PART I_The Energy System of Matter: A Deduction from Terrestrial Energy Phenomena

Produced by David Garcia, Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Cathy

Maxam and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at

https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned

images of public domain material from the Google Print

project.)

THE ENERGY SYSTEM OF MATTER

A DEDUCTION FROM TERRESTRIAL

ENERGY PHENOMENA

JAMES WEIR

_WITH 12 DIAGRAMS_

LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON

NEW YORK BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA

1912

PREFACE

An intimate study of natural phenomena and a lengthened experience in

physical research have resulted in the formation of certain

generalisations and deductions which I now present in this volume. I

have reached the conclusion that every physical phenomenon is due to the

operation of energy transformations or energy transmissions embodied in

material, and takes place under the action or influence of incepting

energy fields. In any instance the precise nature of the phenomena is

dependent on the peculiar form of energy actively engaged, on the nature

of the material to which this energy is applied, and on the nature of

the incepting field which influences the process. In the course of the

work several concrete cases are discussed, in which these features of

energy are illustrated and explained by the use of simple experimental

apparatus. It is hoped that, by this means, the distinctive differences

which exist in the manifestations of energy, in its transformation, in

its transmission, and in its incepting forms will be rendered clear to

the reader. I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. James Affleck,

B.Sc., for his assistance in the preparation of this work for

publication.

JAMES WEIR.

OVER COURANCE,

LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION 1

PART I

GENERAL STATEMENT

1. ADVANTAGES OF GENERAL VIEW OF NATURAL OPERATIONS 7

2. SEPARATE MASS IN SPACE 8

3. ADVENT OF ENERGY--DISTORTIONAL EFFECTS 9

4. THE GRAVITATION FIELD 11

5. LIMITS OF ROTATIONAL ENERGY--DISRUPTIONAL

PHENOMENA 13

6. PASSIVE FUNCTION AND GENERAL NATURE OF GRAVITATION

FIELD 17

7. LIMIT OF GRAVITATION TRANSFORMATION 18

8. INTERACTIONS OF TWO PLANETARY BODIES--EQUILIBRIUM

PHENOMENA 19

9. AXIAL ENERGY--SECONDARY PROCESSES 22

10. MECHANISM OF ENERGY RETURN 27

11. REVIEW OF COSMICAL SYSTEM--GENERAL FUNCTION OF

ENERGY 29

12. REVIEW OF COSMICAL SYSTEM--NATURAL CONDITIONS 31

PART II

PRINCIPLES OF INCEPTION

13. ILLUSTRATIVE SECONDARY PROCESSES 34

14. INCEPTING ENERGY INFLUENCES 40

15. COHESION AS AN INCEPTING INFLUENCE 45

16. TERRESTRIAL GRAVITATION AS AN INCEPTING INFLUENCE 48

17. THE GRAVITATION FIELD 51

18. THE THERMAL FIELD 54

19. THE LUMINOUS FIELD 58

20. TRANSFORMATIONS--UPWARD MOVEMENT OF A MASS

AGAINST GRAVITY 62

21. TRANSFORMATIONS--THE SIMPLE PENDULUM 67

22. STATICAL ENERGY CONDITIONS 68

23. TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE MOVING PENDULUM--ENERGY

OF MOTION TO ENERGY OF POSITION AND VICE VERSA 72

24. TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE MOVING PENDULUM--FRICTIONAL

TRANSFORMATION AT THE BEARING SURFACES 77

25. STABILITY OF ENERGY SYSTEMS 79

26. THE PENDULUM AS A CONSERVATIVE SYSTEM 81

27. SOME PHENOMENA OF TRANSMISSION PROCESSES--TRANSMISSION

OF HEAT ENERGY BY SOLID MATERIAL 84

28. SOME PHENOMENA OF TRANSMISSION PROCESSES--TRANSMISSION

BY FLEXIBLE BAND OR CORD 89

29. SOME PHENOMENA OF TRANSMISSION PROCESSES--TRANSMISSION

OF ENERGY TO AIR MASSES 92

30. ENERGY MACHINES AND ENERGY TRANSMISSION 95

31. IDENTIFICATION OF FORMS OF ENERGY 107

32. COMPLETE SECONDARY CYCLICAL OPERATION 114

PART III

TERRESTRIAL CONDITIONS

33. GASEOUS EXPANSION 118

34. GRAVITATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM OF GASES 124

35. TOTAL ENERGY OF GASEOUS SUBSTANCES 131

36. COMPARATIVE ALTITUDES OF PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES 135

37. REACTIONS OF COMPOSITE ATMOSPHERE 139

38. DESCRIPTION OF TERRESTRIAL CASE 143

39. RELATIVE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS OF ATMOSPHERIC

CONSTITUENTS 150

40. TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY FROM AQUEOUS VAPOUR TO

AIR MASSES 153

41. TERRESTRIAL ENERGY RETURN 160

42. EXPERIMENTAL ANALOGY AND DEMONSTRATION OF THE

GENERAL MECHANISM OF ENERGY TRANSFORMATION

AND RETURN IN THE ATMOSPHERIC CYCLE 170

43. APPLICATION OF PENDULUM PRINCIPLES 181

44. EXTENSION OF PENDULUM PRINCIPLES TO TERRESTRIAL

PHENOMENA 188

45. CONCLUDING REVIEW OF TERRESTRIAL CONDITIONS--EFFECTS

OF INFLUX OF ENERGY 192

THE ENERGY SYSTEM OF MATTER

INTRODUCTION

The main principles on which the present work is founded were broadly

outlined in the author's _Terrestrial Energy_ in 1883, and also in a

later paper in 1892.

The views then expressed have since been amply verified by the course of

events. In the march of progress, the forward strides of science have

been of gigantic proportions. Its triumphs, however, have been in the

realm, not of speculation or faith, but of experiment and fact. While,

on the one hand, the careful and systematic examination and

co-ordination of experimental facts has ever been leading to results of

real practical value, on the other, the task of the theorists, in their

efforts to explain phenomena on speculative grounds, has become

increasingly severe, and the results obtained have been decreasingly

satisfactory. Day by day it becomes more evident that not one of the

many existing theories is adequate to the explanation of the known

phenomena: but, in spite of this obvious fact, attempts are still

constantly being made, even by most eminent men, to rule the results of

experimental science into line with this or that accepted theory. The

contradictions are many and glaring, but speculative methods are still

rampant. They have become the fashion, or rather the fetish, of modern

science. It would seem that no experimental result can be of any value

until it is deductively accommodated to some preconceived hypothesis,

until it is embodied and under the sway of what is practically

scientific dogma. These methods have permeated all branches of science

more or less, but in no sphere has the tendency to indulge in

speculation been more pronounced than in that which deals with

energetics. In no sphere, also, have the consequences of such indulgence

been more disastrous. For the most part, the current conceptions of

energy processes are crude, fanciful, and inconsistent with Nature. They

require for their support--in fact, for their very existence--the

acceptance of equally fantastic conceptions of mythical substances or

ethereal media of whose real existence there is absolutely no

experimental evidence. On the assumed properties or motions of such

media are based the many inconsistent and useless attempts to explain

phenomena. But, as already pointed out, Nature has unmistakably

indicated the true path of progress to be that of experimental

investigation. In the use of this method only phenomena can be employed,

and any hypothesis which may be formulated as the result of research on

these lines is of scientific value only in so far as it is the correct

expression of the actual facts observed. By this method of holding close

to Nature reliable working hypotheses can, if necessary, be formed, and

real progress made. It is undeniably the method of true science.

In recent years much attention has been devoted to certain speculative

theories with respect to the origin and ultimate nature of matter and

energy. Such hypotheses, emanating as they do from prominent workers,

and fostered by the inherent imaginative tendency of the human mind,

have gained considerable standing. But it is surely unnecessary to point

out that all questions relating to origins are essentially outside the

pale of true science. Any hypotheses which may be thus formulated have

not the support of experimental facts in their conclusions; they belong

rather to the realm of speculative philosophy than to that of science.

In the total absence of confirmatory phenomena, such theories can, at

best, only be regarded as plausible speculations, to be accepted, it may

be, without argument, and ranking in interest in the order of their

plausibility.

Of modern research into the ultimate constitution of matter little

requires to be said. It is largely founded on certain radio-active and

electrical phenomena which, in themselves, contribute little

information. But aided by speculative methods and the use of

preconceived ethereal hypotheses, various elaborate theories have been

formulated, explaining matter and its properties entirely in terms of

ethereal motions. Such conceptions in their proper sphere--namely, that

of metaphysics--would be no doubt of interest, but when advanced as a

scientific proposition or solution they border on the ridiculous. In the

absence of phenomena bearing on the subject, it would seem that the last

resort of the modern scientist lies in terminology. To the average

seeker after truth, however, the term "matter," as applied to the

material world, will still convey as much meaning as the more elaborate

scientific definitions.

It is not the purpose of this work to add another thread to the already

tangled skein of scientific theory. It is written, rather, with the

conviction, that it is impossible ever to get really behind or beyond

phenomena; in the belief that the complete description of any natural

process is simply the complete description of the associated phenomena,

which may always be observed and co-ordinated but never ultimately

explained. Phenomena must ever be accepted simply as phenomena--as the

inscrutable manifestations of Nature. By induction from phenomena it is

indeed possible to rise to working hypotheses, and thence, it may be, to

general conceptions of Nature's order, and as already pointed out, it is

to this method, of accepting phenomena, and of reasoning only from

experimental facts, that all the advances of modern science are due. On

the other hand, it is the neglect of this method--the departure, as it

were, from Nature--which has led to the introduction into the scientific

thought of the day of the various ethereal media with their extreme and

contradictory properties. The use of such devices really amounts to an

admission of direct ignorance of phenomena. They are, in reality, an

attempt to explain natural operations by a highly artificial method,

and, having no basis in fact, their whole tendency is to proceed, in

ever-increasing degree, from one absurdity to another.

It is quite possible to gain a perfectly true and an absolutely reliable

knowledge of the properties of matter and energy, and the part which

each plays, without resorting to speculative aids. All that is required

is simply accurate and complete observation at first hand. The field of

research is wide; all Nature forms the laboratory. By this method every

result achieved may be tested and verified, not by its concurrence with

any approved theory, however plausible, but by direct reference to

phenomena. The verdict of Nature will be the final judgment on every

scheme.

It is on these principles, allied with the great generalisations with

respect to the conservation of matter and energy, that this work is

founded. As the result of a long, varied, and intimate acquaintance with

Nature, and much experimental research in many spheres, the author has

reached the conclusion, already foreshadowed in _Terrestrial Energy_,

that the great principle of energy conservation is true, not only in the

universal and generally accepted sense, but also in a particular sense

with respect to all really separate bodies, such as planetary masses in

space. Each of these bodies, therefore, forms within itself a completely

conservative energy system. This conclusion obviously involves the

complete denial of the transmission of energy in any form across

interplanetary space, and the author, in this volume, now seeks to

verify the conclusion by the direct experimental evidence of terrestrial

phenomena.

Under present-day conditions in science, the acceptance of the ordinary

doctrine of transmission across space involves likewise the acceptance

of the existence of an ethereal substance which pervades all space and

forms the medium by which such transmission is carried out. The

properties of this medium are, of course, precisely adapted to its

assumed function of transmission. These properties it is not necessary

to discuss, for when the existence of the transmission itself has been

finally disproved, the necessity for the transmitting medium clearly

vanishes.

PART I

GENERAL STATEMENT

1. _Advantages of General View of Natural Operations_

The object of this statement is to outline and illustrate, in simple

fashion, a broad and general conception of the operation and interaction

of matter and energy in natural phenomena.

Such a conception may be of value to the student of Nature, in several

ways. In modern times the general tendency of scientific work is ever

towards specialisation, with its corresponding narrowness of view. A

broad outlook on Nature is thus eminently desirable. It enables the

observer to perceive to some extent the links uniting the apparently

most insignificant of natural processes to those of seemingly greater

magnitude and importance. In this way a valuable idea of the natural

world as a whole may be gained, which will, in turn, tend generally to

clarify the aspect of particular operations. A broad general view of

Nature also leads to the appreciation of the full significance of the

great doctrines of the conservation of matter and energy. By its means

the complete verification of these doctrines, which appears to be beyond

human experiment, may be traced on the face of Nature throughout the

endless chain of natural processes. Such a view also leads to a firm

grasp of the essential nature and qualities of energy itself so far as

they are revealed by its general function in phenomena.

2. _Separate Mass in Space_

In the scheme now to be outlined, matter and energy are postulated at

the commencement without reference to their ultimate origin or inherent

nature. They are accepted, in their diverse forms, precisely as they are

familiar from ordinary terrestrial experience and phenomena.

For the purpose of general illustration the reader is asked to conceive

a mass of heterogeneous matter, concentrated round a given point in

space, forming a single body. This mass is assumed to be assembled and

to obtain its coherent form in virtue of that universal and inherent

property of matter, namely, gravitative or central attraction. This

property is independent of precise energy conditions, its outward

manifestation being found simply in the persistent tendency of matter on

all occasions to press or force itself into the least possible space. In

the absence of all disturbing influences, therefore, the configuration

of this mass of matter, assumed assembled round the given point, would

naturally, under the influence of this gravitative tendency, resolve

itself into that of a perfect sphere. The precise magnitude or

dimensions of the spherical body thus constituted are of little moment

in the discussion, but, for illustrative purposes, it may, in the

meantime, be assumed that in mass it is equivalent to our known solar

system. It is also assumed to be completely devoid of energy, and as a

mass to be under the influence of no external constraint. Under these

conditions, the spherical body may obviously be assumed as stationary in

space, or otherwise as moving with perfectly uniform velocity along a

precisely linear path. Either conception is justifiable. The body has no

relative motion, and since it is absolutely unconstrained no force could

be applied to it and no energy expenditure would be required for its

linear movement.

3. _Advent of Energy--Distortional Effects_

Nature, however, does not furnish us with any celestial or other body

fulfilling such conditions. Absolutely linear motion is unknown, and

matter is never found divorced from energy. To complete the system,

therefore, the latter factor is required, and, with the advent of energy

to the mass, its prototype may be found in the natural world.

This energy is assumed to be communicated in that form which we shall

term "work" energy (Secs. 13, 31) and which, as a form of energy, will be

fully dealt with later. This "work" energy is assumed to be manifested,

in the first place, as energy of motion. As already pointed out, no

expenditure of energy can be associated with a linear motion of the

mass, since that motion is under no restraint, but in virtue of the

initial central attraction or gravitative strain, the form of energy

first communicated may be that of kinetic energy of rotation. Its

transmission to the mass will cause the latter to revolve about some

axis of symmetry within itself. Each particle of the mass thus pursues a

circular path with reference to that axis, and has a velocity directly

proportional to its radial displacement from it.

This energised rotating spherical mass is thus the primal conception of

the energy scheme now to be outlined. It will be readily seen that, as a

primal conception, it is essentially and entirely natural; so much so,

indeed, that any one familiar with rotatory motion might readily predict

from ordinary experience the resulting phenomena on which the scheme is,

more or less, based.

When energy is applied to the mass, the first phenomenon of note will be

that, as the mass rotates, it departs from its originally spherical

shape. By the action of what is usually termed centrifugal force, the

rotating body will be distorted; it will be flattened at the polar or

regions of lowest velocity situated at the extremities of the axis of

rotation, and it will be correspondingly distended at the equatorial or

regions of highest velocity. The spherical body will, in fact, assume a

more or less discoidal form according to the amount of energy applied to

it; there will be a redistribution of the original spherical matter;

certain portions of the mass will be forced into new positions more

remote from the central axis of rotation.

4. _The Gravitation Field_

These phenomena of motion are the outward evidence of certain energy

processes. The distortional movement of the material is carried out

against the action and within the field of certain forces which exist in

the mass of material in virtue of its gravitative or cohesive qualities.

It is carried out also in virtue of the application of energy to the

sphere, which energy has been, as it were, transformed or worked down,

in the distortional movement, against the restraining action of this

gravitation field or influence. The outward displacement of the material

from the central axis is thus coincident with a gain of energy to the

mass, this gain of energy being, of course, at the expense of, and by

the direct transformation of, the originally applied energy. It is

stored in the distorted material as energy of position, potential

energy, or energy of displacement relative to the central axis. But, in

the distortive movement, the mass will also gain energy in other forms.

The movement of one portion of its material relative to another will

give rise (since it is carried out under the gravitational influence) to

a fractional process in which, as we know from terrestrial experience,

heat and electrical energy will make their appearance. These forms of

energy will give rise, in their turn, to all the phenomena usually

attendant on their application to material. As already pointed out also,

the whole mass gains, in varying degree, energy of motion or kinetic

energy. It would appear, then, that although energy was nominally

applied to the mass in one form only, yet by its characteristic property

of transformation it has in reality manifested itself in several

entirely different forms. It is important to note the part played in

these transformation processes by the gravitation field or influence.

Its action really reveals one of the vital working principles of

energetics. This principle may be generally stated thus:--

EVERY TRANSFORMATION OF ENERGY IS CARRIED OUT BY THE ACTION OF

ENERGISED MATTER IN THE LINES OR FIELD OF AN INCEPTING ENERGY

INFLUENCE.

In the particular case we have just considered, the incepting field is

simply the inherent gravitative property of the energised mass. This

property is manifested as an attractive force between portions of

matter. This, however, is not of necessity the only aspect of an

incepting influence. In the course of this work various instances of

transformation will be presented in which the incepting influence

functions in a guise entirely different. It is important to note that

the incepting influence itself is in no way changed, altered, or

transformed during the process of transformation which it influences.

5. _Limits of Rotational Energy. Disruptional Phenomena_

It is clear that the material at different parts of the rotating

spheroid will be energised to varying degrees. Since the linear velocity

of the material in the equatorial regions of the spheroid is greater

than that of the material about the poles, the energy of motion of the

former will exceed that of the latter, the difference becoming greater

as the mass is increasingly energised and assumes more and more the

discoidal form.

The question now arises as to how far this process of energising the

material mass may be carried. What are its limits? The capacity of the

rotating body for energy clearly depends on the amount of work which

may be spent on its material in distorting it against the influence of

the gravitative attraction. The amount is again dependent on the

strength of this attraction. But the value of the gravitative attraction

or gravitation field is, by the law of gravitation, in direct proportion

to the quantity of material or matter present, and hence the capacity of

the body for energy depends on its mass or on the quantity of matter

which composes it.

Now if energy be impressed on this mass beyond its capacity a new order

of phenomena appears. Distortion will be followed by disruption and

disintegration. By the action of the disruptive forces a portion of the

primary material will be projected into space as a planetary body. The

manner of formation of such a secondary body is perhaps best illustrated

by reference to the commonplace yet beautiful and suggestive phenomenon

of the separation of a drop of water or other viscous fluid under the

action of gravitation. In this process, during the first downward

movement of the drop, it is united to its source by a portion of

attenuated material which is finally ruptured, one part moving downwards

and being embodied in the drop whilst the remainder springs upwards

towards the source. In the process of formation of the planetary body we

are confronted with an order of phenomena of somewhat the same nature.

The planetary orb which is hurled into space is formed in a manner

similar to the drop of viscous fluid, and under the action of forces of

the same general nature. One of these forces is the bond of gravitative

attraction between planet and primary which is never severed, and when

complete separation of the two masses finally occurs, the incessant

combination of this force with the tangential force of disruption acting

on the planet will compel it into a fixed orbit, which it will pursue

around the central axis. When all material links have thus been severed,

the two bodies will then be absolutely separate masses in space. The

term "separate" is here used in its most rigid and absolute sense. No

material connection of any kind whatever exists, either directly or

indirectly, between the two masses. Each one is completely isolated from

the other by interplanetary space, and in reality, so far as material

connection is concerned, each one might be the sole occupant of that

space. This conception of separate masses in space is of great

importance to the author's scheme, but, at the same time, the condition

is one which cannot be illustrated by any terrestrial experimental

contrivance. It will be obvious that such a device, as might naturally

be conceived, of isolating two bodies by placing them in an exhausted

vessel or vacuous space, by no means complies with the full conditions

of true separation portrayed above, because some material connection

must always exist between the enclosed bodies and the containing

vessel. This aspect is more fully treated later (Sec. 30). The condition of

truly separate masses is, in fact, purely a celestial one. No means

whatever are existent whereby such a condition may be faithfully

reproduced in a terrestrial environment.

In their separate condition the primary and planetary mass will each

possess a definite and unvarying amount of energy. It is to be noted

also, that since the original mass of the primary body has been

diminished by the mass of the planet cast off, the capacity for energy

of the primary will now be diminished in a corresponding degree. Any

further increment of energy to the primary in any form has now, however,

no direct influence on the energy of the planet, which must maintain its

position of complete isolation in its orbit. But although thus separate

and distinct from the primal mass in every material respect, the planet

is ever linked to it by the invisible bond of gravitation, and every

movement made by the planet in approaching or receding from the primary

is made in the field or influence of this attraction. In accordance,

therefore, with the general principle already enunciated (Sec. 4), these

actions or movements of the energised planetary mass, being made in the

field of the incepting gravitative influence, will be accompanied by

transformations, and thus the energy of the planet, although unvarying

in its totality, may vary in its form or distribution with the inward or

outward movement of the planet in its orbital path. As the planet

recedes from the primary it gains energy of position, but this gain is

obtained solely at the expense, and by the direct transformation of its

own orbital energy of motion. Its velocity in its orbit must, therefore,

decrease as it recedes from the central axis of the system, and increase

as it approaches that axis. Thus from energy considerations alone it is

clear that, if the planetary orbit is not precisely circular, the

velocity of the planet must vary at different points of its path.

6. _Passive Function and General Nature of Gravitation Field_

From the phenomena described above, it will be observed that, in the

energy processes of transformation occurring in both primary and planet,

the function of the gravitation field or influence is entirely passive

in nature. The field is, in truth, the persistent moving or directing

power behind the energy processes, the incepting energy influence or

agency which determines the nature of the transformation in each case

without being, in any way, actively engaged in it. In accelerating or

retarding the transformation process it has thus absolutely no effect.

These features are controlled by other factors. Neither does this

incepting agency affect, in any way, the limits of the transformation

process, these limits being prescribed by the physical or energy

qualities of the acting materials. In general nature the gravitation

field appears to be simply an energy influence--a peculiar manifestation

of certain passive qualities of energy. This aspect will, however,

become clearer to the reader when the properties of gravitation are

studied in conjunction with those of other incepting energy influences

(Secs. 17, 18, 19).

7. _Limit of Gravitation Transformation_

In the case of a planetary body, there is a real limit to the extent of

the transformation of its orbital energy of motion under the influence

of the gravitation field. As the orbit of the planet widens, and its

mean distance from the primary becomes greater, its velocity in its

orbital path must correspondingly decrease. As already pointed out (Sec.

5), this decrease is simply the result of the orbital energy of motion

being transformed or worked down into energy of position. But since this

orbital energy is strictly limited in amount, a point must ultimately be

reached where it would be transformed in its entirety into energy of

position. When this limiting condition is attained, the planet clearly

could have no orbital motion; it would be instantaneously at rest in

somewhat the same way as a projectile from the earth's surface is at

rest at the summit of its flight in virtue of the complete

transformation of its energy of motion into energy of position. In this

limiting condition, also, the energy of position of the planet would be

the maximum possible, and its orbital energy zero. The scope of the

planetary orbital path is thus rigidly determined by the planetary

energy properties. Assuming the reduction of gravity with distance to

follow the usual law of inverse squares, the value of the displacement

of the planet from the central axis when in this stationary or limiting

position may be readily calculated if the various constants are known.

In any given case it is obvious that this limiting displacement must be

a finite quantity, since the planetary orbital energy which is being

worked down is itself finite in amount.

8. _Interactions of Two Planetary Bodies--Equilibrium Phenomena_

Up to the present point, the cosmical system has been assumed to be

composed of one planetary body only in addition to the primary mass. It

is clear, however, that by repetition of the process already described,

the system could readily evolve more than one planet; it might, in fact,

have several planetary masses originating in the same primary, each

endowed with a definite modicum of energy, and each pursuing a

persistent orbit round the central axis of the system. Since the mass of

the primary decreases as each successive planet is cast off, its

gravitative attractive powers will also decrease, and with every such

decline in the central restraining force the orbits of the previously

constituted planets will naturally widen. By the formation in this way

of a series of planetary masses, the material of the original primary

body would be as it were distributed over a larger area or space, and

this separation would be accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the

gravitative attraction between the several masses. If the distributive

or disruptive process were carried to its limit by the continuous

application of rotatory energy to each separate unit of the system, this

limit would be dependent on the capacity of the system for energy. As is

shown later (Sec. 20), this capacity would be determined by the mass of the

system.

For simplicity, let us consider the case in which there are two

planetary bodies only in the system in addition to the primary. In

virtue of the gravitative attraction or gravitation field between the

two, they will mutually attract one another in their motion, and each

will, in consequence, be deflected more or less out of that orbital path

which it would normally pursue in the absence of the other. This

attraction will naturally be greatest when the planets are in the

closest proximity; the planet having the widest orbit will then be drawn

inwards towards the central axis, the other will be drawn outwards. The

distance moved in this way by each will depend on its mass, and on the

forces brought to bear on it by the combined action of the two remaining

masses of the system. Moving thus in different directions, the motion of

each planet is carried out in the lines of the gravitation field between

the two. One planet, therefore, gains and the other loses energy of

position with respect to the central axis of the system. The one planet

can thus influence, to some extent, the energy properties of the other,

although there is absolutely no direct energy communication between the

two; as shown hereafter, the whole action and the energy change will be

due simply to the motion carried out in the field of the incepting

gravitation influence.

It is clear, however, that this influence is exerted on the distribution

of the energy, on the form in which it is manifested, and in no way

affects the energy totality of either planet. Each, as before, remains a

separate system with conservative energy properties. That planet which

loses energy of position gains energy of motion, and is correspondingly

accelerated in its orbital path; the other, in gaining energy of

position, does so at the expense of its own energy of motion, and is

retarded accordingly. The action is really very simple in nature when

viewed from a purely energy standpoint. It has been dealt with in some

detail in order to emphasise the fact that there is absolutely nothing

in the nature of a transmission of energy between one planet and the

other. Taking a superficial view of the operation, it might be inferred

that, as the planets approach one another, energy of motion (or energy

of position) is transmitted from one to the other, causing one to retard

and the other to accelerate its movement, but a real knowledge of the

energy conditions shows that the phenomenon is rather one of a simple

restoration of equilibrium, a redistribution or transformation of the

intrinsic energy of each to suit these altering conditions. Each planet

is, in the truest sense, a separate mass in space.

9. _Axial Energy--Secondary Processes_

Passing now to another aspect of the energy condition of a planetary

body, let the planet be assumed to be endowed with axial energy or

energy of rotation, so that, while pursuing its orbital path in space,

it also rotates with uniform angular velocity about an axis within

itself. What will be the effect of the primary mass on the planet under

these new energy conditions? We conceive that the effect is again purely

one of transformation. In this process the primary mass functions once

more as an entirely passive or incepting agent, which, while exerting a

continuous transforming influence on the planet, does not affect in any

way the inherent energy properties of the latter. Up to the present

point we have only dealt with one incepting influence in transformation

processes, namely, that of gravitation, which has always been

manifested as an attractive force. It is not to be supposed, however,

that this is the only aspect in which incepting influences may be

presented. Although attractive force is certainly an aspect of some

incepting influences, it is not a distinctive feature of incepting

influences generally. In many cases, the aspect of force, in the sense

of attraction or repulsion, is entirely awanting. In the new order of

transformations which come into play in virtue of the rotatory motion of

a planetary mass in the field of its primary, we shall find other

incepting influences in action entirely different in nature from the

gravitation influence, but, nevertheless, arising from the same primary

mass in a similar way. Now the application of energy to the planet,

causing it to rotate in the lines or under the influence of these

incepting fields of the primary, brings into existence on the planet an

entirely new order of phenomena. So long as the planet had no axial

motion of rotation, some of the incepting influences of the primary were

compelled, as it were, to inaction; but with the advent of axial energy

the conditions are at once favourable to their action, and to the

detection of their transforming effects. In accordance with the general

principle already enunciated (Sec. 4), the action of the planetary

energised material in the lines of the various incepting fields of the

primary is productive of energy transformations. The active energy of

these transformations is the axial or rotatory energy of the planet

itself, and, in virtue of these transformations, certain other forms of

energy will be manifested on the planet and associated with the various

forms of planetary material. These manifestations of energy, in fact,

constitute planetary phenomena. Since the action or movement of the

rotating material of the planet through the incepting fields of the

primary is most pronounced in the equatorial or regions of highest

linear velocity, and least in the regions of low velocity adjoining the

poles of rotation, the transforming effect may naturally be expected to

decrease in intensity from equator to poles. Planetary energy phenomena

will thus vary according to the location of the acting material. It will

be clear, also, that each incepting agency or influence associated with

the primary mass will give rise to its own peculiar transformations of

axial energy on the planetary surface. These leading or primary

transformations of axial energy, in which the incepting influence is

associated with the primary mass only, we term primary processes. But it

is evident that the various forms of energy thus set free on the planet

as a result of the primary processes will be communicated to, and will

operate on, the different forms of planetary material, and will give

rise to further or secondary transformations of energy, in which the

incepting agency is embodied in or associated with planetary material

only. The exact nature of these secondary transformations will vary

according to the circumstances in which they take place. Each of them,

however, as indicated above, will be, in itself, carried out in virtue

of some action of the energised planetary material in the lines or field

of what we might term a secondary incepting influence. The latter,

however, must not be confused with the influences of the primary. It is

essentially a planetary phenomenon, an aspect of planetary energy; it is

associated with the physical or material machine by means of which the

secondary process of transformation is carried out. The nature of this

secondary influence will determine the nature of the secondary

transformation in each case. Its precise extent may be limited by other

considerations (Sec. 15).

As an example, assume a portion of the axial energy to be primarily

transformed into heat in virtue of the planet's rotation in the field of

an independent thermal incepting influence exerted by the primary. To

the action of this agency, which we might term the thermal field, we

assume are due all primary heating phenomena of planetary material. Now

the secondary transformations will take place when the heat energy thus

manifested is applied to some form of matter. It is obvious, however,

that this application might be carried out in various ways. Heat may be

devoted to the expansion of a solid against its cohesive forces. It may

be expended against the elastic forces of a gas, or it may be worked

down against chemical or electrical forces. In every case a

transformation of energy will result, varying in nature according to the

peculiar conditions under which it is carried out. In this or a similar

fashion each primary incepting influence may give rise to a series of

secondary actions more or less complex in nature. These secondary

transformation processes, allied with other processes of transmission,

will, in fact, constitute the visible phenomena of the planet, and in

their variety will exactly correspond to these phenomena.

With regard to the gravitation field, its general influence on the

rotating mass may be readily predicted. The material on that part of the

planetary surface which is nearest to or happens to face the primary in

rotation is, during the short time it occupies that position, subjected

to a greater attractive influence than the remainder which is more

remote from the primary. It will, in consequence, tend to be more or

less distorted or elevated above its normal position on the planetary

surface. This distorting effect will vary in degree according to the

nature of the material, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, but the

general effect of the distortional movement, combined with the rotatory

motion of the planet, will be to produce a tidal action or a periodical

rise and fall of the more fluid material distributed over the planetary

surface. The distortion will, of course, be accompanied by energy

processes in which axial energy will be transformed into heat and other

forms, which will finally operate in the secondary processes exactly as

in previous cases.

10. _Mechanism of Energy Return_

But the question now arises, as to how this continuous transformation of

the axial energy can be consistent with that condition of uniformity of

rotation of the planet which was originally assumed. If the total energy

of the planetary mass is limited, and if it can receive no increment of

energy from any external source, it is clear that the axial energy

transformed must, by some process, be continuously returned to its

original form. Some process or mechanism is evidently necessary to carry

out this operation. This mechanism we conceive to be provided by certain

portions of the material of the planet, principally the gaseous matter

which resides on its surface, completely enveloping it, and extending

outwards into space (Sec. 38). In other words, the atmosphere of the planet

forms the machine or material agency by which this return of the

transformed axial energy is carried out. It has already been pointed out

(Sec. 9) how the working energy of every secondary transformation is

derived from the original axial energy of the planet itself. Each of

these secondary transformations, however, forms but one link of one

cyclical chain of secondary transformations, in which a definite

quantity of energy, initially in the axial form, passes, in these

secondary operations, through various other forms, by different

processes and through the medium of different material machines, until

it is eventually absorbed into the atmosphere of the planet. These

complete series of cyclical operations, by which the various portions of

axial energy are carried to the atmosphere, may in some cases be of a

very simple nature, and may be continuously repeated over very short

intervals of time; in other cases, the cycle may seem obscure and

complicated, and its complete operation spread over very long periods,

but in all cases the final result is the same. The axial energy

abstracted, sooner or later, recurs to the atmospheric machine. By its

action in this machine, great masses of gaseous material are elevated

from the surface of the planet against the attractive force of

gravitation; the energy will thus now appear in the form of potential

energy or energy of position. By a subsequent movement of these gaseous

masses over the surface of the planet from the regions of high velocity

towards the poles, combined with a movement of descent to lower levels,

the energy of position with which they were endowed is returned once