active 1883-1912 James Weir

“ The attractive influence of gravitation appears as an incepting agency in terrestrial as well as in celestial phenomena. In fact, of all the agencies which incept energy transformations on the earth, gravitation, in one form or another, is the most universal and the most important. Gravitation being a property of all matter, no mundane body, animate or inanimate, is exempt from its all-pervading influence, and every movement of energised matter within the field of that influence leads inevitably to energy transformation. ”

“ When the whole mass of the planet, including the atmosphere, is taken into consideration, it is readily seen that all energy operations embodied in or associated with material on what is usually termed the surface of the earth take place at the bottom of this atmospheric ocean, or, in reality, in the interior of the earth. The operations themselves are the manifestations of purely terrestrial energy, which, by its working in various devices or arrangements of material is being transformed and transmitted from one form of matter to another. ”

“ Energy is, in fact, the working spirit of the whole cosmical scheme. It is the influence linking every operation of the system to the original transformations at the central axis, so that all may be combined into one complete and consistent whole. It is to be noted, however, that although they have a common origin the orbital energy of each planetary mass is entirely distinct from its energy of axial rotation, and is not interchangeable therewith. The transformation of the one form of energy in no way affects the totality of the other. ”

“ The whole appears to be but the natural or material embodiment of the great principle of energy conservation. It has been one of the objects of this work to show that the cyclical nature of the energy operations of the solar system is not confined only to the more prominent energy phenomena, but that it penetrates and is exhibited in the working of even the most insignificant planetary processes. Each one of the latter in reality forms part of an unbroken series or chain of energy phenomena. Each planet forms in itself a complete, perfect, and self-contained energy system. ”

“ In modern times the general tendency of scientific work is ever towards specialisation, with its corresponding narrowness of view. A broad outlook on Nature is thus eminently desirable. It enables the observer to perceive to some extent the links uniting the apparently most insignificant of natural processes to those of seemingly greater magnitude and importance. In this way a valuable idea of the natural world as a whole may be gained, which will, in turn, tend generally to clarify the aspect of particular operations. ”

“ We may thus define mechanical or work energy as "that form of energy transmitted by matter in motion."
The idea of work is usually associated with that of a force acting through a certain distance. The form of energy referred to above as work energy is, in the same way, always associated with the idea of a thrust or of a pressure of some kind acting on moving material. Work energy thus bears two aspects, which really correspond to the familiar product of pressure and volume. Both aspects are manifested in transmission. ”

“ Taking a superficial view of the operation, it might be inferred that, as the planets approach one another, energy of motion (or energy of position) is transmitted from one to the other, causing one to retard and the other to accelerate its movement, but a real knowledge of the energy conditions shows that the phenomenon is rather one of a simple restoration of equilibrium, a redistribution or transformation of the intrinsic energy of each to suit these altering conditions. Each planet is, in the truest sense, a separate mass in space. ”

“ In most cases, chemical reactions result in the appearance of matter in an entirely new form—in the appearance, in fact, of actually different material, with physical and energy properties absolutely distinct from those of the reacting constituents. This appearance of matter in the new form is usually the evidence of the termination, not only of the particular chemical process, but also of the energy process associated with it. Transformation of energy may thus be limited by transformation of matter. ”

“ In the new order of transformations which come into play in virtue of the rotatory motion of a planetary mass in the field of its primary, we shall find other incepting influences in action entirely different in nature from the gravitation influence, but, nevertheless, arising from the same primary mass in a similar way. Now the application of energy to the planet, causing it to rotate in the lines or under the influence of these incepting fields of the primary, brings into existence on the planet an entirely new order of phenomena. ”

“ Passing now to another aspect of the energy condition of a planetary body, let the planet be assumed to be endowed with axial energy or energy of rotation, so that, while pursuing its orbital path in space, it also rotates with uniform angular velocity about an axis within itself. What will be the effect of the primary mass on the planet under these new energy conditions? We conceive that the effect is again purely one of transformation. ”

“ In scientific circles to-day, familiarity with the more common instances of energy operations is apt to engender the belief that these processes are completely understood. There is no greater fallacy. In many cases, no doubt, the superficial phenomena are well known, but in even the simplest instances the mechanism or ultimate nature of the process remains unknown. A free and somewhat loose method of applying scientific terms is frequently the cloak which hides the ignorance of the observer. ”

“ But it is surely unnecessary to point out that all questions relating to origins are essentially outside the pale of true science. Any hypotheses which may be thus formulated have not the support of experimental facts in their conclusions; they belong rather to the realm of speculative philosophy than to that of science. In the total absence of confirmatory phenomena, such theories can, at best, only be regarded as plausible speculations, to be accepted, it may be, without argument, and ranking in interest in the order of their plausibility. ”

“ I have reached the conclusion that every physical phenomenon is due to the operation of energy transformations or energy transmissions embodied in material, and takes place under the action or influence of incepting energy fields. In any instance the precise nature of the phenomena is dependent on the peculiar form of energy actively engaged, on the nature of the material to which this energy is applied, and on the nature of the incepting field which influences the process. ”

“ Although able, at all points, to bring more or less direct evidence from Nature, the author has no desire that his scheme should be regarded in any way as an attempt to originate or describe a system of creation. The object has been, by general reasoning from already accepted properties of matter and energy, to arrive at a true conception of a possible natural order of phenomena. It is obvious, however, that the solar system forms the prototype of the system described above. ”

“ It will be evident that in most cases of natural energy operations there is more than one energy influence in action. As a rule there are several. In a growing plant, for example, we have the thermal, luminous, gravitation, and cohesive influences all in operation at the same time, each performing its peculiar function in transformation, each contributing its own peculiar energy phenomena to the whole. ”

“ In the ceaseless rounds of these transformations which form planetary phenomena it links together the initial and concluding stages of each series by a reversible process. Energy is thus stored and restored continuously. The planet thus neither gains nor loses energy of axial motion; so far as its energy properties are concerned, it is entirely independent of every external influence. Its uniformity of rotation is absolutely maintained. Each planet of the system will, in the same way, be an independent and conservative unit. ”

“ The sea corresponds to the boiler; its cylinder surrounds the earth; it has for its fuel the axial energy of the earth; it has no condenser because it has no exhaust; the work it performs is all expended in producing the fuel. Every operation in the cycle is but an energy transformation, and these various transformations constitute the visible life of the world. ”

“ A broad general view of Nature also leads to the appreciation of the full significance of the great doctrines of the conservation of matter and [Pg 8] energy. By its means the complete verification of these doctrines, which appears to be beyond human experiment, may be traced on the face of Nature throughout the endless chain of natural processes. Such a view also leads to a firm grasp of the essential nature and qualities of energy itself so far as they are revealed by its general function in phenomena. ”

“ Now, if all speculative ideas or hypotheses are banished from the mind, and reliance is placed solely on the evidential phenomena of Nature, the study of terrestrial energy operations leads inevitably to certain conclusions on the question of energy transmission. In the first place, it must lead to the denial of what has been virtually the great primary assumption of modern science, namely, that a mass of material at a high temperature isolated in interplanetary space would radiate heat in all directions through that space. ”

“ In no sphere, also, have the consequences of such indulgence been more disastrous. For the most part, the current conceptions of energy processes are crude, fanciful, and inconsistent with Nature. They require for their support—in fact, for their very existence—the acceptance of equally fantastic conceptions of mythical substances or ethereal media of whose real existence there is absolutely no experimental evidence. On the assumed properties or motions of such media are based the many inconsistent and useless attempts to explain phenomena. ”

“ The abnormal displacement of certain particles or portions of the mass from the centre of the sphere is simply the external evidence of their increased energy. Now this displacement, or strain, due to the heat expansion, is carried out against the action of certain cohesive forces or stresses existing between the particles throughout the mass. These cohesive forces are, in fact, the agency which determines this transformation of heat into energy of position. ”

“ The amount of energy which operates through the particular chain of processes we have described is, of course, exceedingly small, but in this or a similar manner all secondary operations, great or small, are associated with the atmospheric machine. Instances could readily be multiplied, but a little reflection will show how almost every energy operation, no matter what may be its nature, whether physical, chemical, or electrical, leads inevitably to the communication of energy to the atmospheric air masses and to their consequent upraisal. ”

“ A point to be observed is that the actual or total mass of any gas thus liberated at the planet's surface has no bearing on the ultimate height of the atmosphere which it would constitute. When the expansive motion is completed, the density properties of the atmosphere would of course depend on the initial mass of gas liberated, but for any given value of gravity it is the energy properties of the gas per unit mass, or what might be termed its specific energy properties, which really determine the height of its atmosphere. ”

“ Before any transmission can take place, however, a certain amount of energy must be stored in the moving system, partly as cohesion or strain energy and partly as energy of motion or kinetic energy. It is this preliminary storage of energy which, in reality, constitutes the transmission machine, and for a given rate of transmission, the energy thus stored will be constant in value. ”

“ It has been shown that the energy capacity of a body projected vertically against gravity is limited by its mass only; the energy capacity of the pendulum machine may be likewise limited by its mass, but the additional restraining factor of cohesion also imposes another limit. In the course of rotation, energy is stored in the material of the pendulum against the internal forces of cohesion. The action is simply that of what is usually termed centrifugal force. As the velocity increases, the pendulum arm lengthens correspondingly until the elastic limit of the material in tension is reached. ”

“ In no case do we find in Nature any body, or any energy system, to which energy may be applied in unlimited amount, but in every case, rigid energy limits are imposed, and, if these limits are exceeded, the whole energy character of the body or system is completely changed. ”