294

Of Light and Colours.

Perpendicular K C, is always equal to theAngle KG I, made by the said Perpendi-cular

of

by which we may conceive this with as much Ease a®it produces Surprize; and it is this; Suppose abe composed of such Particles, and of such a Figu re ’that when laid together, the Pores or Interstices may b eequal to the Particles themselves ; how this may ^done, and the Body hard and firm, is not difficult &conceive ; such a Body then will be half solid and hahporous.

io. Now if each of these constituent Particles, lirstead of being solid, should be supposed to consistother Particles, equal in Bulk to their Pores betw eel1them, then would the solid Part of the whole Bodybut half of what it was before supposed to be, that i S >it will be but j Part of the whole Bulk. In like maNsncr if these Parts are supposed not solid, but to cons"of other Parts with equal Pores between them, ’tis th eI \manifest the solid Matter will be but -J- of the wh<yBulk of the Body. And thus by continuing this Subd>'vision of the Parts, you diminish the Quantity of thsolid Parts, and increase that of the Pores, till it sh abe in any Proportion greater than that of the solid ^A il 'ter, and yet the Parts, and consequently the wh°*Body, shall be every where compact and hard. _ .

XI. Hence it follows that the least assignable Partisof Matter may be conceived to be so minutely divid e< bthat it shall be diffused through any assignable Sp ace ’how great soever, in such a manner, as to be intact, and to constitute a hard and compact Body, whoPores shall be less in Diameter than any affig naaLength; or, in other Words inversely, the solid M atter in the Globe of our Earth, yea of all Bodies )f>the Universe, may be no more than what may be ieduced within the Compass of a cubic Inch, or be c0 ' n arained in a Lady’s ’Thimble. They who would sssMathematical Demonstration of this, may consult Ib'KsilTs Introduction to Natural Philosophy. ,

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