The monogenesis of physical forces : a lecture delivered at the London Institution, February 18th, 1857 / by Alfred Smee.

  • Smee, Alfred, 1818-1877.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The monogenesis of physical forces : a lecture delivered at the London Institution, February 18th, 1857 / by Alfred Smee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    second to 24,000, are appreciated by the ear, and are consequently sound. Sound, like light and heat, requires attracted matter; this is acted upon by a new attraction, and in the conflict between the old and new attractions vibrations ensue; whilst the vibration continues, the force may be propagated to other matter which may also take on vibrations. I have always thought that odours constituted a further range of actions and reactions. I am the more confirmed in that view, the more I watch those ani- mals, as the bloodhound, which have the nerves of the nose highly developed. Upon this matter, how- ever, we are much in the same position as the man born blind, who can only receive his ideas of light through the medium of the eyes of others, for man has UteraUy only a rudimentary nose, if it be com- pared with that of other animals. A theory is not to be a mere mental creation, but a law or principle to guide our actions and bring forth fruit. The law which I have developed is so pre-emi- nently of practical application, that every human action may be regulated by it. When we desire to obtain any result, we begin by generating new attractions. For this purpose we select substances having the lowest equivalent, because the least weight would answer our purpose; hydrogen and carbon have the lowest equivalent, and coal being an hydro-carbon, is