The Laws of Radiation

Abstract

In Chapters 12 and 13 we presented a detailed discussion of the properties of gases and the laws of thermodynamics in preparation for our study of the structure of matter and the forces (other than gravity) that produce the great variety of structures that constitute the matter all around us. Our motive was to begin by considering matter in its most unstructured state (a gas) to see if we could discover anything about the constituent basic particles of which all matter is constructed. Having learned something about the nature of the particles from our studies of gases, we next try to discover how these particles interact with each other to form liquids and solids. We know empirically that if the temperature of a gas is lowered and its density is increased, a point is reached at which the gas begins to condense. This means that the constituent particles of the gas begin to stick together owing to the attractive force between them. We must understand these forces if we are to understand how material structures are formed.

A plausible impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.

—aristotle, Poetics