Alexander E. Outerbridge Jr.

“ Experiments made in modern times have shown that a single grain of gold may be beaten out so as to cover a space of seventy-five square inches; the thickness of the leaf is then only the three hundred and sixty-seven thousand six hundred and fiftieth (1367650) part of an inch, or about twelve hundred times thinner than an ordinary sheet of printing-paper.
Faraday states in his researches on "The Experimental Relations of Gold (and other Metals) to Light" [2] that a leaf of beaten gold occupies an average thickness of no more than 5 to 18 part of a single wave of light. ”

“ The question, "What is matter?" is one that has exercised the intellects of the profoundest thinkers in all ages, and the conundrum is, apparently, as far from being definitely answered in this nineteenth century as in the classic days of the Greek philosophers. ”

“ The loss of weight depends, of course, upon the electric volume, and in the experiments tabulated an endeavor was made to keep the latter constant. The tables (marked A and B) show that the loss in weight is marvelously small, averaging less than 710 of a milligramme of gold for 3,000 sparks. To give the amount for each spark, this must be divided by the number of sparks; thus, in round numbers, an electrode loses 11000 of a grain after passing 3,000 sparks; or, for 1,000 sparks, 11000 of a grain; or, for each spark, 11000000 of a grain. ”

“ By treating very dilute solutions of gold with phosphorus he obtained the metal diffused through the liquid in extremely fine particles, producing a beautiful ruby-color. These particles, when in their finest state, often remain unchanged for months, and have all the appearance of solutions, but they never are such, containing, in fact, no dissolved but only diffused gold. The particles are easily rendered evident by gathering the rays of the sun (or a lamp) into a cone by a lens, and sending the part of the cone near the focus into the fluid ”

“ The ideas which have prevailed in the past, in regard to the nature of the ultimate particles of matter out of which worlds are formed, reveal the speculative tendency as well as the intellectual status of the human mind in different epochs of the history of civilization. ”

“ When examined by reflected light they retain their brilliant gold color and lustre, but when viewed by transmitted light they are bright green and very transparent; the color is an even shade, having none of the mottled appearance of gold-leaf when seen by transmitted light, caused by its very uneven thickness. ”

“ Think of a bulb about the size of a cricket-ball containing only one ten-millionth part of one atmosphere, and that part being subdivided into millions and millions and millions of individual portions, and these particles being captured and made to do visible, tangible work; think of a miniature engine with a propeller-wheel being made to revolve and a little rail-way run by projecting these minute particles against the driving-wheel ”

“ The art of gold-plating has become so extensive in its application to a great variety of ornamental objects, that it seemed to the writer an interesting question "How thick a film is required to produce a fine gold-color?" He was unable to find, on inquiry, that any careful notes to determine this point have been recorded, [4] and he recently made some experiments with the following results: A sheet of copper was rolled down to an average thickness of 51000 inch. ”

“ Just as the skilled mountaineer or the aëronaut ascends gradually into the rarefied upper atmosphere, in order that the system may accommodate itself to its new environment, so the philosopher has advanced, step by step, until he seems almost to have grasped the ultimate particles which constitute the physical basis of the universe, and to have rendered visible to mortal unaided eyes particles of matter which are not only invisible by the aid of the most powerful microscope, but are too infinitesimal even for the mind's eye to conceive. ”

“ It would seem, indeed, that the modern views of matter, based upon strictly scientific data and mathematical reasoning, have approached very closely to those propounded by the Attic philosophers, which were evolved purely from the inner consciousness of the poetic sages, the ancient theories being rather expressions of sentiment or feeling than of observed realities or facts. ”

“ IT is both curious and interesting to notice how frequently original investigators, working from different standpoints, and with entirely dissimilar objects in view, will, independently of each other, accumulate a mass of observations corroborative of some one physical law, but which require to be collated in order to reveal their mutual relations. ”

“ THE original investigator in Nature's domains may not inaptly be likened to a pioneer who penetrates the primeval forest, and by the aid of his keen hatchet hews down the obstructions, marking out first a narrow path in the wilderness until he reaches a favorable camping-ground. ”

“ The present era might be designated as an interrogatory age, for the evident tendency is to question eagerly, to accept nothing on the evidence of tradition, and but little, comparatively, on the merits of faith. ”

“ Plausible explanations of various phenomena have so often been accepted with confidence, only to be overthrown and supplanted by others equally unstable, that the mind has become suspicious, and demands the most rigid physical tests to corroborate new theories. ”

“ The experimental feature of scientific study has thus attained an importance and perfection never before approached, and this cause largely contributes to popularize even the most abstruse subject of inquiry. ”

“ This analogy is not a mere fancy; all the advances in scientific knowledge have been made in little detachments. Narrow lines of investigation have been projected and explored by patient toilers who dig out a few roots here and there, which are carefully garnered until their genus can be determined by further study. ”