Herbert S. Redgrove (EN) Alchemy Ancient and Modern

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com
ALCHEMY
85
of the ether, for the ether within matter is as dense as that without. What we call matter,
however, is not a continuous substance; it consists,
Page 114
rather, of a number of widely separated particles, whence its comparatively small density
compared with the perfectly continuous ether. Further, if there is a difficulty in
conceiving how a perfect fluid like the ether can give rise to a solid body possessed of
such properties as rigidity, impenetrability and elasticity, we must remember that all these
properties can be produced by means of motion. A jet of water moving with a sufficient
velocity behaves like a rigid and impenetrable solid, whilst a revolving disc of paper
exhibits elasticity and can act as a circular saw.10 It appears, therefore, that the ancient
doctrine of the alchemistic essence is fundamentally true after all, that out of the "One
Thing" all material things have been produced by adaptation or modification; and, as we
have already noticed ( 60), there also appears to be some resemblance between the
concept of the electron and that of the seed of gold, which seed, it should be borne in
mind, was regarded by the alchemists as the common seed of all metals.
83. Further Evidence of the Complexity of the Atoms.
There are also certain other facts which appear to demand such a modification of
Dalton's Atomic Theory as is found in the Electronic Theory. One of the characteristics
of the chemical elements is that each one gives a spectrum peculiar to itself. The
spectrum of an element must, therefore, be due to its atoms, which in some way are able,
at a sufficiently high temperature, to act upon the ether so as to produce vibrations of
definite and characteristic wave-length. Now, in many cases the number of lines of
definite wavelength
Page 115
observed in such a spectrum is considerable, for example, hundreds of different lines
have been observed in the arc-spectrum of iron. But it is incredible that an atom, if it
were a simple unit, would give rise to such a number of different and definite vibrations,
and the only reasonable conclusion is that the atoms must be complex in structure. We
may here mention that spectroscopic examination of various heavenly bodies leads to the
conclusion that there is some process of evolution at work building up complex elements
from simpler ones, since the hottest nebul� appear to consist of but a few simple
elements, whilst cooler bodies exhibit a greater complexity.
84. Views of Wald and Ostwald.
Such modifications of the atomic theory as those we have briefly discussed above,
although profoundly modifying, and, indeed, controverting the philosophical significance
of Dalton's theory as originally formulated, leave its chemical significance practically
Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com
ALCHEMY
86
unchanged. The atoms can be regarded no longer as the eternal, indissoluble gods of
Nature that they were once supposed to be; thus, Materialism is deprived of what was
thought to be its scientific basis.11 But the science of Chemistry is unaffected thereby; the
atoms are not the ultimate units out of which material things are built, but the atoms
cannot be decomposed by purely chemical means; the "elements" are not truly elemental,
but they are chemical elements. However, the atomic theory has been subjected to a far
more searching criticism. Wald argues that substances obey the law of definite
Page 116
proportions because of the way in which they are prepared; chemists refuse, he says, to
admit any substance as a definite chemical compound unless it does obey this law. Wald's
opinions have been supported by Professor Ostwald, who has attempted to deduce the
other stoichiometric laws on these grounds without assuming any atomic hypothesis12;
but these new ideas do not appear to have gained the approval of chemists in general. It is
not to be supposed that chemists will give up without a struggle a mental tool of such
great utility as Dalton's theory, in spite of its defects, has proved itself to be. There does
seem, however, to be logic in the arguments of Wald and Ostwald, but the trend of recent
scientific theory and research does not appear to be in the direction of Wald's views.
Certainly, however, it appears that, on the one hand, the atomic theory is not necessitated
by the so-called "stoichiometric laws"; but, on the other hand, a molecular constitution of
matter seems to be demanded by the phenomenon known as the "Brownian Movement,"
i.e., the spontaneous, irregular and apparently perpetual movement of microscopic
portions of solid matter when immersed in a liquid medium; such movement appearing to
be explicable only as the result of the motion of the molecules of which the liquid in
question is built up.13
1. It should be noted, however, that if by the term "phlogiston" we were to understand
energy and not some form of matter, most of the statements of the phlogistics would be
true so far as they go.
2. In order that these laws may hold good, it is, of course, necessary that the substances
are weighed under precisely similar conditions. To state these laws in a more absolute
form, we can replace the term "weight" by "mass," or in preference, "inertia"; for the
inertial of bodies are proportional to their weights, providing that they are weighed under
precisely similar conditions. For a discussion of the exact significance of these terms
"mass" and "inertia," the reader is referred to the present writer's Matter, Spirit and the
Cosmos (Rider, 1910), Chapter I., "On the Doctrine of the Indestructibility of Matter."
3. The term "valency" is not altogether an easy one to define; we will, however, here do
our best to make plain its significance. In a definite chemical compound we must assume
that the atoms constituting each molecule are in some way bound together (though not, of
course, rigidly), and we may speak of "bonds" or "links of affinity," taking care, however,
not to interpret such terms too literally. Now, the number of "affinity links" which one
Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com
ALCHEMY
87
atom can exert is not unlimited; indeed, according to the valency theory as first
formulated, it is fixed and constant. It is this number which is called the "valency" of the
element; but it is now known that the "valency" in most cases can vary between certain
limits. Hydrogen, however, appears to be invariably univalent, and is therefore taken as
the unit of valency. Thus, Carbon is quadrivalent in the methane-molecule, which
consists of one atom of carbon combined with four atoms of hydrogen; and Oxygen is
divalent in the water-molecule, which consists of one atom of oxygen combined with two
atoms of hydrogen. Hence, we should expect to find one atom of carbon combining with
two of oxygen, which is the case in the carbon-dioxide -- (carbonic anhydride) --
molecule. For a development of the thesis, so far as the compounds of carbon are
concerned, that each specific "affinity link" corresponds in general to a definite and
constant amount of energy, which is evolved as heat on disruption of the bond, the reader
is referred to the present writer's monograph On the Calculation of Thermo-Chemical
Constants (Arnold, 1909). The phenomena of valency find their explanation in modern
views concerning the constitution of atoms (see 81).
4. Since hydrogen is the lightest of all known substances, the unit, Hydrogen = 1, was at
one time usually employed. However, it was seen to be more convenient to express the
atomic weights in terms of the weight of the oxygen-atom, and the unit, Oxygen = 16 is
now always employed. This value for the oxygen-atom was chosen so that the
approximate atomic weights would in most cases remain unaltered by the change.
5. Hon. R. J. STRUTT: "On the Tendency of the Atomic Weights to approximate to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Tematy