|
It will be seen that the atom is a sphere, slightly flattened,
and there is
a depression at the point where the force flows in, causing a
heart-like
form. Each atom is surrounded by a field, formed of the atoms of
the four
higher planes, which surround and interpenetrate it.
The atom
can scarcely be said to be a "thing," though it is the material
out of which
all things physical are composed. It is formed by the flow of
the
life-force[5] and vanishes with its ebb. When this force arises
in
"space"[6]--the apparent void which must be filled with substance of
some
kind, of inconceivable tenuity--atoms appear; if this be
artificially
stopped for a single atom, the atom disappears; there is nothing
left.
Presumably, were that flow checked but for an instant, the whole
physical
world would vanish, as a cloud melts away in the empyrean. It is
only the
persistence of that flow[7] which maintains the physical basis of
the
universe.[8]
In order to examine the construction of the atom, a
space is artificially
made[9]; then, if an opening be made in the wall thus
constructed, the
surrounding force flows in, and three whorls immediately
appear,
surrounding the "hole" with their triple spiral of two and a half
coils,
and returning to their origin by a spiral within the atom; these are
at
once followed by seven finer whorls, which following the spiral of
the
first three on the outer surface, and returning to their origin by a
spiral
within that, flowing in the opposite direction--form a caduceus with
the
first three. Each of the three coarser whorls, flattened out, makes
a
closed circle; each of the seven finer ones, similarly flattened out,
makes
a closed circle. The forces which flow in them, again, come from
"outside,"
from a fourth-dimensional space.[10] Each of the finer whorls is
formed of
seven yet finer ones, set successively at right angles to each
other, each
finer than its predecessor; these we call spirillæ.[11]
It
will be understood from the foregoing, that the atom cannot be said to
have a
wall of its own, unless these whorls of force can be so designated;
its
"wall" is the pressed back "space." As said in 1895, of the chemical
atom,
the force "clears itself a space, pressing back the undifferentiated
matter
of the plane, and making to itself a whirling wall of this matter."
The wall
belongs to space, not to the atom.
In the three whorls flow currents of
different electricities; the seven
vibrate in response to etheric waves of
all kinds--to sound, light, heat,
etc.; they show the seven colours of the
spectrum; give out the seven
sounds of the natural scale; respond in a
variety of ways to physical
vibration--flashing, singing, pulsing bodies,
they move incessantly,
inconceivably beautiful and brilliant.[12]
The
atom has--as observed so far--three proper motions, _i.e._, motions of
its
own, independent of any imposed upon it from outside. It turns
incessantly
upon its own axis, spinning like a top; it describes a small
circle with its
axis, as though the axis of the spinning top moved in a
small circle; it has
a regular pulsation, a contraction and expansion, like
the pulsation of the
heart. When a force is brought to bear upon it, it
dances up and down, flings
itself wildly from side to side, performs the
most astonishing and rapid
gyrations, but the three fundamental motions
incessantly persist. If it be
made to vibrate, as a whole, at the rate
which gives any one of the seven
colors, the whorl belonging to that color
glows out
brilliantly.
[Illustration]
An electric current brought to bear
upon the atoms checks their proper
motions, _i.e._, renders them slower; the
atoms exposed to it arrange
themselves in parallel lines, and in each line
the heart-shaped depression
receives the flow, which passes out through the
apex into the depression of
the next, and so on. The atoms always set
themselves to the current. The
well-known division of diamagnetic and
paramagnetic depends generally on
this fact, or on an analogous action on
molecules, as may be seen in the
accompanying diagrams.[13]
Two atoms,
positive and negative, brought near to each other, attract each
other, and
then commence to revolve round each other, forming a relatively
stable
duality; such a molecule is neutral. Combinations of three or more
atoms are
positive, negative or neutral, according to the internal
molecular
arrangement; the neutral are relatively stable, the positive and
negative are
continually in search of their respective opposites, with a
view to
establishing a relatively permanent union.
Three states of matter exist
between the atomic state and the gaseous--the
state in which the chemical
atoms are found, the recognized chemical
elements; for our purposes we may
ignore the liquid and solid states. For
the sake of clearness and brevity in
description, we have been obliged to
name these states; we call the atomic
state of the chemist _elemental_; the
state which results from breaking up
chemical elements, _proto-elemental_;
the next higher,
_meta-proto-elemental_; the next higher,
_hyper-meta-proto-elemental_; then
comes the atomic state. These are
briefly marked as El., Proto., Meta., and
Hyper.[14]
The simplest unions of atoms, never, apparently consisting of
more than
seven, form the first molecular state of physical
matter.
[Illustration: TYPES OF HYPER-META-PROTO-ELEMENTAL
MATTER.]
Here are some characteristic combinations of the Hyper state;
the atom is
conventional, with the depression emphasised; the lines, always
entering at
the depression and coming out at the apex, show the resultants of
lines of
force; where no line appears entering the depression, the force
wells up
from fourth-dimensional space; where no line appears leaving the
apex, the
force disappears into fourth-dimensional space; where the point of
entry
and departure is outside the atoms, it is indicated by a
dot.[15]
The molecules show all kinds of possible combinations; the
combinations
spin, turn head over heels, and gyrate in endless ways. Each
aggregation is
surrounded with an apparent cell-wall, the circle or oval, due
to the
pressure on the surrounding matter caused by its whirling motion;
they
strike on each other[16] and rebound, dart hither and thither, for
reasons
we have not distinguished.
[Illustration: TYPES OF
META-PROTO-ELEMENTAL MATTER.]
The Meta state, in some of its
combinations, appears at first sight to
repeat those of the Hyper state; the
only obvious way of distinguishing to
which some of the molecules of less
complexity belong is to pull them out
of the "cell-wall"; if they are Hyper
molecules they at once fly off as
separate atoms; if they are Meta molecules
they break up into two or more
molecules containing a smaller number of
atoms. Thus one of the Meta
molecules of iron, containing seven atoms, is
identical in appearance with
a Hyper heptad, but the latter dissociates into
seven atoms, the former
into two triads and a single atom. Long-continued
research into the
detailed play of forces and their results is necessary; we
are here only
able to give preliminary facts and details--are opening up the
way. The
following may serve as characteristic Meta types:--
These are
taken from constituents of the various elements; 1 from Gl; 2 and
3 from Fe;
4 from Bo; 5, 6 and 7 from C; 8 from He; 9 from Fl; 10, 11, 12
from Li; 13
and 14 from Na. Others will be seen in the course of breaking
up the
elements.
The Proto state preserves many of the forms in the elements,
modified by
release from the pressure to which they are subjected in the
chemical atom.
In this state various groups are thus recognizable which are
characteristic
of allied metals.
[Illustration: TYPES OF
PROTO-ELEMENTAL MATTER.]
These are taken from the products of the first
disintegration of the
chemical atom, by forcibly removing it from its hole.
The groups fly apart,
assuming a great variety of forms often more or less
geometrical; the lines
between the constituents of the groups, where
indicated, no longer
represent lines of force, but are intended to represent
the impression of
form, _i.e._, of the relative position and motion of the
constituents, made
on the mind of the observer. They are elusive, for there
are no lines, but
the appearance of lines is caused by the rapid motion of
the costituents up
and down, or along them backwards and forwards. The dots
represent atoms,
or groups of atoms, within the proto-elements. 1 is found in
C; 2 and 3 in
He; 4 in Fl; 5 in Li; 6 in N; 7 in Ru; 8 in Na; 9 and 10 in Co;
11 in Fe;
12 in Se. We shall return to these when analysing the elements, and
shall
meet many other proto-elemental groupings.
The first thing which
is noticed by the observer, when he turns his
attention to the chemical
atoms, is that they show certain definite forms,
and that within these forms,
modified in various ways, sub-groupings are
observable which recur in
connexion with the same modified form. The main
types are not very numerous,
and we found that, when we arranged the atoms
we had observed, according to
their external forms, they fell into natural
classes; when these, in turn,
were compared with Sir William Crookes'
classification, they proved to be
singularly alike. Here is his arrangement
of the elements, as it appeared in
the _Proceedings of the Royal Society_,
in a paper read on June 9th,
1898.
[Illustration]
This is to be read, following the lines of
the "figures of eight": H, He,
Li, Gl, B, C, N, and so on, each successive
element being heavier than the
one preceding it in order. The disks which
fall immediately below each
other form a class; thus: H, Cl, Br, I; these
resemble each other in
various ways, and, as we shall presently see, the same
forms and groupings
re-appear.
Another chart--taken from Erdmann's
_Lehrbuch_--arranges the elements on a
curved line, which curiously resembles
the curves within the shell of a
nautilus. The radiating lines show the
classes, the whole diameter building
up a family; it will be observed that
there is an empty radius between
hydrogen and helium, and we have placed
occultum there; on the opposite
radius, iron, rubidium and osmium are
seen.
[Illustration]
The external forms may be classified as
follows; the internal details will
be dealt with later
:--
[Illustration: PLATE III.]
1. _The Dumb-bell._--The
characteristics of this are a higher and lower
group, each showing 12
projecting funnels, grouped round a central body,
and a connecting rod. It
appears in sodium, copper, silver, and gold,[17]
and gold is given (1 on
Plate III) as the most extremely modified example
of this form. The 12
almond-like projections, above and below, are
severally contained in shadowy
funnels, impossible to reproduce in the
drawing; the central globe contains
three globes, and the connecting
portion has swollen out into an egg, with a
very complicated central
arrangement. The dumb-bell appears also in chlorine,
bromine and iodine,
but there is no trace of it in hydrogen, the head of the
group. We have not
met it elsewhere. It may be remarked that, in Sir William
Crookes' scheme,
in which they are all classed as monads, these two groups
are the nearest
to the neutral line, on the ingoing and outgoing series, and
are
respectively positive and negative.
II and IIa. _The
Tetrahedron._--The characteristics of this form are four
funnels, containing
ovoid bodies, opening on the face of a tetrahedron. The
funnels generally,
but not always, radiate from a central globe. We give
beryllium (glucinum) as
the simplest example (2 on Plate III), and to this
group belong calcium and
strontium. The tetrahedron is the form of chromium
and molybdenum, but not
that of the head of their group, oxygen, which is,
like hydrogen, _sui
generis_. These two groups are marked in orthodox
chemistry as respectively
positive and negative, and are closely allied.
Another pair of groups show
the same tetrahedral form: magnesium, zinc and
cadmium, positive; sulphur,
selenium and tellurium, negative. Selenium is a
peculiarly beautiful element,
with a star floating across the mouth of each
funnel; this star is extremely
sensitive to light, and its rays tremble
violently and bend if a beam of
light falls on it. All these are dyads.
The tetrahedron is not confined
to the external form of the above atoms; it
seems to be one of the favourite
forms of nature, and repeatedly appears in
the internal arrangements. There
is one tetrahedron within the unknown
element occultum; two appear in helium
(3 on Plate III); yttrium has also
two within its cube, as has germanium;
five, intersecting, are found in
neon, meta-neon, argon, metargon, krypton,
meta-krypton, xenon, meta-xenon,
kalon, meta-kalon, tin, titanium and
zirconium. Gold contains no less than
twenty tetrahedra.
III. _The
Cube._--The cube appears to be the form of triads. It has six
funnels,
containing ovoids, and opening on the faces of the cube. Boron is
chosen as
an example (4 on Plate III). Its group members, scandium and
yttrium, have
the same form; we have not examined the fourth; the group is
positive. Its
negative complement consists of nitrogen, vanadium and
niobium, and we have
again to note that nitrogen, like hydrogen and oxygen,
departs from its group
type. Two other triad groups, the positive
aluminium, gallium and indium (the
fourth unexamined) and the negative
phosphorus, arsenic and antimony (the
fourth unexamined), have also six
funnels opening on the faces of a
cube.
IV. _The Octahedron._--The simplest example of this is carbon (5 on
Plate
III). We have again the funnel with its ovoids, but now there are
eight
funnels opening on the eight faces of the octahedron. In titanium (6
on
Plate III) the form is masked by the protruding arms, which give
the
appearance of the old Rosicrucian Cross and Rose, but when we look into
the
details later, the carbon type comes out clearly. Zirconium is exactly
like
titanium in form, but contains a large number of atoms. We did not
examine
the remaining two members of this group. The group is tetratomic
and
positive. Its negative pendant shows the same form in silicon,
germanium
and tin; again, the fourth was unexamined.
[Illustration:
PLATE IV.]
V. _The Bars._--These characterise a set of closely allied
groups, termed
"inter-periodic." Fourteen bars (or seven crossed) radiate
from a centre,
as in iron (1 on Plate IV), and the members of each
group--iron, nickel,
cobalt; ruthenium, rhodium, palladium; osmium, iridium,
platinum--differ
from each other by the weight of each bar, increasing in
orderly
succession; the details will be given later. Manganese is often
grouped
with iron, nickel, and cobalt (_see_ Crookes' lemniscates), but
its
fourteen protruding bodies repeat the "lithium spike" (proto-element 5)
and
are grouped round a central ovoid. This would appear to connect it
with
lithium (2 on Plate IV) rather than with fluorine (3 in Plate IV),
with
which it is often classed. The "lithium spike" re-appears in potassium
and
rubidium. These details, again, will come out more clearly
later.
VI. _The Star._--A flat star, with five interpenetrating
tetrahedra in the
centre, is the characteristic of neon and its allies (4 on
Plate IV)
leaving apart helium, which, as may be seen by referring to 3,
Plate IV,
has an entirely different form.
There are thus six clearly
defined forms, typical of classes, with
two--lithium and fluorine--of
doubtful affinities. It is worthy of notice
that in diatomic elements _four_
funnels open on the faces of tetrahedra;
in triatomic, _six_ funnels on the
faces of cubes; in tetratomic, _eight_
funnels on the faces of
octahedra.
Thus we have a regular sequence of the platonic solids, and
the question
suggests itself, will further evolution develop elements shaped
to the
dodecahedron and the icosahedron?
* *
* * *
II.
We now pass from the consideration of the
outer forms of the chemical
elements to a study of their internal structure,
the arrangement within the
element of more or less complicated
groups--proto-elements--capable of
separate, independent existence; these,
once more, may be dissociated into
yet simpler
groups--hyper-meta-proto-elements--equally capable of separate,
independent
existence, and resolvable into single ultimate physical atoms,
the
irreducible substratum of the physical world (see _Theosophist_, 1908,
pp.
354-356).[18]
We shall have to study the general internal structure, and
then the
breaking up of each element, and the admirable diagrams, patiently
worked
out by Mr. Jinarajadasa, will make the study comparatively easy to
carry
on.
The diagrams, of course, can only give a very general idea
of the facts
they represent; they give groupings and show relations, but much
effort of
the imagination is needed to transform the two-dimensional diagram
into the
three-dimensional object. The wise student will try to visualize the
figure
from the diagram. Thus the two triangles of hydrogen are not in one
plane;
the circles are spheres, and the atoms within them, while preserving
to
each other their relative positions, are in swift movement
in
three-dimensional space. Where five atoms are seen, as in bromine
and
iodine, they are generally arranged with the central atom above the
four,
and their motion indicates lines which erect four plane
triangles--meeting
at their apices--on a square base, forming a square-based
four-sided
pyramid. Each dot represents a single ultimate atom. The enclosing
lines
indicate the impression of form made on the observer, and the groupings
of
the atoms; the groups will divide along these lines, when the element
is
broken up, so that the lines have significance, but they do not exist
as
stable walls or enclosing films, but rather mark limits, not lines,
of
vibrations. It should be noted that it is not possible to show five of
the
prisms in the five intersecting tetrahedra of prisms, and 30 atoms
must,
therefore, be added in counting.
The diagrams are not drawn to
scale, as such drawing would be impossible;
the dot representing the atom is
enormously too large compared with the
enclosures, which are absurdly too
small; a scale drawing would mean an
almost invisible dot on a sheet of many
yards square.
The use of the words "positive" and "negative" needs to be
guarded by the
following paragraphs from the article on "Chemistry" in the
_Encyclopædia
Britannica_. We use the words in their ordinary text-book
meaning, and have
not, so far, detected any characteristics whereby an
element can be
declared, at sight, to be either positive or
negative:--
"When binary compounds, or compounds of two elements, are
decomposed by an
electric current, the two elements make their appearance at
opposite poles.
These elements which are disengaged at the negative pole are
termed
electro-positive or positive or basylous elements, while those
disengaged
at the positive pole are termed electro-negative or negative or
chlorous
elements. But the difference between these two classes of elements
is one
of degree only, and they gradually merge into each other; moreover
the
electric relations of elements are not absolute, but vary according to
the
state of combination in which they exist, so that it is just as
impossible
to divide the elements into two classes according to this property
as it is
to separate them into two distinct classes of metals and
non-metals."
We follow here the grouping according to external forms, and
the student
should compare it with the groups marked in the lemniscate
arrangement
shown in Article II (p. 377, properly p. 437, February), reading
the group
by the disks that fall below each other; thus the first group is H,
Cl, Br,
I (hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, iodine) and a blank for an
undiscovered
element. The elements grow denser in descending order; thus
hydrogen is an
invisible gas; chlorine a denser gas visible by its colour;
bromine is a
liquid; iodine is a solid--all, of course, when temperature and
pressure
are normal. By the lowering of temperature and the increase of
pressure, an
element which is normally gaseous becomes a liquid, and then a
solid.
Solid, liquid, gaseous, are three interchangeable states of matter,
and an
element does not alter its constitution by changing its state. So far
as a
chemical "atom" is concerned, it matters not whether it be drawn
for
investigation from a solid, a liquid, or a gas; but the
internal
arrangements of the "atoms" become much more complicated as they
become
denser and denser, as is seen by the complex arrangements necessitated
by
the presence of the 3546 ultimate atoms contained in the chemical "atom"
of
gold, as compared with the simple arrangement of the 18 ultimate atoms
of
hydrogen.
According to the lemniscate arrangement, we should
commence with hydrogen
as the head of the first negative group, but as it
differs wholly from
those placed with it, it is better to take it by itself.
Hydrogen is the
lightest of the known elements, and is therefore taken as 1
in ordinary
chemistry, and all atomic weights are multiples of this. We take
it as 18,
because it contains eighteen ultimate atoms, the smallest number we
have
found in a chemical element. So our "number-weights" are obtained
by
dividing the total number of atoms in an element by 18 (see p.
349,
January).
[Illustration: PLATE V.]
HYDROGEN (Plate V,
1).--Hydrogen not only stands apart from its reputed
group by not having the
characteristic dumb-bell shape, well shown in
sodium (Plate I, opposite p.
349, January), but it also stands apart in
being positive, serving as a base,
not as a chlorous, or acid, radical,
thus "playing the part of a metal," as
in hydrogen chloride (hydrochloric
acid), hydrogen sulphate (sulphuric acid),
etc.
It is most curious that hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, the most
widely
spread gases, all differ fundamentally in form from the groups
they
reputedly head.[19] Hydrogen was the first chemical element examined by
us,
nearly thirteen years ago, and I reproduce here the substance of what
I
wrote in November, 1895, for we have nothing to add to nor amend in
it.
Hydrogen consists of six small bodies, contained in an egg-like form
(the
outer forms are not given in the diagrams). The six little bodies
are
arranged in two sets of three, forming two triangles which are
not
interchangeable, but are related to each other as object and image. The
six
bodies are not all alike; they each contain three ultimate physical
atoms,
but in four of the bodies the three atoms are arranged in a triangle,
and
in the remaining two in a line.
HYDROGEN: 6 bodies of
3 18
Atomic weight 1
Number
weight 18/18 1
I.--THE DUMB-BELL GROUP.
I a.--This group
consists of Cl, Br, and I (chlorine, bromine and iodine);
they are monads,
diamagnetic and negative.
CHLORINE (Plate V, 2).--As already said, the
general form is that of the
dumb-bell, the lower and upper parts each
consisting of twelve funnels, six
sloping upwards and six downwards, the
funnels radiating outwards from a
central globe, and these two parts being
united by a connecting rod (see,
again, sodium, Plate I).
The funnel
(shown flat as an isosceles triangle, standing on its apex) is a
somewhat
complicated structure, of the same type as that in sodium (Plate
VI, 2), the
difference consisting in the addition of one more globe,
containing nine
additional atoms. The central globe is the same as in
sodium, but the
connecting rod differs. We have here a regular arrangement
of five globes,
containing three, four, five, four, three atoms
respectively, whereas sodium
has only three bodies, containing four, six,
four. But copper and silver, its
congeners, have their connecting rods of
exactly the same pattern as the
chlorine rod, and the chlorine rod
reappears in both bromine and iodine.
These close similarities point to
some real relation between these groups of
elements, which are placed, in
the lemniscates, equi-distant from the central
line, though one is on the
swing which is going towards that line and the
other is on the swing away
from it.
CHLORINE: Upper part {12 funnels
of 25 atoms 300
{Central
globe 10
Lower part same
310
Connecting rod
19
----
Total 639
----
Atomic weight 35.473
Number
weight 639/18 35.50
(The Atomic Weights are mostly from Erdmann,
and the Number Weights are
those ascertained by us by counting the atoms as
described on p. 349,
January, and dividing by 18. Prof. T.W. Richards, in
_Nature_, July 18,
1907, gives 35.473.)
BROMINE (Plate V, 3).--In
bromine, each funnel has three additional bodies,
ovoid in shape, an addition
of 33 atoms being thus made without any
disturbance of form; two pairs of
atoms are added to the central globe, and
a rearrangement of the atoms is
effected by drawing together and lessening
the swing of the pair of triplets,
thus making symmetrical room for the
newcomers. The connecting rod remains
unchanged. The total number of atoms
is thus raised from the 639 of chlorine
to 1439. Over and over again, in
these investigations, were we reminded of
Tyndall's fascinating description
of crystal building, and his fancy of the
tiny, ingenious builders busied
therein. Truly are there such builders, and
the ingenuity and effectiveness
of their devices are delightful to
see.[20]
BROMINE: Upper part {12 funnels of 58 atoms
696
{Central globe 14
Lower
part same 710
Connecting
rod 19
----
Total 1439
----
Atomic
weight 79.953
Number weight
1459/18 79.944
IODINE (Plate V, 4).--We find herein that the
central globe gains 4 atoms,
the two pairs becoming 2 quartets; the
connecting rod exactly reproduces
the rods of chlorine and bromine; the
funnel is also that of bromine,
except that five bodies, containing 35 atoms,
are added to it. The 1439
atoms of bromine are thus raised to
2887.
IODINE: Upper Part {12 funnels of 90
atoms 1116
{Central globe
18
Lower part same 1134
Connecting
rod 19
----
Total 2287
----
Atomic
weight 126.01
Number
weight 2287/18 127.055
The plan underlying the building up of
groups is here clearly shown; a
figure is built up on a certain plan, in this
case a dumb-bell; in the
succeeding members of the group additional atoms are
symmetrically
introduced, modifying the appearance, but following the general
idea; in
this case the connecting rod remains unaltered, while the two ends
become
larger and larger, more and more overshadowing it, and causing it to
become
shorter and thicker. Thus a group is gradually formed by
additional
symmetrical additions. In the undiscovered remaining member of the
group we
may suppose that the rod will have become still more egg-like, as in
the
case of gold.
I b.--The corresponding positive group to that which
we have been
considering consists of Na, Cu, Ag, and Au (sodium, copper,
silver and
gold), with an empty disk between silver and gold, showing where
an element
ought to be. These four elements are monads, diamagnetic, and
positive, and
they show the dumb-bell arrangement, although it is much
modified in gold;
we may presume that the undiscovered element between silver
and gold would
form a link between them.
[Illustration: PLATE
VI.]
SODIUM (Plate VI, 2) has been already described (p. 349, January),
as a
type of the group, so we need only refer to its internal arrangement
in
order to note that it is the simplest of the dumb-bell group. Its
twelve
funnels show only four enclosed bodies, the same as we see in
chlorine,
bromine, iodine, copper and silver, and which is very little
modified in
gold. Its central globe is the simplest of all, as is its
connecting rod.
We may therefore take it that sodium is the ground-plan of
the whole group.
SODIUM: Upper part
{ 12 funnels of 16
each 192
{ Central globe 10
Lower
part same 202
Connecting
rod 14
----
Total 418
----
Atomic
weight 23.88
Number weight 418/19
23.22
COPPER (Plate VI, 3) introduces an addition in the funnel, that we
shall
find elsewhere, _e.g._, in silver, gold, iron, platinum, zinc, tin,
the
triangular arrangement near the mouth of the funnel and adds to the
ten
atoms in this nineteen more in three additional enclosed bodies,
thus
raising the number of atoms in a funnel from the sixteen of sodium
to
forty-five. The number in the central globe is doubled, and we meet for
the
first time the peculiar cigar or prism-shaped six-atomed arrangement,
that
is one of the most common of atomic groups. It ought to imply some
definite
quality, with its continual recurrence. The central column is the
three,
four, five, four, three, arrangement already noted.
COPPER:
Upper part {12 funnels of 45 atoms 540
{Central
globe 20
Lower part same
560
Connecting rod
19
----
Total
1139
----
Atomic
weight 63.12
Number weight 1139/18
63.277
SILVER (Plate VI, 4) follows copper in the constitution of five of
the
bodies enclosed in the funnels. But the triangular group
contains
twenty-one atoms as against ten, and three ovoids, each containing
three
bodies with eleven atoms, raise the number of atoms in a funnel
to
seventy-nine. The central globe is decreased by five, and the prisms
have
disappeared. The connecting rod is unaltered.
SILVER: Upper
part {12 funnels of 79 atoms 948
{Central
globe 15
Lower part
same 963
Connecting
rod 19
----
Total 1945
----
Atomic
weight 107.93
Number weight 1945/18
108.055
(This atomic weight is given by Stas, in _Nature_, August 29, 1907,
but it
has been argued later that the weight should not be above
107.883.)
[Illustration: PLATE VII.]
GOLD (Plate VII) is so
complicated that it demands a whole plate to itself.
It is difficult to
recognize the familiar dumb-bell in this elongated egg,
but when we come to
examine it, the characteristic groupings appear. The
egg is the enormously
swollen connecting rod, and the upper and lower parts
with their central
globes are the almond-like projections above and below,
with the central
ovoid. Round each almond is a shadowy funnel (not drawn in
the diagram), and
within the almond is the collection of bodies shown in
_e_, wherein the two
lowest bodies are the same as in every other member of
the negative and
positive groups; the third, ascending, is a very slight
modification of the
other thirds; the fourth is a union and re-arrangement
of the fourth and
fifth; the fifth, of four ovoids, adds one to the three
ovoids of bromine,
iodine and silver; the triangular group is like that in
copper and silver,
though with 28 atoms instead of 10 or 21, and it may be
noted that the cone
in iron has also 28. The central body in the ovoid is
very complicated, and
is shown in _c_, the bodies on each side, _d_, are
each made up of two
tetrahedra, one with four six-atomed prisms at its
angles, and the other with
four spheres, a pair with four atoms and a pair
with three. We then come to
the connecting rod. One of the four similar
groups in the centre is enlarged
in _a_, and one of the sixteen circling
groups is enlarged in b. These groups
are arranged in two planes inclined
to one another.
GOLD: Upper
part
{ 12 funnels of 97 atoms 1164
{ Central
ovoid {c 101
{2 d,
38 76
Lower part same 1341
Connecting
rod { 4 a 84 336
{16 b
33 528
----
Total
3546
----
Atomic
weight 195.74
Number weight 3546/18
197
It may be noted that the connecting rod is made up of exactly sixteen
atoms
of occultum, and that sixteen such atoms contain 864 ultimate atoms,
the
exact member of atoms in titanium.
* * *
* *
III.
Occultum was observed by us in 1895, and, finding
that it was so light, and
so simple in its composition, we thought that it
might be helium, of which
we were unable, at the time, to obtain a sample.
When, however, helium
itself came under observation in 1907, it proved to be
quite different from
the object before observed, so we dubbed the
unrecognised object Occultum,
until orthodox science shall find it and label
it in proper fashion.
OCCULTUM (Plate VI, 1).
We here meet the
tetrahedron for the first time, with each angle occupied
by a six-atomed
group, the atoms arranged as on the end triangles of a
prism. This form
recurs very often, and was noted, last month, as seen in
copper (Plate VI,
3); it revolves with extreme rapidity around its
longitudinal axis, and looks
like a pencil sharpened at both ends, or a
cigar tapering at both ends; we
habitually spoke of it as "the cigar." It
appears to be strongly coherent,
for, as will be seen below, its six atoms
remain attached to each other as
meta-compounds and even when divided into
two triplets as hyper-compounds,
they revolve round each other.
Above the tetrahedron is a balloon-shaped
figure, apparently drawn into
shape by the attraction of the tetrahedron. The
body below the tetrahedron
looks like a coil of rope, and contains fifteen
atoms; they are arranged on
a slanting disk in a flat ring, and the force
goes in at the top of one
atom, and out of the bottom of it into the top of
the next, and so on,
making a closed circuit. The two little spheres, each
containing a triplet,
are like fill-up paragraphs to a compositor--they seem
to be kept standing
and popped in where wanted. The sphere marked _x_ is a
proto-compound, the
balloon when set free.
As was noted under gold (p.
41), sixteen occultum bodies, re-arranged, make
up the connecting rod in
gold:--
OCCULTUM:
Tetrahedron 24
Balloon
9
Triplets 6
Rope-circle 15
----
Total
54
----
Atomic
weight Not known
Number weight 54/18
3
DISSOCIATION OF ATOMS.
Before proceeding to the study of other
chemical atoms, as to their general
internal arrangements, it is desirable to
follow out, in those already
shown, the way in which these atoms break up
into simpler forms, yielding
successively what we have called proto-, meta-,
and hyper-compounds. It is
naturally easier to follow these in the simpler
atoms than in the more
complex, and if the earlier dissociations are shown,
the latter can be more
readily and more intelligibly described.
The
first thing that happens on removing a gaseous atom from its "hole"
(see pp.
21 to 23) or encircling "wall," is that the contained bodies are
set free,
and, evidently released from tremendous pressure, assume
spherical or ovoid
forms, the atoms within each re-arranging themselves,
more or less, within
the new "hole" or "wall." The figures are, of course,
three-dimensional, and
often remind one of crystals; tetrahedral,
octagonal, and other like forms
being of constant occurrence. In the
diagrams of the proto-compounds, the
constituent atoms are shown by dots.
In the diagrams of the meta-compounds
the dot becomes a heart, in order to
show the resultants of the lines of
force. In the diagrams of the
hyper-compounds the same plan is followed. The
letters _a_, _b_, _c_, &c.,
enable the student to follow the breaking up
of each group through its
successive stages.
HYDROGEN (Plate V,
1).
[Illustration]
The six bodies contained in the gaseous atom
instantaneously re-arrange
themselves within two spheres; the two linear
triplets unite with one
triangular triplet, holding to each other relative
positions which, if
connected by three right lines, would form a triangle
with a triplet at
each angle; the remaining three triangular triplets
similarly arrange
themselves in the second sphere. These form the
proto-compounds of
hydrogen.
In the dissociation of these, each group
breaks up into two, the two linear
triplets joining each other and setting
free their triangular comrade,
while two of the triangular triplets similarly
remain together, casting out
the third, so that hydrogen yields four
meta-compounds.
In the hyper-condition, the connexion between the double
triplets is
broken, and they become four independent groups, two like ix, in
the
hyper-types (p. 25), and two remaining linear, but rearranging
their
internal relations; the two remaining groups break up into two pairs
and a
unit.
The final dissociation sets all the atoms
free.
OCCULTUM (Plate VI, 1).
[Illustration]
On the first
dissociation of the component parts of occultum, the
tetrahedron separates as
a whole, with its four "cigars," flattening itself
out within its hole, _a_;
two "cigars" are positive and two negative,
marked respectively _a_ and _a'_.
The rope becomes a ring within a sphere,
_b_, and the two bodies _d_ _d_,
which are loose in the gaseous atom, come
within this ring. The balloon
becomes a sphere.
On further dissociation, the "cigars" go off
independently, showing two
types, and these again each divide into triplets,
as meta-compounds. _B_,
on the meta-level, casts out the two _d_ bodies,
which become independent
triplets, and the "rope" breaks into two, a close
ring of seven atoms and a
double cross of eight. These subdivide again to
form hyper-compounds, the
ring yielding a quintet and a pair, and the double
cross separating into
its two parts.
The balloon, _c_, becomes much
divided, the cohesion of its parts being
slight; it forms two triplets, a
pair and a unit, and these set free, on
further dissociation, no less than
five separate atoms and two duads.
The two triplets of _d_ each cast out
an atom on dissociation, and form two
pairs and two units.
SODIUM
(Plate VI, 2).
It is convenient to consider sodium next, because it is
the basic pattern
on which not only copper, silver and gold are formed, but
also chlorine,
bromine and iodine.
[Illustration]
When sodium
is set free from its gaseous condition, it divides up into
thirty-one
bodies--twenty-four separate funnels, four bodies derived from
the two
central globes, and three from the connecting rod. The funnels
become
spheres, and each contains four enclosed spheres, with more or
less
complicated contents. Each central globe yields a sextet and a quartet,
and
the rod sets free two quartets and a peculiarly formed
sextet.
When the proto-compounds are dissociated, the funnel-sphere sets
free: (1)
the contents of _a_, rearranged into two groups of four within a
common
sphere; the sphere yields four duads as hyper-compounds; (2) the
contents
of _b_, which unite themselves into a quartet, yielding two duads
as
hyper-compounds; and (3) the contents of the two spheres, _c_,
which
maintain their separation as meta-compounds, and become
entirely
independent, the atoms within the sphere revolving round each other,
but
the spheres ceasing their revolution round a common axis, and going off
in
different directions. The atoms break off from each other, and gyrate
in
independent solitude as hyper-"compounds." Thus each funnel yields
finally
ten hyper-bodies.
The part of the central globe, marked _d_,
with its six atoms, whirling
round a common centre, becomes two triplets, at
the meta-stage, preparing
for the complete separation of these as
hyper-bodies. The second part of
the same globe, marked _e_, a whirling
cross, with an atom at each point,
becomes a quartet in the meta-state, in
which three atoms revolve round a
fourth, and in the hyper-state this central
atom is set free, leaving a
triplet and a unit.
Each of the two bodies
marked _f_, liberated from the connecting rod, shows
four atoms whirling
round a common centre, exactly resembling _e_ in
appearance; but there must
be some difference of inner relations, for, in
the meta-state, they
re-arrange themselves as two pairs, and divide into
two as
hyper-bodies.
The body marked _g_ is a four-sided pyramid, with two
closely joined atoms
at its apex; these still cling to each in mutual
revolution as a meta-body,
encircled by a ring of four, and this leads to a
further dissociation into
three pairs on the hyper-level.
CHLORINE
(Plate V, 2).
[Illustration]
The description of the funnel of
sodium applies to that of chlorine, until
we come to the body nearest the
mouth, the sphere containing three
additional bodies; this remains within the
funnel in the first
dissociation, so that again we have twenty-four separate
funnels as
proto-compounds; the central globes are the same as in sodium, and
yield
the same four bodies; the connecting rod sets free five bodies, of
which
two are the same; we have thus thirty-three separate bodies as the
result
of the dissociation of chlorine into its proto-compounds. As all
the
compounds which are in sodium break up in the same way into meta-
and
hyper-compounds, we need not repeat the process here. We have only
to
consider the new meta- and hyper-compounds of the highest sphere within
the
funnel, and the two triplets and one quintet from the connecting
rod.
The additional body within the proto-funnel is of a very simple
character,
three contained triangles within the flattened sphere. On release
from the
funnel, on the meta-level, the atoms rearrange themselves in a
whirling set
of three triplets, and these break off from each other as
hyper-compounds.
The two triplets from the connecting rod, also, are of the
simplest
character and need not delay us. The five-atomed body, a four-sided
pyramid
as a proto-compound, becomes a ring whirling round a centre on the
meta,
and two pairs with a unit on the hyper.
BROMINE (Plate V,
3).
Three additional bodies appear at the top of the funnel, which
otherwise
repeats that of chlorine. The connecting rod is the same and may
be
disregarded. The central globes become more complex. The additions
are,
however, of very easy types, and hence are readily dealt with. Each of
the
three similar ovoid bodies contains two triplets--each a triangle and
a
quintet--a four-sided pyramid. These are the same, as may be seen in
the
connecting rod of chlorine, and we need not repeat them. Only the
globe
remains. This does not break up as a proto-compound but is merely set
free,
_a_ and the 2 _bs_ whirling in a plane vertical to the paper and the
two
smaller bodies, _cc_, whirling on a plane at right angles to the
other.
These two disengage themselves, forming a quartet as a meta-compound,
while
_a_ makes a whirling cross and _bb_ a single sextet; these
further
dissociate themselves into four pairs and two triplets.
IODINE
(Plate V, 4).
[Illustration]
Iodine has nothing new to give us,
except five similar ovoid bodies at the
top of each funnel, and two quartets
instead of two pairs in the central
globe. The ovoid bodies become spheres
when the funnels are thrown off, and
a crystalline form is indicated within
the sphere. The atoms are arranged
in two tetrahedra with a common apex, and
the relationship is maintained in
the meta-body, a septet. The latter breaks
up into two triplets and a unit
on the hyper-level. In the central globes,
the _a_ of bromine is repeated
twice instead of the pairs in
_cc_.
COPPER (Plate VI, 3).
We have already disposed of occultum,
on this plate, and of sodium, which
lies at the root of both groups. Copper,
we now find, is also very largely
off our hands, as the funnel provides us
with only two new types--two
spheres--each containing five atoms in a new
arrangement, and the
triangular body at the mouth with its ten atoms. This
triangular body, with
an increased number of atoms, reappears in various
other chemical elements.
The central globes are different from any we have
had before, in their
internal arrangement, but the constituents are familiar;
there are two
contained spheres with four atoms each, the _a_ in the globe of
bromine
(see above) and 2 "cigars." The "cigars" may be followed under
occultum
(see above). The connecting rod is as in chlorine, bromine and
iodine.
The atoms in the bodies _a_ and _b_ are curiously arranged. _A_
consists of
two square-based pyramids turned so as to meet at their apices,
and breaks
up into two quartet rings and a duad. _B_ is again two four-sided
pyramids,
but the bases are in contact and set at right angles to each other;
the
second apex is not seen, as it is directly below the first. The
pyramids
separate as meta-bodies, and the atoms assume the peculiar
arrangement
indicated and then break up into four pairs and two units on the
hyper level. |
|
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