Extract from an unpublished essay on physical force / by Louis Mackall.

  • Mackall, Louis, 1801-1876.
Date:
1865
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Extract from an unpublished essay on physical force / by Louis Mackall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    this is the true meaning of the word tend) by the imaginary occult property of attraction, that is supposed to reside in the body moving, and in the earth receiving it; or does it tend to move in this direction in accord- ance with the design of the Creator, and by virtue of a law made for the purpose of accomplishing this design ? I leave this question to be decided as he judgment of the reader may determine. But some modern scientists have attempted to get rid of the absurdity of regarding the occult properties of matter as causes, simply by calling them forces, potentials, or dynamics, and have added to these the imponderable forms of matter ; thus we have as forces in nature or as physical forces, the force of gravitation, the force of chemical affinity, heat, light, electricity, &c, and then, by regarding these forces as being convertible, the one into another, and further, by giving them together with matter, perpetual dura- tion, they have formed a new theory, or generalization, as they say, that is to give an entirely new phase to science. This theory, called the dynami- cal theory. Correlation and Conservation of the physical forces, or simply the Persistence of force, is extremely visionary and, as I shall now attempt to show, is founded on sophistry or false reasoning. To make good this charge I must beg leave to refer to the reasoning of Count Rumford from the faets presented in his celebrated experiment in boring a brass cylinder, which, as it gave origin, as I believe, to this theory, may be taken as a fair specimen of all the reasoning used in form- ing it. The Count, during the experiment, observing that a large amount of heat was formed, and being at a loss in accounting for its origin or for the mode in which it was formed, after casting about, conceived, that it must have originated in the motion of the borer ; and then, by a happy thought jumped to the very illogical and wholly unwarranted conclusions, that heat cannot jiossibly be a material substance, and that therefore, that heat is motion. Convinced by this lucid reasoning, our modern scientists have concluded that the imponderables, as heat, light, odours, &c, are merely modes of motion. Had the Couut reflected sufficiently, he might have found that the heat was formed by the re-combinatton of some portion of the element of the metal, that had been decomposed by means of friction, as is explained by my hypothesis, to be found at page 13 of this Extract. The same hypothe- sis will be found to furnish a rational explanation of many phenomena that have been misconstrued, and thus made to support a false theory. If this hypothesis should be adopted—if it is admitted, that the impondera- bles or, as I should prefer to call them, the diffusibles, are formed by the re-combination of some of the elements, in every change of form of matter, a large number of phenomena may be readily explained that have not been satisfactorily explained heretofore ; as, the heat and light in combustion, and in the decomposition of animal and vegetable substances ; the heat that is formed in living animal and vegetable bodies that are constantly undergoing changes ; the heat that is produced by friction, whether of solids, or of liquids, wherein there are always decompositions, and more or less changes of form; and so of the formation of the other impondera- bles ; they may all be formed whenever the element of matter is free to enter into re-combinations. Thus, there may be a correlation of the forms of matter, as all forms have one element; and there may be a conservation of the element, of matter, as it is indiscerptible and therefore indestructible ; but, there can be no convertibility of the physical forces, as the laws of nature, whence these forces or this force is derived, are not convertible ; neither can there be any conservation or persistence of physical force, when this force is only exhibited during the operation of the laws of nature, and ceases, or is lost when these laws cease to be im operation. (iKouflETowN IIkioiits, D. C, December 20th, 1865.