Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-10-04

4 ana one OF oNy- Nisttss1saAfS~
gen. where IS the
inter-atomlc space OF which we hear so
much? or is there distinction between
! the chemical atom and the physical atom?
EDWIN SUTHERLAND.
New York"
/ When the man of science lures into
The realm. Of atoms. molecules, eiectrons.
all Of which are individually too small
/ to be seen. he finds himself wandering.
| like the hero OF the Pilgrims Progress"
I through absolute darkness, amid pitfalls
and gins that beset his feet on every
side. and with confusing demons whis-
| pering misleading suggestions and false
analogies into his ears He has nothing
( but his Imagination. trained by the re-
suits OF experience ana observation In
the visible and tangible world. to guido
him
The result is that his definitions Of the
things that he finds, or seems 70 find,
although they may perfectly describe his
own Impressions. appear. sometimes.
contradictory. or unconvincing, to the
average man who only reads about that
marvellous underworld OF the atom.
Hence such questions as those asked
| ebove. And the CONFUSION has been
vastly increased in consequence of the
I discovery that the atom instead Of be-
/ inS, as was formerly thought, a simple,
lndivisible particle. the smallest possible
portion into which any matter can be
divided. lain fact, q complex object, made
| up OF very much smaller particles, called
/ electrons.
A vivid conception Of the real nature
! OF an atom, 80 far as It's complexity of
structure is concerned, IL conveyed by q
/ remark of Prof Rowland that "a grand
plano Is a very simple mechanism oOm-
pared. say, with an atom of iron"
The atom, then. Is not - solid particle.
but an organism, or system. composed
OF dlscontinuous parts, 1. O., parts which
do not touch, or press upon one another.
and these parts are electrons. What pro-
portion OF the space inside an atom n
occupied by the electrons. which are be-
lieved to be In oeaseless revolution, or
vibration, we cannot say with certainty.
What we do know Is that the mass, or
weight, OF an electron is about onc-thous-
andth OF that of an atom of hydrogen,
which is the lightest atom known. But
this does not tell us exactly what the
electron's size is. because we do not know
its relative density. However. by call
culations based on the electric charge
! approximately estimated. In this way It
has been found that the diameter of an
electron may not be more than on twenty
million-millionth of an inch, while that
of an atom is as much as one two-hun-
dred-and-fifty-million of an inch. II
this is correct, the atom, minute though
II be. Is $1,000 times as great in diameter
as an electron. At this ratio OF diameters
II would take 5OO.0O0.OOO electrons to pack
an atom full
But 1t is estimated that the hydrogen
atom contains only 1000 electrons, and
even the atom of so dense a substance
as mercury not more than 100000. Thus
we see that there is an abundance q
open room Inside the atom.
! Sir oliver Lodge has made striking
comparison showing the amount of room
In an atom. Imagine an ordinary church,
he says. to be an atom of hydrogen. The
electrons constituting It will be repre-
scented by about 900 grains Of sand, each
OF the size OF a printers period, or
4 full point g.. dashing In all directions
or rotating with inconceivable velocity
and filling the whole interior OF the
church with their tumutuous motion.
Next above the atom comes the mole
cule, BY the term moleoule Is meant the
smallest combination of atoms that will
form a given chemical compound" There
are some eighty different chemical ele-
ments. and consequently some eighty diff
ferent kinds of atoms. But there are
Thousands OF chemical compounds, each
made up OF number OF chemical ele-
ments whose atoms unite 10 form the
molecules composing the compound, I'm
fortunately IN physics the term molecule
] l.. H.. ,,,l, a.,
cause confusion with the atom.
Now. just as the eleetrons composing
the atoms are free to move and are far
from being crowded together. or in direct
touch with one another. so the molecules
eomposng any common BIT OF matter,
such as piece OF wood or OF paper. have
free space between them and are In con-
tlnual motion, circulating around and
among one another and in certain cases
having mutual collisions.
From all that has been said above. II
becomes clear that even the most dense
and sold bodies that we have any
experience OF. such. for instance. as a
D mass OF pure gold. are by no means con-
tinuoVs In their Internal structure. II is
because Of the coarseness OF our sense
impressions that they seem solid TO us.
II we could look at a cannon ball with
microscope eyes, magnifying billions OF
6iameters the mass of metal would dis
solve into diRphanous haze composed
OF vibrating molecules, madt up OF re-
volving atoms constituted from dancing
eleetrons; and all Of them--the molecules
Ia the mass OF iron. the atoms In the
molecules and the electrens in the atoms
would be seen to have an abundance
OF room aroand them In which 10 per-
form their unending gyrstons.
In short all matter Is discontinuous in
It's texture. and II Is only the I'm. tations
Of our senses that cause US to think OF
any body as being continuous solid.
We may squeeze the molecules of a sub
stance closer together. and then We will
simply heat IL. for the molecular vibra-
tions increase In qulckness with the re-
Etriction OF the space, but there Is no
reason TO think that We could ever force
two molecules into seso.ute contact. or
that We could compress an atom into q
smaller compass