Buffon's Natural History. Volume X (of 10). Comte de Buffon Georges Louis Leclerc
are sensible of their being perfectly elastic, since the angle under which the light is reflected, is always equal to that under which it comes. We may therefore infer, that all the constitutive parts of matter in general, are a perfect spring; and that this spring produces all the effects of the expansive force, every time that bodies strike by meeting in opposite directions.
We know of no other means of producing fire, but by striking or rubbing bodies together2; since by supposing man without any burning glasses, and without actual fire, he will have no other means of producing it; for the fire produced by uniting the rays of light, or by application of fire already produced, had the same origin.
Expansive force, therefore, in reality might be only the re-action of the attractive, a reaction which operates every time that the primitive molecules of matter, always attracted one by the other, happen immediately to touch; for then it is necessary, that they be repelled with as much velocity as they had acquired in a contrary direction, at the moment of contact; and when these molecules are absolutely free from all coherence and only obey the motion alone produced by their attraction, this acquired velocity is immense in the point of contact. Heat, light, and fire, which are the greatest effects of expansive force, will be produced every time that bodies are either artificially or naturally divided into very minute parts, and meet in opposite directions; and the heat will be so much the more sensible, the light so much the more bright, the fire so much the more violent, according as the molecules are precipitated one against the other with more velocity by their force of mutual attraction.
From the above it must be concluded, that all matter may become light, heat, and fire; and that this matter of fire and light is not a substance different from every other, but preserves all its essential qualities; and even most of the attributes of common matter, is evidently proved by, first, light, though composed of particles almost infinitely minute, is, nevertheless, still divisible, since with the prism we separate the rays, or different coloured atoms one from another. Secondly, light, though in appearance endowed with a quality quite opposite to that of weight, that is, with a volatility which we might think essential, is, nevertheless, heavy like all matter, since it bends every time it passes near other bodies, and finds itself inclined to their sphere of attraction. It is very heavy, relatively to its volume, which is very minute, since the immense velocity with which light moves in a direct line, does not prevent it from feeling sufficient attraction near other bodies, for its direction to incline and change in a manner very sensible to our eyes. Thirdly, the substance of light is not more simple than all other matter, since it is composed of parts of unequal weight; the red rays are much heavier than the blue; and between these two extremes there are an infinity of intermediate rays, which approach more or less the weight of the red, or the lightness of the blue according to their shades. All these consequences are necessarily derived from the phenomena of the inflection of light, and of its refraction, which, in reality, is only an inflexion which operates when light passes across transparent bodies. Fourthly, it may be demonstrated, that light is massive, and that it acts, in some cases, as all other bodies act; for, independently of its ordinary effect, which is to shine before our eyes, and by its own action, always accompanied with lustre, and often with heat, it acts by its mass when it is condensed, and it acts to the point of putting in motion heavy bodies placed in the focus of a good burning glass: it turns a needle on a pivot placed in its focus: it displaces leaves of gold or silver before it melts or even sensibly heats them. This action, produced by its mass, precedes that of heat: it operates between the condensed light and the leaves of metal in the same manner as it operates between two other bodies which become contiguous, and, consequently, have still this property in common with all other matter. Fifthly, light is a mixture, like common matter, not only of more gross and minute parts, more or less heavy or moveable, but also differently shaped. Whoever has observed the phenomena which Newton calls the access of easy reflection, and of easy transmission of light; and on the effects of double refraction of rock and Iceland chrystal, must have perceived that the atoms of light have many sides, many different surfaces, which, according as they present themselves, constantly produce different effects.
This, therefore, is sufficient to demonstrate that light is neither particular nor different from common matter; that its essence, and its essential properties are the same; and that it differs only from having undergone, in the point of contact, the repulsion whence its volatility proceeds; and in the same manner as the effect of the force of attraction extends, always decreasing as the space augments, the effects of repulsion extend and decrease the more, but in an inverted order, insomuch that we can apply to the expansive force all that is known of the attractive. These are two instruments of the same nature, or rather the same instrument, only managed in two opposite directions.
All matter will become light, for if all coherence were destroyed it would be divided into molecules sufficiently minute, and these molecules, being at liberty, will be determined by their mutual attraction to rush one against the other. In the moment of the shock the repulsive force will be exercised, the molecules will fly in all directions with an almost infinite volatility, which, nevertheless, is not equal to their velocity acquired in the moment of contact, for the law of attraction being augmented as the space diminishes, it is evident, that at the contact the space is always proportionable till the square of the distance becomes nil, and, consequently, the velocity acquired by virtue of the attraction must at this point become almost infinite: and it would be perfectly so if the contact were immediate, and, consequently, the distance between the two bodies void; but there is nothing in nature entirely nil, and nothing truly infinite; and all that I have observed of the infinite minuteness of the atoms which constitute light, of their perfect spring, and of the nil distance in the moment of contact, must be understood only relatively. If this metaphysical truth were doubted, a physical demonstration may be given. It is pretty generally known that light employs seven minutes and a half to come from the sun to the earth; supposing, therefore, the sun at thirty-six millions of miles, light darts through this enormous distance in that short space, that is (supposing its motion uniform), 80,000 miles in one second. But this velocity, although prodigious, is yet far from being infinite, since it is determinable by numbers. It will even cease to appear so prodigious, when we reflect on the celerity of the motion of the comets to their perihelia, or even that of the planets, and by computing that, we shall find that the velocity of those immense masses may pretty nearly be compared to that of the atoms of light.
So, likewise, as all matter can be converted into light by the division and expulsion of its parts, when they feel a shock one against another, we shall find that all the elements are convertible; and if it have been doubted whether light, which appears to be the most simple element, may be converted into a solid substance, it is because we have not paid sufficient attention to every phenomena, and were infected with the prejudice, that being essentially volatile it can never become fixed. But it is plain that the fixity and volatility depend on the same attractive force in the first case, and become repulsive in the second; and from thence are we led to think that this change of matter into light, and from light into matter, is one of the most frequent operations of Nature.
Having shewn that impulsion depends on attraction; that the expansive force, like the attractive, becomes negative; that light, heat, and fire, are only modes of the common existing matter; in one word, that there exists but one sole force, and one sole matter, ever ready to attract or repel, according to circumstances; let us see how, with this single spring, and this single subject, Nature can vary her works, ad infinitum. In a general point of view, light, heat, and fire, only make one object, but in a particular point of view they are three distinct objects, which, although resembling in a great number of properties, differ nevertheless in a few others, sufficiently essential for us to consider them as three distinct things.
Light, and elementary fire, compose, it is said, only one and the same thing. This may be, but as we have not yet a clear idea of elementary fire we shall desist from pronouncing on this first point. Light and fire, such as we are acquainted with, are two distinct substances, differently composed. Fire is, in fact, very often luminous, but it sometimes also exists without any appearance of light. Fire, whether luminous or obscure, never exists without a great heat, whereas light often burns with a noise without the least sensible heat. Light appears to be the work of nature while fire is only the produce of the industry of man. Light subsists of itself, and is found diffused in
The fire, which arises from the fermentation of herbs heaped together, and which manifests itself in effervescences, is not an exception that can be opposed to me, since this production of fire depends, like all the rest, from the action of the shock of the parts of matter one against the other.