Art. 96. Centrifugal Force.--Before proceeding to apply some of the principles and laws which govern the electro-magnetic aetherial medium to solar and stellar phenomena, it will be as well just to review the conception of our new aetherial Centrifugal Force, so that we may form a right view of it in its completeness and entirety.

In Art. 11 we premised that there was in existence another force, which was the exact opposite of the centripetal force, and that this force was the complementary and counterpart of the centripetal force or Gravitation Attraction; and further, that this force was due to the motion of the universal Aether which filled all space.

In Art. 13 we saw that all force resolved itself into energy of some kind, the same being due either to potential energy, i. e. energy of position, or to kinetic energy, which is the energy belonging to matter actually in motion. From Art. 56 we learned that all energy was energy of motion, so that all force resolves itself into motion of some kind.

Thus our term Centrifugal Force really implies, and demands, a motion of the Aether which is ever directed away from the centre of gravity of any body, whether that body be an atom or molecule, satellite or planet, sun or star. From the phenomena of heat we have seen that there exists a repulsive motion, due to the aetherial medium, which is ever exerted from the central body of any atomic, planetary or stellar system, that repulsive motion being due to the pressure of the universal Aether, which not only surrounds all atoms, but also surrounds all other bodies in the universe.

From the phenomena of light we have also seen that the Aether possesses a repulsive or centrifugal motion, which is also due to the pressure of the same Aether as mathematically proved by Maxwell, and experimentally proved by Prof. Lebedew, and Nichols and Hull of America. Further, from the phenomena of electricity, we have also seen that there exists this centrifugal motion, due to the pressure of the same aetherial medium, which pressure is ever directed away from the electrified body, as the sun or planets.

So that from these three phases of the universal Aether, that is, from its thermal or heat manifestation, its luminiferous or light manifestation, and its electro-magnetic manifestation, we get irrefutable evidence of the existence of a centrifugal motion, which motion is ever directed away from the central body; and the result of that motion takes the form of a pressure upon any body with which the motion comes into contact.

Again, it was premised, that such a centrifugal force or motion must fulfil all the laws which governed the centripetal force or motion.

First, it had to be universal (Art. 19). Second, it had to follow exactly the same path as the centripetal force or motion, which was that of a straight line joining the centre of gravity of two bodies, as for example the earth and the sun (Art. 20). Third, the centrifugal force or motion must be equal to the product of the masses, in the same way that the centripetal force was governed by such a law (Art. 21). Fourth, its intensity was to be governed by the law of inverse squares, the same as the centripetal force or Gravitation Attraction was governed (Art. 22).

Now all these conditions are satisfactorily fulfilled, and have been shown to be satisfactorily fulfilled, from the phenomena of heat, light, and electricity in their relation to the universal Aether. For in Art. 43 we saw that the Aether was universal, and therefore if the centrifugal motion is produced and originated by the Aether, then such motions must be as universal as that medium, which under qualifying conditions gives rise to these motions.

From Arts. 65 and Art. 76 we have learned that the path of this centrifugal motion is that of a straight line, and follows exactly the same path that the centripetal force of gravity takes. In Art. 85 we learned that the centrifugal force between any two bodies was equal to the product of their masses, which is exactly the same as the centripetal force that exists between any two bodies; and, lastly, from the phenomena of heat, light, and electricity we learned that the intensity of this centrifugal motion due to aetherial pressure was inversely as the square of the distance, which is the law governing the intensity of its counterpart, the centripetal force. Thus we have learned that there is in existence throughout universal space, a physical force or motion due to a physical medium, the universal Aether, which force or motion is the exact opposite of the centripetal force or Gravitation Attraction, which may be stated as follows--

Every particle in the universe repels every other particle with a force whose direction is in the line joining the centres of gravity of the two bodies, and whose magnitude is directly as the product of their masses, and inversely as the square of the distance between them, at their mean distances.

We shall see that it is by the conjoint working of these two forces, the Centripetal and Centrifugal, in combination with other motions of the Aether, that the harmonious working of the whole celestial mechanism is maintained and perpetuated. In confirmation of the existence of the centrifugal force, I should like to draw the attention of the reader to certain phenomena relative to the solar system, which phenomena violate the centripetal force as at present recognized, and can alone be accounted for by the existence of another force or motion existing in space, such as the centrifugal motion already proved and demonstrated.

We know that the law governing the centripetal force, or Gravitation Attraction, is regulated by the product of the masses of the two attracting bodies. So that if there were three bodies in space whose masses are respectively represented by 2, 3 and 100, the proportion of the attractive force of gravitation between the largest and the other two, would be 200 (100 × 2) and 300 (100 × 3) respectively. So that if the centripetal force, or the Attraction of Gravitation, is the only governing force in the universe, then it naturally follows that the two bodies, between which the attractive force is greater, will be closer together than the two bodies between which the attractive force is less.

Thus the two bodies, whose product of their masses is represented by 300, will, according to the Law of Gravitation, be closer together than the two bodies, the product of whose masses is represented by only 200. Unless this is so, we should have a violation of the Law of Gravitation, and it would at once cease to be a law.

Let us therefore apply the centripetal force, or Gravitation Attraction, to the solar system, and see how it works out. The law strictly defined is given in Art. 18, from which we learn that the attractive force between two bodies is as the product of their masses. Now what are the masses of some of the bodies in the solar system?

We find that the sun, with its diameter of 865,000 miles, is about 324,000 times greater in mass than our earth, so that it would take about 324,000 bodies of the size and density of our earth to equal a body of the size and density of the sun. It has been calculated, however, by Von Asten, from observations made on comets by the planet Mercury, that the mass of Mercury is about 1/24 of the mass of the Earth. Therefore the mass of the sun must exceed the mass of Mercury 324,000 × 24 = 7,776,000; the exact relation according to Von Asten is 7,636,440. Again, the planet Jupiter, with its diameter of 85,000 miles and its density of 1.38, is only 1/1048 part of the mass of the sun, so that it would take about 1048 Jupiters to equal the mass of the sun, therefore Jupiter must weigh about 7400 times the mass of Mercury.

If the mass of Mercury, therefore, be represented by 1, the mass of the Earth would be represented by 24, the mass of Jupiter by 7400, and the mass of the sun by 7,636,400. So that the attractive forces between the planets as regards their masses only will be represented numerically as follows--

Thus we see that the attractive force between the sun and the earth exceeds 24 times the attractive force between the sun and Mercury, while the attractive force of gravity between the sun and Jupiter is 7400 times greater than the attractive force between the sun and Mercury, relative to their masses.

Therefore, according to the Law of Gravity, as regards the masses of bodies, Jupiter and the sun should be nearer together than Mercury and the sun, because their attractive powers are greater, and the earth and the sun should be nearer together than Mercury and the sun, because their joint attractive powers are also greater. In the same way it can be proved that all the other planets whose masses are greater than Mercury ought, according to the Law of Gravity in regard to masses only, to be nearer to the sun than what Mercury is, simply because the total attractive forces between any two are greater than the attractive force between Mercury and the sun.

The respective masses of the planets compared with the sun, taking the mass of the sun as unity, are as follows--

Therefore, if the total attractive force of gravity is equal to the product of the masses of any two bodies, then the planets ought to be in the following order in relation to their distance from the sun: Jupiter, first, followed by Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury; that being the order in which the attractive power of gravity is regulated by their respective masses.

Yet the very opposite is nearly the case, as we find that some of the further planets, as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, possess greater masses than any of the nearer planets; so that here we have a distinct violation of the Law of Gravitation Attraction, which states that the attraction between any two bodies is directly as the product of their masses, because we find certain bodies with greater attracting powers further away from the sun, than other planets possessing less attracting powers, because of their smaller masses. I cannot recall having ever read of any explanation which has been given for such an anomaly, and indeed this apparent violation admits of no other explanation than the conception of the dual character of the so-called Law of Universal Gravitation, which includes a repelling or repulsive force or motion, such motion being due to the pressure of the universal Aether.

Thus in the light of the centrifugal motion, combined with the fact that Aether is gravitative, by which each body possesses an aetherial atmosphere and electrical equivalent proportionate to its mass, it can be demonstrated within a reasonable limit how it is that such planets as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, possessing aetherial atmospheres and electrical equivalents proportionate to their masses, revolve in orbits round the sun at much greater distances than Mercury, Venus, the Earth, or Mars. This explanation will follow as we consider the Centrifugal Force and the Centripetal Force in their relation to Newton's Laws of Motion.Art. 97. Centripetal Force.--We have now to apply the Centripetal Force, together with the new Aetherial Centrifugal Force, to the solar system, and show that by their conjoint working taken in conjunction with the motions of the Aether, all celestial phenomena may be satisfactorily explained on a physical basis, in a similar way that Newton proved the same result from the mathematical standpoint.

We saw in Art. 10 that the centripetal force was really none other than the Attraction of Gravitation, in that it always acted to a centre, and in no other way, and therefore by the centripetal force for the present we must understand is meant the attractive power of Gravitation.

Afterwards, when it has been demonstrated that the centripetal force and the new aetherial centrifugal force can account for all celestial phenomena, then we shall be in a position to show what the physical cause of the centripetal force is.

Let us again refer to the centripetal force, so that we may see exactly what its governing conditions are. In Art. 18 we learned that this force might be thus expressed: “Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force whose direction is that of a line joining their centres of gravity, and whose magnitude is directly as the product of their masses, and inversely as the square of the distance between them.” Now we have seen from the previous Art. that the centrifugal force due to the pressure of the Aether medium is the exact counterpart of this, in every way, so that if we combine the two, we get the complete statement of the universal law which governs all matter, and which we may define as follows--

“Every particle in the universe attracts and repels every other particle in the universe with a force whose direction is that of a line joining their centres of gravity, and whose magnitude is directly as the product of their masses, and inversely as the square of the distance between them.” This complete law, however, only holds good when the two forces are in equilibrium.

With this conception of the universal law which governs all matter, the harmony and stability of the universe becomes possible from the physical standpoint. Apart from this conjoint working of the two forces or motions, a physical explanation of Universal Gravitation is impossible, as with one force operating only throughout the universe, ultimate stability is inconceivable, and the harmony of the spheres might at any time be suddenly destroyed.

With this conception of the universal law which governs all matter, the great Law of Gravitation is brought into harmony with all experience and observation. Look where we will, or at what we will, there we find forces possessing a dual character, as we have already seen proved. Professor Tyndall, as we have already learned (Art. 63), definitely states that the stability of atomic systems is preserved by the existence and operation of two forces, one attractive and the other repulsive, and what is true of the atomic world is equally true of solar or stellar worlds. Thus for the first time in this respect, our philosophy agrees with our experience, and the true relation of the centrifugal force or motion to the centripetal force is made manifest. So that, wherever in the solar system the centripetal force or Gravitation Attraction operates, there, with exactly equal intensity and power, the aetherial centrifugal force operates, at the respective mean distances of the planets and satellites, where the two forces are in equilibrium.

If it were possible to conceive of a stationary solar system, then, by the conjoint working of the two forces, it would be equally possible to conceive of perfect stability and harmony existing between the respective planets and satellites of that system while stationary.

Such a conception is altogether impossible in the present state of Philosophy, as the stability of the system, with the old view of the Centrifugal Force, is entirely dependent upon the motions of the respective bodies in that system; and if such orbital motions could be stayed, then the only physical conception possible would be, that every planet and satellite, planetoid and meteor within the attractive force of the central body, the sun, would be slowly but surely drawn to a fiery death, as they would all ultimately be attracted and swallowed up by the sun.

Thus we learn, that while the sun is the centre of a centripetal force, which ever operates far and wide throughout space, it is equally the centre of a repulsive or centrifugal force or motion which also operates co-extensively and co-equally with the former.

Not only so, but every planet and satellite, nay every particle and every atom, while it is the centre of a centripetal force, is also the centre of a repulsive force, as pointed out by Professor Tyndall, which force is due in each and every case to the pressure of the aetherial atmosphere which surrounds the atom or molecule, satellite or planet. Thus the physical conception of heat in its effect on molecules having a repulsive force (Art. 63) is confirmed, and that that force is due to the pressure of the Aether is also confirmed by subsequent investigations into the phenomena of light and electricity, by which we have arrived at our physical conception of the Universal Centrifugal Force.

So that we have now a physical conception of the experiment performed by Nichols and Hull of America, and by Professor Lebedew of Russia, in which they conclusively demonstrated the existence of the pressure of aetherial light waves, which proves beyond the possibility of doubt the existence of this physical centrifugal force. Every atom and molecule, therefore, is the centre of two forces, which co-exist together, and every meteor and satellite and every planet is also the centre of the same two forces, and this we shall find in its application to planetary phenomena will have a most important bearing on the physical conception of those phenomena. Thus it is the Aether medium, by its energy of motions, that constitutes the companion and complementary force to Gravitation Attraction, and which, as we shall see later, is the medium which forms the physical basis of that attraction also. It is, then, by the combined and harmonious working of these two co-equal, co-existent, and co-extensive forces that worlds roll and rush, sweep and swing, move and rotate about their respective centres; and, by these two forces working in perfect harmony, that that order and stability are produced, which everywhere pervade the universe of worlds, and form them in their entirety into one grand, ultimate, and harmonious system.

To develop and prove this fact, by explaining their manner and mode of working, we shall now proceed to consider Newton's Laws of Motion, and their relation to the aetherial medium, and by so doing shall be able to show the unmistakable reality and complete efficiency of this physical conception of the Aether medium, which forms the physical basis of all universal motion and phenomena.Art. 98. Newton's First Law of Motion.--We will now apply the centrifugal and centripetal forces to Newton's Laws of Motion, and endeavour to form a physical conception of the same from the aetherial standpoint. Before doing so, we must recall some of the statements made in Art. 14 with reference to the First Law of Motion.

It will be remembered that we divided the First Law of Motion into two parts: 1st, “Every body continues in a state of rest except in so far as it is compelled by impressed forces, i. e. impulses or motions, to change that state.” This we saw agreed with our experience, and therefore was philosophically correct, and must hold good in its application to the centrifugal and centripetal forces of the Aether in their effect upon any body in space.

Let us proceed to apply the First Law of Motion to the planetary world. We have seen in the previous Art. so far as the distances of the planets are concerned in their relation to the sun, that the Law of Gravity is violated, and that planetary distance is not regulated by the law governing the centripetal force of Gravitation, otherwise the planets possessing the largest masses would be nearer to the sun than those possessing smaller masses.

The question arises, as to whether there is any law which governs planetary distance, by which the distance of any planet was regulated at the birth or creation of the solar system. It has been assumed by some scientists that planetary density is the regulating factor which determines the relative distance of the respective planets from their central body, the sun, but such an assumption is not consistent with scientific data. For we find that Venus, with a density of 4.81 compared with water, occupies a nearer position than the Earth with a density of 5.66, whereas the reverse should be the case if the density of a planet were the deciding factor in regulating a planet's distance.

Again, we find Saturn, which possesses a density of .75, occupying a nearer position to the sun than Uranus, which possesses a density of 1.28; so that here again, if density were the regulating factor which decided planetary distance, such a law is violated. According to the various densities of the planets, the respective positions of the planets in relation to the sun would be as follows: The nearest planet would be Mercury, which possesses a density of 6.85. This would be followed by the Earth, with a density of 5.66. Then Venus would come next, with a density of 4.81, followed by Mars, with a density of 4.01. After these we should have Jupiter, whose density is 1.38, with Uranus, whose density is 1.28, followed by Neptune possessing a density of 1.15, and Saturn would take Neptune's place, as it possesses the least density of all, its density being only .75. So that it is manifest, that density cannot be the governing condition, as has been proved in the previous article.

Now, if all the planets ever formed part of the sun, and they were hurled off into space by the centrifugal motion of the Aether, then there certainly would be some law which governs the relative distance of the various planets; but as far as we can see, there is no such law, as a law which is violated ceases to be a law, so that the law of masses or densities of a planet, governing their distances, has no place in the solar system.

This leads up to the question as to whether the planets ever did form part of the sun, as is generally supposed; and, in view of the fact that there is no law by which planetary distances are regulated, we are compelled to come to the conclusion that each planet and satellite once existed in an aetherial condition in space, and that it was by the condensation of that Aether, that each planet was formed; and that, at its birth, each planet occupied the relative distance from the sun which it occupies to-day.

At first sight this may appear startling, but I would ask the reader how he can account otherwise for the great irregularity which exists in the distances of the planets in their relation to the sun, as every known law which governs masses and density seems to be altogether set at defiance.

I hope to prove later on, that all matter has an aetherial origin, and if that be correct, then the origin of a planet briefly outlined can be accepted without violating the results of experience or experiment, and to that extent will be philosophically correct.

Dr. Larmor speaks of the aetherial constitution of matter, and refers to the views of Faraday and Davy in support of such a theory, while Lord Kelvin has referred to the same principle in an article on the “Condensation of Gravitational Matter in any part of the Universe” (Phil. Mag., July 1902). So that if it be possible for Aether to be condensed, and so form the nucleus of a planet or satellite, then, seeing that the Aether is universal, any planet or satellite or meteor may be formed in any part of the solar system; and the process has only to be continued, until we have planets of various sizes at various distances from the central body, the sun.

Here, therefore, at any rate, is a physical hypothesis which will satisfactorily account for all the different distances of the various planets. Apart from some such hypothesis, I fail to see how we can account for the irregularity that exists between planetary distances, when viewed from the standpoint of their masses and their densities.

Further, such a conception is entirely in harmony with the view of the dual character of the motions or powers of the aetherial medium, that would co-exist with the evolution and development of the planet. For, as the planet was evolved and developed from the aetherial medium which surrounded it on every side, two motions would be developed and grow with it--the centrifugal force or motion, and the centripetal motion of the Aether, or the attractive force known as Gravity. Thus, through all the growth and development of a planet, these two powers, the centripetal force and the centrifugal force, would be co-equal and co-existent.

The same truth applies to the sun or any other body in the universe; so that, if a planet, as the Earth, was formed in the beginning at its mean distance of 92,700,000 miles, then the joint centripetal motions produced by the Earth and sun in the Aether, would always equal the joint centrifugal motions produced by the same two bodies, simply because the two laws are the exact opposite of each other both in regard to intensity, distance, and magnitude.

Thus the Earth would always occupy its relative position in relation to the sun that it occupies to-day, as long as the two aetherial forces or motions, the centripetal and the centrifugal, exist. With this brief outline of a planet's history, we are now in a position to form a physical picture of the solar system when it first existed in the beginning.

We find the sun then occupying its centre. At various distances, we find the various planets situated without any regard to their relative masses or densities, as the following table shows. (The mass of sun is taken as unity.)

Now, in order for any of these planets to fulfil Newton's First Law of Motion, the sun, which occupies the centre of the solar system, must be assumed to have no rotatory or orbital motion of its own; because, so long as it has a rotatory motion on its axis, or an orbital motion of its own through space, so long will even the first part of Newton's First Law of Motion be inapplicable to the solar system.

But if the sun can be assumed to possess at some point in its history no orbital motion, or rotatory motion on its axis, then the physical interpretation of the first law of motion can be physically conceived, and a planet at rest will remain at rest relatively to its central body, the sun, for ever.

Let us take the sun and Mercury as an example of the effect of the two motions operating in the aetherial medium. We will consider first the effect of the centrifugal motion. The sun, with its huge form, occupies the centre of the solar system, while Mercury has its mean distance about 36,000,000 miles away.

The solar fires are intensely burning, and every atom and every particle composing them are excited thereby into the most intense activity, and by their energy of motion create myriads upon myriads of waves in the surrounding Aether, which flow away on every side with the velocity of light.

With such velocity are they generated, that they speed across the distance of 36,000,000 miles which exist between Mercury and the sun in the short time of about three minutes, and if it were not for the aetherial and aerial atmosphere of the planet, would fall upon the surface of Mercury with an intensity of heat that would scorch up all vegetable life, if any existed thereon.

Now let us for a moment ignore the existence of the centripetal force, and then in that light view the influence of the electro-magnetic Aether waves upon Mercury. We have seen that when aetherial light waves come into contact with any body, they exert a pressure upon that body (Art. 77), so that under the influence of the centrifugal force only, Mercury would be borne away from its central body, the sun, with a power and energy of motion entirely dependent upon the intensity of the electro-magnetic Aether waves which give rise to the centrifugal force.

Thus Mercury would be carried away from the sun, far far away into the depths of space, with ever-decreasing rapidity, the rapidity of its motion through space being entirely dependent upon the intensity and energy of the Aether waves; and, as that intensity varies inversely as the square of the distance from the central body, the sun, so the impelling and repelling energy of the Aetherial waves would vary inversely as the square of the distance from the central body.

Thus the motion of Mercury or any other planet through space would not be uniform, but would gradually decrease, and such a result is perfectly in harmony with all experience and experiment in relation to moving bodies on this earth.

This effect of the Aetherial electro-magnetic light waves upon a planet is in harmony with Newton's nineteenth query in Optics, and is indeed the physical illustration of that query in its corrected form which we have already referred to in Art. 46, where Newton says: “Doth it (Aether) not grow denser and denser, etc.; every body endeavouring to go from the denser parts of the medium towards the rarer?”

That the Aether does grow denser and denser nearer to a body we have already seen in Art. 46, and now we learn that a body, when under the influence of the centrifugal force only, would pass from the denser parts of a medium to the rarer parts, as suggested by Newton. We will now suppose that Mercury has been repelled, by the pressure due to the aetherial waves generated by the sun, to the distance of Neptune, a distance of 2,780,000,000 miles; and that at this point the centrifugal force is cancelled, and in its place is put the centripetal force of Gravitation. What will be the effect upon Mercury then? At first sight the effect will be exceedingly slight, but slowly, yet surely, the attractive power of the sun would begin to make itself manifest, and we should find Mercury retracing its path along exactly the same straight line that it had taken in its outward journey.

Not only so, but its motion would be accelerated just in the same proportion that it had decreased on its outward journey. On and on through the intervening space the planet would rush, and if there were no centrifugal force in existence, the planet would ultimately rush into the central body, the sun, and being swallowed up by it, would maintain for a time the heat thereof.

Let us now view the case from the conjoint working of these forces, or motions, the centripetal and centrifugal, and we shall see, that under certain conditions it is possible to conceive physically of a planet being in a state of rest as stated in Newton's First Law of Motion, and also remaining in that state of rest, until it is compelled by other forces or motions to change that state. Mercury is now situated at its mean distance of about 36,000,000 miles. At the same instant let both the centrifugal and the centripetal forces or motions be applied to it, and to the sun. What is the result of such application? Will the planet move nearer the sun, which we are supposing to be perfectly at rest, or will it be urged further away? The effect is nil! for the simple reason, that when we set in motion the centripetal force of Gravitation, at exactly the same time we set in motion an exactly opposite force which is the exact complement and counterpart of the other, so that they exactly counterbalance each other, and Mercury under the influence of both forces still retains its mean position of 36,000,000 miles; and, until we either set the sun rotating, or give it a motion of its own through space, Mercury would remain at its distance of 36,000,000 miles comparatively at rest. The same reasoning may be applied to all the other planets, in relation to their mean distances, with the result that they too would remain in a comparative state of rest, so long as they were only under the influence of the two forces or motions, viz. the centrifugal and centripetal.

Each of these, being the exact complement and counterpart of the other, when applied together to any planet of any size or mass or density, at any distance, fails to affect the distance of that planet in its relation to the sun, but simply establishes it in that distance, subject to certain regulations dependent upon other motions of the sun, and the aetherial medium in which they exist. Thus we learn, that if, in the beginning, Mercury were formed at a distance of 36,000,000 miles, it would for ever remain at that distance; and the same is true of the other planets at their mean distances, no matter what their mass or density may be; and that, according to the first law of motion, the planet would remain in a state of rest until compelled by other forces or motions to change that state, when it would continue moving with uniform motion so long as the motive power applied was uniform.

If, however, the motive power applied was not uniform, then the result would be an increase or decrease of the planet's motion, just in proportion to the increase or decrease of the motive power. This result is in perfect harmony with our statement in Art. 15, and is in accordance with observation and experience.Art. 99. Second Law of Motion.--According to Newton's Second Law of Motion, “Change of motion is proportional to the impressed force, and takes place in the direction in which the force is impressed.”

From a consideration of this Law (Art. 15) we saw that the impressed force was a compound quantity, being regulated by the mass of the moving body which exerted the impressed force, and that it was also proportionate to the velocity of the moving body; so that if either of these quantities are changed, the total impressed force would be changed also.

We have now to show that our aetherial medium agrees with this second law of motion in so far as the second law of motion agrees with experience and experiments. To do this, we must review our conception of the universal Aether, and remember that Aether is matter, and being matter, it is atomic and gravitative, possessing density, elasticity, inertia, and kinetic energy, the same as any other moving matter.

In this Aether medium we have, according to this conception, something that can both push and pull, or exert force upon any body with which it comes into contact. Further, the inertia and kinetic energy of the Aether at any part of space will be regulated by its mass in that particular part, and if its mass is denser in some parts than others, that part of the aetherial medium possessing the greatest mass will also possess the greatest capacity for impressing force upon any body that exists in the medium. Now we have learned from Art. 45 that Aether being gravitative, it is denser nearer to the sun, getting gradually less and less dense, the further it recedes from the central body, except where it is bound or associated to some other planet or satellite, and there it gradually gets denser, for the same reason that it is denser nearer to the sun. As, therefore, the Aether gets gradually less dense as it recedes from the sun, the density of the Aether at the mean distance of Mercury, 35,900,000 miles, would not be so great as near the sun's surface; while the density of the aetherial medium at the distance of Venus, 67,000,000 miles, would be less than the density of the aetherial medium at the distance of Mercury. This principle may be applied right through the sun's aetherial electro-magnetic field, until we come to the mean distance of Neptune, which is 2,780,000,000 miles, and there the density of the Aether would be less than at any other part of the aetherial electro-magnetic field around the sun.

So that the mass of the Aether at Mercury, which is equal to the number of aetherial atoms per unit volume, is greater than the mass at Venus. Thus the impressed force which the aetherial medium at the mean distance of Mercury can exert upon any body in its neighbourhood, is greater than the impressed force which the Aether can exert upon any body at the distance of Venus, because of its decreased mass at that distance. In the same way it can be proved that the impressed force which the electro-magnetic Aether exerts on any body at the distance of Venus, is greater than the impressed force which the Aether exerts upon a body at the mean distance of the Earth. So that at the respective mean distances of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the electro-magnetic Aether, if in motion, would exert less force at each of the mean distances of these planets exactly proportionate to the decreased mass and decreased velocity of the Aether.

Now what is the motion which the Aether possesses, so far as the sun is concerned? because, upon the particular kind of motion which it possesses will depend the direction in which the impressed force will be exerted according to the second law of motion.

In Art. 98 we supposed the sun and planets to be stationary in the solar system, each planet being at its respective mean distance, from which it cannot move owing to the equality of the two forces. Now give to the central sun from whence the electro-magnetic Aether waves flow, a rotatory motion on its own axis, which it really possesses, as it rotates on its axis once in every twenty-six days nearly, and this will give to the Aether medium a circular or rotatory motion. This circular or rotatory motion the Aether has already been proved to possess (Art. 91, where we learned that all solar magnets were caused by electro-magnetic aetherial currents constantly circulating round them). So that the Aether will actually possess two motions: 1st, a radial motion due to the Aether waves generated by the sun, which are radiated out into space with the velocity of light; and 2nd, a circular or rotatory motion. This result is in perfect harmony with our hypothesis as to the cause of the electro-magnetism of the sun (Art. 91, where we saw that solar magnetism was due to electric currents circulating round the various planets), and we have proved that the Aether has an electro-magnetic basis; thus the rotatory Aether currents and the rotatory electro-magnetic currents are due to one and the same medium.

Now what will be the effect of these circular or rotatory Aether currents on the bodies situated within their field? It must be remembered that we are no longer dealing with a frictionless medium, but with a medium which possesses inertia and kinetic energy the same as any other moving matter. Therefore, as soon as it is set in motion, it will impress its motions upon all planets that come under its control and influence, with the result that as the impressed force is ever directed in a circular form, the planet will be pushed along through space by the moving Aether, and the path it describes will be circular also.

Thus the actual result of the rotatory electro-magnetic Aether currents will be, that all dependent and associated planets under their influence will be carried by them around the central body which generates the Aether currents. So that they will literally and truly have an orbit, and the circle they describe will be, in its size and circumference, regulated by the mean distance of each planet, which mean distance will form the radius of the circular orbit.

Further, as we shall see later, if the sun were always stationary, and had no orbital motion of its own, then the orbit of each planet would always be circular, each planet always occupying its mean distance from the sun, because at that mean distance the centripetal and centrifugal forces are equal.

That the actual path of any planet is a circle has been proved by Sir W. R. Hamilton. Tait, in his Natural Philosophy, on this point writes (Art. 38): “The Hodograph for the motion of a planet or comet is always a circle, whatever be the form and dimensions of the orbit.” This path has been termed the Hodograph. So that we have in the circling electro-magnetic Aether currents a physical explanation for the Hodograph of any planet.

In applying the rotatory Aether currents to the various planets, and in endeavouring to find out the quantity of the force impressed upon the various planets at their mean distances, by those currents, we have to take into consideration, as we have already seen, two facts, viz. the mass of the Aether at any point in space, and the velocity of the Aether at the same point. We will first take the effect of the difference in mass. We have seen that at the distance of Mercury from the sun the density of the Aether is greater than at the distance of Venus, and that the density at Mars is greater than the aetherial density at the Earth, the aetherial density decreasing the further the Aether recedes from the sun.

What, therefore, is the effect of the decreased density of the Aether on each planet? Even supposing the velocity of the moving Aether is the same at the respective mean planetary distances, which it is not, the total impressed force at the respective mean planetary distances will gradually be decreased upon the various planets, proportionate to the decrease in the mass and density of the Aether.

So that on Mercury, which is pushed along by a denser electro-magnetic Aether than Venus, the impressed force, according to Newton's Second Law of Motion, will be greater than the impressed force exerted by the moving electro-magnetic Aether on Venus; and, consequently, Mercury should have a greater velocity through space than Venus, due partly to the difference of the aetherial mass and density, by which the impressed force or motive power that acts upon Mercury is produced.

In the same way, Venus should have a greater velocity through space than Mars, and Mars a greater velocity than the Earth. The same principle, when applied to the outer planets, equally holds good; with the result, that the greater the mean distance, the less the orbital velocity of each planet, due partly to the decreased aetherial density at the increased distance from the sun. But this is only part of the cause. Not only is there a decrease in density of the Aether, as the distance from the sun is increased, but there is also a decrease in the velocity of the moving Aether, with the result that the Aether at the distance of Mercury, possesses a greater angular velocity than at the distance of Venus.

It may be at once asked, How do we know that? Well, Philosophy alone can give us the key, and Philosophy tells us to base our theories and hypotheses on experience and experiment. Now what does experiment and experience teach us as to the effect of a body revolving in any medium upon that medium? If experience teaches us anything at all, it teaches us that the further away any medium is from the revolving body, the less is the angular velocity of that medium at that distance, while the nearer the medium is to the revolving body, the greater is the angular velocity.

This applies in each and every case, whether the medium is either fluid or gaseous, and I will challenge the reader to perform any experiment on any solid body rotating in a fluid or gaseous medium, and prove by that experiment that the angular velocity of the outermost part of the fluid or gaseous medium is equal to the angular velocity of the medium directly associated with the body, or even at a short distance from it.

But we have most conclusive evidence of the fact that a solid body does not communicate all its rotational surface motion to the medium directly in contact with that body in the case of the earth revolving on its axis, surrounded by an atmosphere. If the principle held good anywhere in relation to a revolving body, viz. that the whole of the rotational velocity is communicated to the medium surrounding the body, it should certainly hold good at the surface of the body where the two media, the solid and gaseous media, meet.

If a solid body fails to impart all its rotational velocity to the medium there, then it will certainly fail to impart its full rotational velocity to the enveloping medium 100 miles away, and fail still more at a distance of 1000, and still more at a distance of 100,000,000, and so on proportionate to the distance.

What, then, is the effect of the rotational velocity of the surface of the earth on the atmosphere near to it? We know that the velocity of the surface of the earth is greatest at the equator, as at that place the circumference of the earth is about 25,000 miles, but the further we get away from the equator, and the nearer we get to the North and South poles, the velocity of the surface decreases, simply because the circumference of the earth decreases.

Or, to reverse the statement, the velocity of the surface of the earth is least at the poles, but increases the nearer we get to the equator. It is also familiar knowledge that there are currents of cold air ever moving from the North and South poles to the equatorial regions near the surface of the earth. Thus the cold air currents, in passing from the North and South poles, are ever passing over surfaces which are increasing in velocity as they journey on their way to the equator. This of course occurs all round the earth, so that the earth is continually revolving in these currents, and if the rotational velocity of the surface of the earth were wholly imparted to the air directly over its surface, then the currents would be always flowing due North and South.

If, however, the earth fails to impart all its rotational velocity to the atmosphere, or the atmosphere fails to pick up the whole of the rotational velocity at once, then the result will be that the atmosphere as it passes over the surfaces of greatest velocity will lag behind, because its rotational velocity will be less than the velocity of the earth's surface.

Now this is exactly what does happen in regard to the atmosphere, with the result, that instead of getting winds blowing due north and south, we get what are known as Trade Winds, which blow north-east in the northern hemisphere and south-east in the southern hemisphere. Here then we have direct experimental proof on a large scale of the very principle I have stated, viz, that a medium surrounding any rotating body does not move through the whole of its extent with the same velocity as its does at the surface. Thus it can be seen that the velocity of the rotating Aether will be greatest at the surface of the sun, but its angular velocity will decrease the further the medium recedes from the sun.

The same principle can easily be proved from an electrical standpoint; for if we consider the Aether currents as electric currents, no one would think of suggesting that the intensity of the currents was the same at a distance of several million miles away, as it is near the source of the currents, which in this case may be looked upon as the sun, because at its surface we have the greatest electric potential (Art. 80).

So that we see from this reasoning, that not only is there a decreased mass of the Aether at the distance of Venus, compared with Mercury, but there is also a decreased velocity in the rotatory electro-magnetic Aether currents, with the result that the impressed force exerted upon Venus is less than the impressed force exerted upon Mercury, and therefore Venus should move slower through space than Mercury, which is exactly what happens, as Mercury has an orbital velocity of 29 miles per second, while Venus has an orbital velocity of 22 miles per second.

As the angular velocity decreases in proportion as the distance increases, it follows that at the respective mean distances not only of Venus, but also of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the capacity of the Aether to exert its impressed force upon the various planets will decrease as the distance increases, with the result that the farther a planet is from the sun, the less force will the Aether currents exert upon that planet, with the result that its orbital velocity should decrease as the distance increases, and this is perfectly in accordance with planetary phenomena.

Here, then, we have at once a physical basis for Newton's Second Law of Motion, the results of which are entirely in harmony with observation and experiment, and whose conception fully satisfies all the Rules of Philosophy; as it is simple in conception, fully agrees with observation and experiment, and satisfactorily explains the Second Law of Motion sought to be explained.

Thus we find that from the physical standpoint, as well as from the mathematical standpoint, “Change of motion is proportional to the impressed force, and takes place in the direction in which the force is impressed,” that is, in a circular direction.

We have therefore arrived at exactly the same result that Newton arrived at, except that he had to introduce a third factor, viz. the Parallelogram of Forces, while we have produced the result by a simpler method, which, according to his own rules, is more philosophical, as all effects are produced by the simplest causes, as Newton himself stated in Rule 1. Thus it is the rotatory electro-magnetic Aether currents that urge the planets round the sun; and, as will be shown later, it is the same Aether currents in combination with the other motions that give rise to the physical cause of Kepler's Laws. It is the electro-magnetic Aether currents that produce the regular decrease in the velocity of the planets in their orbits, because of the regular decrease of the mass and velocity of the Aether currents themselves.

We have now a physical cause as well as a mathematical explanation of the decrease of the velocity of a planet in its orbit, which physical cause is in perfect harmony with all philosophical rules. The following table shows the gradual decrease in the velocity of each planet as the various planets recede from the sun--

Art. 100. Aether and Third Law of Motion.--We have seen (Art. 16) that action and reaction are equal and opposite, and that it is true of the centripetal force in its application to all matter throughout the universe. If, therefore, the centrifugal force is the exact opposite of the centripetal force, then the Third Law of Motion should equally hold good in relation to that force also.

We have, therefore, to form a physical conception of the application of the third law of motion, as it relates to the centrifugal force. As we have already learned, this force is due to the universal electro-magnetic Aether, which being gravitative, surrounds all atoms and molecules that may exist throughout the whole universe. It can readily be seen, therefore, that if the Aether surrounds every atom and molecule, then each atom repels another atom or molecule when the two forces are in equilibrium with exactly the same intensity with which the atom and molecule attract each other.

But the centrifugal force in each case is due to the pressure of the Aether, which presses always proportionately to the density of the Aether surrounding the atom or molecules, as suggested by Professor Challis.

The mean density, however, of each atomic or molecular atmosphere is regulated solely by the mass of the atom or planet, therefore the pressure exerted by one atom on another is proportionate to the mass of each atom, and to that extent is strictly in accordance with the law which governs the proportion of the forces between the two atoms or molecules. If, therefore, we have two atoms, A and B, of different masses, then it is true that while A exerts a pressure on B, which pressure takes the form of a repulsion, at the same time B exerts a pressure on A which is equal and opposite in its character and intensity, and in each case the pressure is due to the aetherial medium which surrounds each atom or molecule.

When the atoms are equal in mass, then the resultant motion produced on each atom would be exactly equal, but when the masses vary, the resultant motion produced on each atom would vary also, though the momentum in each case would be exactly equal and opposite, as momentum is a compound term dependent partly upon the mass of the body concerned.

In Art. 16 we saw that when this third law was applied to planetary phenomena, not only did the sun attract all the planets, but all the planets attracted the sun with equal and opposite forces, and the planets also attracted each other with equal and opposite forces. In the same way it can be proved, that as the sun repels all the planets by the pressure exerted by the aetherial centrifugal force on those planets, the planets repel the sun with an exactly equal and opposite force at their mean distances. In Newton's conception, however, of the third law of motion, there was simply mathematical data to deal with, by which the law was shown to apply to the planetary and stellar world. In the case, however, of the centrifugal motion, we have a definite physical medium, which by its motions produces the pressure on the planets or suns that exist in space, which pressure forms the physical centrifugal force that forms the counterpart of Gravitation Attraction.

Let us look at this phase of the case in detail, and by so doing help to establish and confirm the physical existence of the force or motion referred to. We have learned from Chapter IV. that as Aether is gravitative, it surrounds all satellites and planets, suns and stars that exist in the universe.

We have also learned from Art. 86 that Aether has an electro-magnetic basis, as mathematically proved by Maxwell and experimentally proved by Hertz. Thus we came to the conclusion that each satellite and planet, sun and star, was an electrified body (Art. 81), or an electro-magnet (Art. 88), possessing its own electric or electro-magnetic field.

We also learned that in every electro-magnetic field there was a pressure which was ever directed away from the body that generated the electro-magnetic waves. Now, as every satellite and planet, sun and star, is a generator of these waves according to our theory, it follows that every satellite and planet, sun and star, is the centre of a centrifugal force, which centrifugal force is regulated by the mass of the satellite, planet, sun or star which gives rise to the centrifugal force or motion.

Now, in relation to all electro-magnetic action, it can be experimentally demonstrated, that action and reaction are equal and opposite, so that if we have two electrified or magnetized bodies, then the joint forces of attraction or repulsion between them are equal and opposite. This being so, when we apply the same law of action and reaction to the planets' influence on each other, it follows that the same law must hold good in relation to them.

So that if we compare the repulsive powers of two planets on each other in the solar system, say the Earth and Jupiter, then, according to the third law of motion, the repulsive action of Jupiter on the Earth is exactly equal and opposite to the repulsive action of the Earth on Jupiter. If we compare the Earth and the sun, the repulsive action of the sun on the Earth is exactly equal and opposite to the repulsive action of the Earth on the sun, that action or force being caused directly by the electro-magnetic Aether waves, which are generated by each electric, or electro-magnetic body.

Thus, as the third law of motion is true of the centripetal force, whether in relation to the atomic world, or in relation to the solar system, or even to the universe at large, seeing that the centrifugal force is the exact counterpart in every way of the centripetal force, exactly fulfilling all the laws which govern it, it follows as a matter of absolute necessity that the third law is also applicable to its complement or counterpart also, or else it would cease to be the complement and counterpart of the centripetal force.Art. 101. Why Planets revolve from West to East.--In Art. 99 we have seen that the revolution of the planets around the sun is produced and maintained by the electro-magnetic Aether currents, which are generated by the axial motion of that electro-magnetic body. There is, however, another effect produced, and another scientific fact which can be accounted for by the circulating motions of the Aether medium, viz. that the orbital direction of each and all the planets would not only be in the same direction, but they would also be in the same direction as the sun's rotation on its axis.

So that, whichever way the sun turns upon its axis, that way, and that alone, should be the orbital direction of all the planets in which they are circled round the sun by the circulating electro-magnetic Aether currents. It is the sun's axial motion that partly gives to the Aether currents their circling motion, and it is the circling motion of the Aether currents that gives rise to the orbital motion of the planets, literally carrying them round the sun by their kinetic energy and power.

Therefore, if this be true, whichever way the sun turns upon its axis, that will be the direction in which the Aether currents must circle round the sun, and in that direction the planets should travel in their orbits. As must readily be seen, it is the inevitable result of the established working of the electro-magnetic Aether currents. If the sun rotated on its axis from east to west, then the electro-magnetic Aether currents would also travel in the same direction, from east to west, and the planets would then revolve round the sun from east to west.

If the sun, however, rotates on its axis from west to east, then, if there are such electro-magnetic Aether currents in existence, as those we have already proved to exist, they, too, would travel from west to east, and as a natural result the planets, which are carried round the sun by the currents, would also possess the same orbital motion, that is from west to east.

As is well known, the sun rotates on its axis from west to east, therefore the Aether currents also rotate from west to east, with the result that the orbital directions of all the planets should also be in the same direction, from west to east. Now, as is well known, all the planets without exception, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, all travel round the sun from west to east.

Here, then, we have indisputable evidence of the existence and mode of working of the electro-magnetic aetherial currents, whose action alone can produce the phenomena with which we are so familiar, and for which there must be some physical cause. I am not aware that any reason or explanation either mathematical or otherwise has ever been given, or even suggested, as to the cause of the phenomena which we have just endeavoured to explain.

Indeed, there can be no other physical explanation of the fact, that all the planets revolve round the sun in the same direction that the sun rotates on its axis, than the one here given, viz. that the cause is to be found, and alone found, in the circulating electro-magnetic Aether currents which are generated in the Aether by the electro-magnetic body, the sun. Again, in order to confirm the existence of these Aether currents that exist in space, not only those generated by the sun, but also by all the other electro-magnetic bodies, as all the planets (Art. 88), we will consider the working of the same upon the satellites of those planets which possess them.

The Earth we know has one satellite, the moon, Mars has two satellites, Phobos and Deimos, Jupiter has five satellites, Saturn has eight satellites, while up to the present Uranus has been found to possess four, and Neptune one. There is, however, little doubt but that both Uranus and Neptune possess more than those already discovered, as it is inconceivable that Jupiter and Saturn, which are nearer to the sun, should possess a greater number of satellites by which the nights of the respective planets are illuminated, while the further planets, which need the increased lighting, because of the decreased intensity of the aetherial light waves at the increased distance, possess apparently a less number of satellites, and therefore less illumination for their respective nights.

But what have these satellites to teach us as to the existence of the electro-magnetic aetherial currents that circulate round the planets? We have to apply a similar course of reasoning to the planets, as we have done in the case of the sun. If the sun is an electro-magnetic body, by its axial rotation it generates rotating Aether currents, and those Aether currents partake of the same rotation as the revolving body, that is, from west to east. In a like manner each planet, being an electro-magnet, generates electro-magnetic aetherial currents which also possess the same rotation as the planetary body which gives rise to them.

So that if the planets rotate on their axes from east to west, the Aether currents will also rotate from east to west, but if the rotation of each planet is from west to east, then the rotation of the Aether currents associated with each planet will also be from west to east, with the result that each satellite will be carried round its primary planet by the circulating Aether currents in exactly the same way as the planet rotates on its axis.

Now if this is the case, then we have further evidence of the existence of the circulating electro-magnetic Aether currents, not only those associated with the sun, but those also associated with each of the planets, as explained in Art. 91. It might have been urged in the case of the planet's revolution round the sun being in the same direction as the sun's axial action, that such a fact was merely a coincidence, but such an objection loses its force if it is proved that the same principle or truth when applied to other bodies equally holds good. When we come to analyze the direction of the satellites round their primary planets, we find that each satellite has an orbital motion, or is carried round its central and controlling planet by that planet's Aether currents in exactly the same direction that the planet rotates on its axis, viz. from west to east. So that we have in the orbital direction of the satellites, as we have also in the orbital direction of the planets, conclusive evidence of the existence and mode of working of the Aether and of the electro-magnetic currents generated in that aetherial medium by the electro-magnetic bodies which rotate in it.