A text-book on chemistry : for the use of schools and colleges . titution of Matter.—Of the Interstices betweenAtoms.— They are not casual, hut regulated.— TwoForces are required to produce this Result.— Cohesionand Heat.—Proof that these Forces act through verylimited Spaces.—Analogy between the Structure of Mat-ter and the Structure of the Universe. Having, in the preceding lecture, established the atomicconstitution of matter, let us now direct our attention tothe intervening interstices. The distances that part the atoms of a given mass fromone another are not casual or determined at rando
A text-book on chemistry : for the use of schools and colleges . titution of Matter.—Of the Interstices betweenAtoms.— They are not casual, hut regulated.— TwoForces are required to produce this Result.— Cohesionand Heat.—Proof that these Forces act through verylimited Spaces.—Analogy between the Structure of Mat-ter and the Structure of the Universe. Having, in the preceding lecture, established the atomicconstitution of matter, let us now direct our attention tothe intervening interstices. The distances that part the atoms of a given mass fromone another are not casual or determined at random ;their magnitude is perfectly regulated. Thus, if we takea glass bulb, a, Fig. 4, with an open neck, b, and havingfilled the neck with water to a given mark, c, immerseits open extremity in a glass of water, d, it will be found Are the atoms of bodies either changeable or perishable ? How canthe apparent destruction of bodies be explained ? Are the spaces be-tween atoms regulated or at random? What is the experiment, Fi. 4,designed to establish ?. REGULARITY OF INTERSTITIAL SPACES. that so long as no extraneous cause in- f tervenes the water remains perfectly sta-tionary at its original point, c; but if, bythe application of a spirit lamp, e, we raisethe temperature of the air included inthe bulb, it promptly dilates ; a dilatationwhich, however, does not proceed withirregularity, for the volume of the airsteadily increases as the heat is steadilycontinued. Let the lamp now be remov-ed, and as the temperature descends thewater comes back again to its original point, because theair recovers its original bulk. In the same manner, if we repeat the experiment illus-trated in Fig. 3, we shall see that the bubble of air doesnot expand with irregularity as the pump is worked. Itdoes not at one moment suddenly dilate, and then remainmotionless, but for each movement of the pump it increas-es correspondingly; and as soon as the pressure is re-stored to the interior of the
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