Transcriber's Note
Minor typographical corrections have been made without comment. Inconsistencies in hyphenation, and the author's use of commas when writing large numbers, have been retained.
The Machinery of the Universe: Mechanical Conceptions of Physical Phenomena
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About This Book
The author argues that physical phenomena are best explained by transformable modes of motion rather than metaphysical forces, outlining kinetic and potential energy and the mechanical behavior of systems across scales from molecular to astronomical. He compares matter and the ether, contrasting discontinuity of atoms with a continuous, frictionless ether, and considers how atomic structures like vortex models can account for cohesion, chemical properties, and energy storage. Subsequent chapters trace chains of motion producing heat and light, treat electricity as a condition arising from ether and atomic stresses, and analyze electromagnetic waves, induction, and the mechanical constitution of electrical phenomena, aiming to unify diverse effects under mechanical conceptions.