Part 4

Pressure being obviously the cause of planetary motion, so is it of all terrestrial motion. To produce atomic motion and transfer generally, it is necessary, only, that the atoms of the medium of space should be of less size than the minutest interstices in bodies.

A universal medium must be of universal service, (as would be conceived, were the universe involved in a medium of water,) to be in accordance with nature's economy: to keep the planets and matter in motion, to retain atoms together, and effect their separation occasionally, include the whole of action required by its service; more in this respect it cannot effect; nor is the common general procedure otherwise effected. Therefore in pressure, by the medium of space, consists the PRIMUM MOBILE: the beginning and end of all physical cause of action and of all physical effect.

Pressure is nothing assumed, hypothetic, or unproven, like attraction and gravitation,--the justly dethroned imbecile usurpers of the imperial chair of philosophy for ages past.

On barometric evidence alone, that pressure exists all round the globe is fully proved; and that it is indispensable to the maintenance of the existing general order, all must readily grant who reflect for an instant on the fatal consequences which the cessation of the general pressure, for only a few minutes, must cause. Hence it is no immediate question how the general pressure originated, how maintained, what the confining boundaries or point d'appui. Most likely it is the consequence of the motion of the planets themselves, surging through the ocean of space. As every performance of nature has some ulterior object in view, it is probable that the effect of the motion of a planet on the medium of space is tributary to the motion of another planet, and that the motion of the whole is a means of preventing the cessation of motion of any of the parts. Most likely the medium of space was not in a state of pressure at first; that planetary motion, however commenced, effected the state of pressure necessary for its continuance, and which would be useless beyond the precincts of planetary evolution: where pressure is not needed, of a certainty there is none. Hence the conclusion is warrantable, that the general pressure, however commenced, is maintained by not only the motion of the planets individually but in systems, through the ocean of space.

The earth may be said to swim through the medium of space, and to be soaked with it as a submerged sponge is with water, and the portion within the globe of the earth, is continuous with the like medium in space generally. By which all parts of the interior of the globe are under the general pressure equally as the surface, and all terrestrial bodies subject to its vicissitudes.

By such means, only, is the great earthquake to be accounted for on dynamic principles. Far as the subterraneous grumbling extends, the physical cause must be present, and in a state of force equal to the awful result. No pent-up air suddenly set free, or suddenly exploded gas,--both naturally forceless,--subject to attenuation and obstruction in the passage from the source--is competent to burst the globe and hurl whole cities into the engulfing chasm: nor is fire any assistant, judging from the absence of flame, smoke, cinders, and ashes. Dreadful as is the catastrophe, it is but a natural casuality and in perfect accordance with the laws of matter. An extraordinary rushing into the body of the earth of medium of space, preceded by an equal efflux of elementary matter atmospherically induced, are the cause and promoting means of the extraordinary, terrific phenomenon.

All things being under the general pressure, and elementary atoms of all sizes everywhere present, the interstices of bodies cannot remain empty. From all interstices being formed by spherical atoms, and the atoms of the medium of space the smallest, there are always interstitial spaces for medium of space to enter, pass through or remain within, and which is not insulated, but continuous with the outward source. Thus, has the medium of space access to every atom, and by the pressure from without, is enabled to act centrifugally within the body, as a kind of back-spring against each and the whole of its constituent atoms, to produce expansion, dissolution, and elementary dispersion according to the medium or circumstances in which the body may be placed. These general principles admit of repetition, in order, that, by repeated showing, to prove their validity, against others more generally known and adopted, although unfounded in nature, sense, or reason.

MINUS-PRESSURE MATTER.

Taking the maximum of pressure as a fixed quantity, or, as not being subject to increase, and assuming the degree to be not less than equal to the tenacity of steel, there must of necessity be means of mitigating the maximum, so that in the scale of descent every degree of force should be attainable; and more, to keep the equilibrium in a state of disturbance, without which all things must be, and remain in the rest of death. Were there no minus-pressure means, the solid, or perhaps aëriform state of matter would exist everywhere, and of motion there could be none. Such means for promoting motion are amply supplied, and without any addition of matter to the measured quantity sufficient for the formation of bodies and service of nature generally, in the elements themselves, of matter.

As the body which is involved in a medium of air is under less pressure than in a medium of water, and still less within a medium of elementary matter, so is elementary matter, and the elements generally, the natural means of mitigating the maximum of pressure on and within bodies. All bodies within and on the surface of the earth, possess removable elementary matter, which prevents superficial contact, and excludes medium of space proportionally from their interior; and because the medium of space is the cause of pressure, in being thus rendered discontinuous, so is its force, as it were, intercepted or lessened. For instance, a polished needle floats on water, but when wetted or smoked is precipitated, from having its electric or minus-pressure atmosphere removed; from which it is obvious that with the minus-pressure atmosphere, the needle is under less pressure than when without it; and the same atmosphere it is which makes the bed in the water so much larger every way than the needle.

The minus-pressure principle is well exemplified in the rise of water within a tube over which fire is situated. When the fire is removed, the water falls. The fire must be in the state of combustion--mere ignition does not answer. The elements forced out of the combustible, as combustion proceeds, cover the orifice of the tube, and intercept the general pressure, notwithstanding they are under the general pressure. By such minus-pressure means is the equilibrium destroyed, and by the unaltered pressure on the water outside the lower orifice of the tube, the water is forced upwards. So is it that the water of the sea is raised to the minus-pressure, elementary matter descending from a cloud in the shape of an inverted cone, and known as the water-spout. Astronomers can best say whether the sun and moon be not minus-pressure means in promoting the rise of the ocean, productive of the tides; a miniature representation of which is effected by holding a charged jar over a surface of water, to which the water rises in a small cone,--which cone follows every motion of the jar, and falls when the jar is discharged. Capillary ascent is promoted by the interposed minus-pressure electric matter which fills the caliber of the tube: the same matter prevents the horizontal flow of water through such tubes; but when the tubes are de-electrised, the flow is free and constant: boiling water, or fire de-electrises all such tubes. The electric matter on a bar of iron is a hinderance to water running down, but when removed by means of fire, the water runs down the bar freely. The atmosphere is a minus-pressure medium to the earth, and on the general principle that interposed elementary matter renders discontinuous the medium of pressure, which is the medium of space.

Minus-pressure means exist in other than the elementary form, as in blotting-paper, candle-wick, pledgets of lint. Within the cupping-glass, which is empty of air only, it is the minus-pressure matter obtained from flame which promotes the rise of blister. Within the vessels of the vascular system, as mucilaginous lining, minus-pressure matter assists the circulation of fluids, on the foregoing capillary principle. The slime on deep-water fish, seems provided to lessen the pressure of the water on the inhabitants of those seas. Minus-pressure matter on one side only of a body, destroys the equilibrium, and promotes the motion of the body; and generally, the partial action, implied by motion, of the medium of space on bodies or their parts, is promoted by interposed minus-pressure matter in every instance of physical change. Only in minus-pressure means, which serve as a partial vacuum in some cases, to disturb the equilibrium of pressure, is motion, or change of place of the elements of bodies, or of bodies themselves promoted: without such means there is nothing to promote the blowing of a wind, or to put the medium of space into action. Cause being given, the General Pressure in the production of every physical effect, the sole province of philosophy consists in tracing out the minus-pressure means which promote the occasional and partial action of the medium of pressure.

FIRE.

Fire is not hot, although it burns the flesh and promotes pain. Matter, which is unalterable, cannot be made hot or cold, neither is there anything to make it so. If a limb be made rigid, or the nerves of sensation be removed, or the function of the nervous fluid be obstructed, the limb may be burned off unconsciously. Heat is a sensation effected through excitement of the brain; out of the brain there is neither excitement nor heat. The fire does not excite the brain, but the nervous fluid; and although the sensation is not hot, it is imagined that the cause must be hot, which is false reasoning. The chymist finds heat creviced in all things, even those which he admits are destroyed by heat--gunpowder and ice. How can flame be hot, when just obtained from the gases of decomposed ice water? or, if hot, sui generis, it must have been hot frozen flame in the original ice.

Modern philosophy adopts different kinds of heat,--animal, culinary, and latent heat. The first is our own feeling excited by means of fire in the sensitive centre, the brain; also by exercise and disease, in the absence of fire. How is the spark from the flint or from the steel to saturate a bushel of coal with heat? How, again, does "heat come to an equilibrium in all surrounding bodies," when some portion of the coal may be black cold, and others red hot--using the popular terms--in the fire-place, at the same time, and while the air in the chamber is indexing zero? Latent heat is of the philosopher's own peculiar making; and on the "great discovery" the most unbounded praise is still bestowed. Latent heat, "which all bodies possess without being heated," which, "heats nothing," and is not hot, is cold heat, and should be nomenclatured such, or, absurd heat. Are not Instructors less than half-reasoners and unnatural philosophers, who abide by and teach such consummate nonsense: on a par with which is the discovery of "latent dark light"--"of black being formed by the intermixture of two luminous rays at the point of intersection in the spectrum," which is the same as feelable darkness; after which, there only remains for "new discovery," latent sound, for inking on, thence vibrating from, a sheet of music-paper; and latent motion, to keep a stone at rest, the quantity of motion in the world having been already ascertained arithmetically to a fraction; the last-day discovery, the quantity of right reason, is the small remaining trifle to be discovered. Radiation of heat and cold by fire and ice, being inconsistent with the inertia of matter, is an erroneous and greatly-misleading assumption, although proved through the nicest experiments, according to the experimenter's ideas.

Instead of fire communicating anything to bodies, fire promotes loss to everything in its neighbourhood. The bars of stoves, iron pokers, steam-boilers; all culinary vessels; coal, wood, candles, paper, linen, all suffer loss by means of fire; cinders, charcoal, tinder, are but remains: to which it is no exception that some bodies acquire substance and weight in becoming oxydes; because, previous to acquiring oxygen from the air, they must have lost elementary matter to the fire to make spaces for the oxygen to enter, otherwise the open air should oxydize equally, in the absence of fire.

The loss, or matter of loss which fire promotes to fluids, appears as air-beads on the sides and bottom within the vessel on the fire, before the water comes to ebullition: these beads cannot be made to rise in the water by any manner of agitation, which is proof they have not come from the fire, and through the rigid bottom, or ascent and escape are inevitable. When the bottom has been sufficiently de-electrised by the fire, they are pressed through it to the fire; or if the vessel be removed and placed on the ground, they become dispersed through the water insensibly. The like spherules collect on an egg while boiling, which cannot be anything issued from the fire to the surface of the water, then precipitated on the egg. On the bottom of a glass-retort suspended over a lamp, the like spherules collect, from which it is supposed that water never touches the bottom of any containing vessel; it must touch that which it wets.

That air suffers loss to fire, is made evident by the air being deprived of, or losing its oxygen during combustion; and from both fire and flame becoming extinguished in a limited quantity of respirable air, in consequence of having lost its oxygen to the combustible, while in the state of fire.

Solids, as polished metals and glass, when they experience no change of weight, lose to the fire imponderable elementary matter only. So is it when the hand is presented to the fire, it loses electric matter, and the loss it suffers promotes the sensation of heat: when the hand afterwards touches a body, supposed to be cold, it acquires elementary matter from that which is touched. In every instance the body, solid or fluid, supposed to be heating, is losing elementary matter; and that which is said to be cooling, is acquiring the like matter; the hand loses to the former and receives from the latter electric matter.

THE MEDIUM OF FIRE.

A peculiar medium is formed within a fire, towards the composition of which the fuel contributes more or less of its elements; which is made manifest in a piece of wood or paper when held within the fire, being brought to the state of combustion, and without touching the fuel, (heat, be it remembered, is no more physical than shadow.) The like medium is formed from the elements contributed by flame, and whatever of elementary matter the atmosphere may contribute beside. High above the flame of a lamp combustion and fusion are effected the same as within, or in contact with the flame. Between the cupped hands this medium is receivable, and may be carried from the flame of a candle to the wick of a different candle just blown out, which it re-illumines. There being little or none of the medium of fire attendant on a detached ignited body, favours the conjecture that the fuel during combustion contributes somewhat of its elements towards the formation of the medium of fire. Hence, although not included in the nomenclature of chymistry or any other, the medium of fire should have place on the list of realities.

As all bodies include more or less of free elementary matter, which excludes its equal in volume of the medium of space, so to admit medium of space in order to cause change in the constitution of a body, the body must undergo previous de-electrisation: the law is general.

The medium of space being the expanding and decomposing cause, by means of its centrifugal pressure within bodies, to prevent its being in excess and effecting such changes spontaneously, productive of the decomposition of all things, all bodies are protected or retained in their present condition by the electric matter within them, which excludes the decomposing cause.

Within the medium of fire all kinds of bodies become de-electrised; all suffer loss of electric matter, which is succeeded by influent medium of space, the centrifugal pressure of which affects the several changes to which bodies are liable previous to ultimate dissolution into the elementary state. In promoting the de-electrisation of every kind of body, and to the extreme, which no other individual medium or menstruum can effect, consists the universal utility of the medium of fire.

EXPANSION.

The theory of expansion is of easy comprehension; it consists in previous de-electrisation, succeeded by influent medium of space, which, by acting with centrifugal pressure, produces the phenomenon of expansion. The general pressure is the expanding cause, by reason of the portion of medium of space within all bodies being continuous with the medium of pressure in general space.

A bar of iron placed within the medium of fire suffers de-electrisation; then acquires medium of space, by which the bar is expanded. When taken from the fire, it acquires electric matter similar to that of which it had suffered loss, which displaces the expanding medium, and now becomes contracted by external pressure. The olden philosophy has no contracting cause, the imputed attraction having been destroyed by the imputed heat of the fire, as the same philosophy states of the imputed attraction of magnets being destroyed by the heat of fire, which leaves the bar to contract itself.

A piece of lead on the fire becomes de-electrised and expanded. The portion of medium of space it has acquired separates the atoms of the lead by which the state of solidity is subverted; it remains as one of the constituents of the lead, and is as a menstruum to the metal, and the atoms of the metal may be said to swim in it as the globules of blood in the serum. Further de-electrisation and additional increments of medium of space are productive of complete dispersion of the atoms of the metal, and of a kind of efflorescent result, which is a subsequent formation. The air in a corked bottle before the fire loses electric matter to the medium of fire; and by the medium of space which enters the vacated interstices, the cork is exploded. In the partially exhausted air-pump receiver, that decrease in the quantity of air should increase the expansive power of the remainder, and that the atoms should fly asunder with exploding force, is most unreasonable and impossible. The physical fact is, the more the air is reduced, the greater is the quantity of influent medium of space, consequently of expanding and exploding force. In the condensing of air, as is the expression, by the piston of the syringe, the quantity is reduced from being forced out through the pores of the syringe; and pressure on the bottom of the piston springs it up when the depressing power is removed. Under the general pressure the atoms of air must be in contact; and the volume being reduced, implies reduction of quantity: hard unalterable atoms are incompressible beyond contact; and as to their being elastic, it is physically impossible; medium of space being forced out and re-entering, is what makes the air be considered elastic. Let the syringe be worked under water, and the matter displaced appears escaping as air-bubbles, and as air-beads on the outside of the syringe.