Opticks : $b or, A treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colours of lightNewton, Isaac
Science
Opticks : $b or, A treatise of the reflections, refractions, inflections and colours of light
Newton, Isaac
Optics -- Early works to 1800
they are volatile, rarifying with an easy Heat, and condensing with
Cold. But those which are grosser, and so less susceptible of Agitation,
or cohere by a stronger Attraction, are not separated without a stronger
Heat, or perhaps not without Fermentation. And these last are the Bodies
which Chymists call fix'd, and being rarified by Fermentation, become
true permanent Air; those Particles receding from one another with the
greatest Force, and being most difficultly brought together, which upon
Contact cohere most strongly. And because the Particles of permanent Air
are grosser, and arise from denser Substances than those of Vapours,
thence it is that true Air is more ponderous than Vapour, and that a
moist Atmosphere is lighter than a dry one, quantity for quantity. From
the same repelling Power it seems to be that Flies walk upon the Water
without wetting their Feet; and that the Object-glasses of long
Telescopes lie upon one another without touching; and that dry Powders
are difficultly made to touch one another so as to stick together,
unless by melting them, or wetting them with Water, which by exhaling
may bring them together; and that two polish'd Marbles, which by
immediate Contact stick together, are difficultly brought so close
together as to stick.
And thus Nature will be very conformable to her self and very simple,
performing all the great Motions of the heavenly Bodies by the
Attraction of Gravity which intercedes those Bodies, and almost all the
small ones of their Particles by some other attractive and repelling
Powers which intercede the Particles. The _Vis inertiae_ is a passive
Principle by which Bodies persist in their Motion or Rest, receive
Motion in proportion to the Force impressing it, and resist as much as
they are resisted. By this Principle alone there never could have been
any Motion in the World. Some other Principle was necessary for putting
Bodies into Motion; and now they are in Motion, some other Principle is
necessary for conserving the Motion. For from the various Composition of
two Motions, 'tis very certain that there is not always the same
quantity of Motion in the World. For if two Globes joined by a slender
Rod, revolve about their common Center of Gravity with an uniform
Motion, while that Center moves on uniformly in a right Line drawn in
the Plane of their circular Motion; the Sum of the Motions of the two
Globes, as often as the Globes are in the right Line described by their
common Center of Gravity, will be bigger than the Sum of their Motions,
when they are in a Line perpendicular to that right Line. By this
Instance it appears that Motion may be got or lost. But by reason of the
Tenacity of Fluids, and Attrition of their Parts, and the Weakness of
Elasticity in Solids, Motion is much more apt to be lost than got, and
is always upon the Decay. For Bodies which are either absolutely hard,
or so soft as to be void of Elasticity, will not rebound from one
another.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account