus. In 
the common form, the exhaustion Is limited to the point 
where the remaining air has not sufficient elasticity to 
raise the valves. By the Sprengel or mercury air-pump a 
much more perfect degree of exhaustion is attainable than 
Vacuum -pa n 
a. copper pan ; A. iron steam-jacket: <-, copper steam -coil ; J. flantfe.1 
<lome ; f, measuring vessel nsc<l in t haryin^ the pan : t'. pipe which 
connects t with the jiiice-vat ; /, pipe which connects e witn the pan : 
/'. cock which atlmits air into <; A, k, gage which indicate height 
of iiquid in faml t; i, mercurial vacuum-gage ; e. man-hole by which 
pan may be entered : r. thermometer, snowing interior temperature 
of the pan ; /. proof-stick for sampling the contents of the pan: w.ralve 
for admitting steam to the coil : n, valve for admitting steam to in- 
terior of pan for cleaning: p. window of which there are two) by which 
interior of pan may be inspected ; fl. saucer-shaped valve, closing or 
opening the outlet a according as it is operated by the lever r; r, over- 
flow vessel, to retain any fluid that may boil over. 
vapor from the boiling contents, and to create a vacuum 
within the pan. The advantages of thus boiling In a 
vacuum are found In the lower temperature at which tail- 
ing takes place, and, as a result, in the greater rapidity 
of the process and purity of the product. Vacuum-pans 
are sometimes placed in pairs, the steam from one pan 
serving to heat the fluid in the second pan. 3nch an 
arrangement Is called a doublf-e/ect system. Occasionally 
three pans are used together, one large pan ^applying 
steam for two smaller pans. This is called a Iriple-eftct 
system. See guyar. 
