Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An atom supposed to be formed by the rotational or vortex motion of a portion of an incompressible fluid free from viscosity. A vortex-atom may be regarded as a vortex-ring in the ether, a body which, as was shown by Helmholtz and by Kelvin, possesses many of the properties which it is necessary to assign to an atom. See
vortex .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Such is by no means the case with Sir William Thomson's vortex-atom theory, which to-day is in somewhat the same condition as the undulatory theory of Huyghens two centuries ago.
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We are now brought to one of the profoundest speculations of modern times, the vortex-atom theory of Helmholtz and Thomson, in which the evolution of ordinary matter from ether is plainly indicated.
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Somewhat in the same way that a loosely suspended chain becomes rigid with rapid rotation, the hardness and elasticity of the vortex-atom are explained as due to the swift rotary motion of a soft and yielding fluid.
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The vortex-atom, produced by infinitesimal friction operating through wellnigh infinite time, is to be ultimately abolished by the agency which produced it.
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So that the vortex-atom is really indivisible, not by reason of its hardness or solidity, but by reason of the indestructibleness of its motion.
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So that the vortex-atom is really indivisible, not by reason of its hardness or solidity, but by reason of the indestructibleness of its motion.
The Unseen World and Other Essays John Fiske 1871
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The vortex-atom, produced by infinitesimal friction operating through wellnigh infinite time, is to be ultimately abolished by the agency which produced it.
The Unseen World and Other Essays John Fiske 1871
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Somewhat in the same way that a loosely suspended chain becomes rigid with rapid rotation, the hardness and elasticity of the vortex-atom are explained as due to the swift rotary motion of a soft and yielding fluid.
The Unseen World and Other Essays John Fiske 1871
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Such is by no means the case with Sir William Thomson's vortex-atom theory, which to-day is in somewhat the same condition as the undulatory theory of Huyghens two centuries ago.
The Unseen World and Other Essays John Fiske 1871
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We are now brought to one of the profoundest speculations of modern times, the vortex-atom theory of Helmholtz and Thomson, in which the evolution of ordinary matter from ether is plainly indicated.
The Unseen World and Other Essays John Fiske 1871
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