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 CONVERSATION X.
ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
FLUIDS.
DEFINITION OF A FLUID. DISTINCTION BETWEEN
FLUIDS AND LIQUIDS. OF NON-ELASTIC FLUIDS.
SCARCELY SUSCEPTIBLE OF COMPRESSION. OF THE
COHESION OF FLUIDS. OF THEIR GRAVITATION. OF
THEIR EQUILIBRIUM. OF THEIR PRESSURE. OF
SPECIFIC GRAVITY. OF THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF
BODIES HEAVIER THAN WATER. OF THOSE OF THE
SAME WEIGHT AS WATER. OF THOSE LIGHTER THAN
WATER. OF THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF FLUIDS.

MRS. B.
We have hitherto confined our attention to the mechanical properties
of solid bodies, which have been illustrated, and, I hope, thoroughly
impressed upon your memory, by the conversations we have
subsequently had, on astronomy. It will now be necessary for me to
give you some account of the mechanical properties of fluids—a
science which, when applied to liquids, is divided into two parts,
hydrostatics and hydraulics. Hydrostatics, treats of the weight and
pressure of fluids; and hydraulics, of the motion of fluids, and the
effects produced by this motion. A fluid is a substance which yields
to the slightest pressure. If you dip your hand into a basin of water,
you are scarcely sensible of meeting with any resistance.
Emily. The attraction of cohesion is then, I suppose, less powerful in
fluids, than in solids?
Mrs. B. Yes; fluids, generally speaking, are bodies of less density
than solids. From the slight cohesion, of the particles of fluids, and
the facility with which they slide over each other, it is inferred, that
they have but a slight attraction for each other, and that this
attraction is equal, in every position of their particles, and therefore
produces no resistance to a perfect freedom of motion among
themselves.
Caroline. Pray what is the distinction between a fluid and a liquid?
Mrs. B. Liquids comprehend only one class of fluids. There is another
class, distinguished by the name of elastic fluids, or gases, which
comprehends the air of the atmosphere, and all the various kinds of
air with which you will become acquainted, when you study
chemistry. Their mechanical properties we shall examine hereafter,
and confine our attention this morning, to those of liquids, or non-
elastic fluids.
Water, and liquids in general, are scarcely susceptible of being
compressed, or squeezed into a smaller space, than that which they
naturally occupy. Such, however, is the extreme minuteness of their
particles, that by strong compression, they sometimes force their
way through the pores of the substance which confines them. This
was shown by a celebrated experiment, made at Florence many
years ago. A hollow globe of gold was filled with water, and on its
being submitted to great pressure, the water was seen to exude
through the pores of the gold, which it covered with a fine dew.
Many philosophers, however, think that this experiment is too much
relied upon, as it does not appear that it has ever been repeated; it
is possible, therefore, that there may have been some source of
error, which was not discovered by the experimenters. Fluids, appear
to gravitate more freely, than solid bodies; for the strong cohesive
attraction of the particles of the latter, in some measure counteracts
the effect of gravity. In this table, for instance, the cohesion of the
particles of wood, enables four slender legs to support a
considerable weight. Were the cohesion destroyed, or, in other
words, the wood converted into a fluid, no support could be afforded
by the legs, for the particles no longer cohering together, each would
press separately and independently, and would be brought to a level
with the surface of the earth.
Emily. This want of cohesion is then the reason why fluids can never
be formed into figures, or maintained in heaps; for though it is true
the wind raises water into waves, they are immediately afterwards
destroyed by gravity, and water always finds its level.
Mrs. B. Do you understand what is meant by the level, or equilibrium
of fluids?
Emily. I believe I do, though I feel rather at a loss to explain it. Is
not a fluid level when its surface is smooth and flat, as is the case
with all fluids, when in a state of rest?
Mrs. B. Smooth, if you please, but not flat; for the definition of the
equilibrium of a fluid is, that every part of the surface is equally
distant from the point to which they gravitate, that is to say, from
the centre of the earth; hence the surface of all fluids must be
spherical, not flat, since they will partake of the spherical form of the
globe. This is very evident in large bodies of water, such as the
ocean, but the sphericity of small bodies of water, is so trifling, that
their surfaces appear flat.
This level, or equilibrium of fluids, is the natural result of their
particles gravitating independently of each other; for when any
particle of a fluid, accidentally finds itself elevated above the rest, it
is attracted down to the level of the surface of the fluid, and the
readiness with which fluids yield to the slightest impression, will
enable the particle by its weight, to penetrate the surface of the
fluid, and mix with it.
Caroline. But I have seen a drop of oil, float on the surface of water,
without mixing with it.
Mrs. B. They do not mix, because their particles repel each other,
and the oil rises to the surface, because oil is a lighter liquid than
water. If you were to pour water over it, the oil would still rise, being
forced up by the superior gravity of the water. Here is an instrument
called a spirit-level, (fig. 1, plate 13.) which is constructed upon the
principle of the equilibrium of fluids. It consists of a short tube A B,
closed at both ends, and containing a little water, or more commonly
some spirits: it is so nearly filled, as to leave only a small bubble of
air; when the tube is perfectly horizontal, this bubble will occupy the
middle of it, but when not perfectly horizontal, the water runs to the
lower, and the bubble of air or spirit rises to the upper end; by this
instrument, the level of any situation, to which we apply it, may be
ascertained.
From the strong cohesion of their particles, you may therefore
consider solid bodies as gravitating in masses, while every particle of
a fluid may be considered as separate, and gravitating independently
of each other. Hence the resistance of a fluid, is considerably less,
than that of a solid body; for the resistance of the particles, acting
separately, is more easily overcome.
Emily. A body of water, in falling, does certainly less injury than a
solid body of the same weight.
Mrs. B. The particles of fluids, acting thus independently, press
against each other in every direction, not only downwards, but
upwards, and laterally or sideways; and in consequence of this
equality of pressure, every particle remains at rest, in the fluid. If
you agitate the fluid, you disturb this equality of pressure, and the
fluid will not rest, till its equilibrium is restored.
 Plate xiii.

Caroline. The pressure downwards is very natural; it is the effect of

gravity; one particle, weighing upon another, presses on it; but the
pressure sideways, and particularly the pressure upwards, I cannot
understand.
Mrs. B. If there were no lateral pressure, water would not run out of
an opening on the side of a vessel. If you fill a vessel with sand, it
will not continue to run out of such an opening, because there is
scarcely any lateral pressure among its particles.
Emily. When water runs out of the side of a vessel, is it not owing to
the weight of the water, above the opening?
Mrs. B. If the particles of fluids were arranged in regular columns,
thus, (fig. 2.) there would be no lateral pressure, for when one
particle is perpendicularly above the other, it can only press
downwards; but as it must continually happen, that a particle
presses between two particles beneath, (fig. 3.) these last, must
suffer a lateral pressure.
Emily. The same as when a wedge is driven into a piece of wood,
and separates the parts, laterally.
Mrs. B. Yes. The lateral pressure proceeds, therefore, entirely from
the pressure downwards, or the weight of the liquid above; and
consequently, the lower the orifice is made in the vessel, the greater
will be the velocity of the water rushing out of it. Here is a vessel of
water (fig. 5.), with three stop cocks at different heights; we shall
open them, and you will see with what different degrees of velocity,
the water issues from them. Do you understand this, Caroline?
Caroline. Oh yes. The water from the upper spout, receiving but a
slight pressure, on account of its vicinity to the surface, flows but
gently; the second cock, having a greater weight above it, the water
is forced out with greater velocity, whilst the lowest cock, being near
the bottom of the vessel, receives the pressure of almost the whole
body of water, and rushes out with the greatest impetuosity.
Mrs. B. Very well; and you must observe, that as the lateral
pressure, is entirely owing to the pressure downwards, it is not
affected by the horizontal dimensions of the vessel, which contains
the water, but merely by its depth; for as every particle acts
independently of the rest, it is only the column of particles
immediately above the orifice, that can weigh upon, and press out
the water.
Emily. The breadth and width of the vessel then, can be of no
consequence in this respect. The lateral pressure on one side, in a
cubical vessel, is, I suppose, not so great as the pressure
downwards upon the bottom.
Mrs. B. No; in a cubical vessel, the pressure downwards will be
double the lateral pressure on one side; for every particle at the
bottom of the vessel is pressed upon, by a column of the whole
depth of the fluid, whilst the lateral pressure diminishes from the
bottom upwards to the surface, where the particles have no
pressure.
Caroline. And from whence proceeds the pressure of fluids upwards?
that seems to me the most unaccountable, as it is in direct
opposition to gravity.
Mrs. B. And yet it is in consequence of their pressure downwards.
When, for example, you pour water into a tea-pot, the water rises in
the spout, to a level with the water in the pot. The particles of water
at the bottom of the pot, are pressed upon by the particles above
them; to this pressure they will yield, if there is any mode of making
way for the superior particles, and as they cannot descend, they will
change their direction, and rise in the spout.
Suppose the tea-pot to be filled with columns of particles of water,
similar to that described in fig. 4., the particle 1, at the bottom, will
be pressed laterally by the particle 2, and by this pressure be forced
into the spout, where, meeting with the particle 3, it presses it
upwards, and this pressure will be continued from 3 to 4, from 4 to
5, and so on, till the water in the spout, has risen to a level with that
in the pot.
Emily. If it were not for this pressure upwards, forcing the water to
rise in the spout, the equilibrium of the fluid would be destroyed.
Caroline. True; but then a tea-pot is wide and large, and the weight
of so great a body of water as the pot will contain, may easily force
up and support so small a quantity, as will fill the spout. But would
the same effect be produced, if the spout and the pot, were of equal
dimensions?
Mrs. B. Undoubtedly it would. You may even reverse the experiment,
by pouring water into the spout, and you will find that the water will
rise in the pot, to a level with that in the spout; for the pressure of
the small quantity of water in the spout, will force up and support,
the larger quantity in the pot. In the pressure upwards, as well as
that laterally, you see that the force of pressure, depends entirely on
the height, and is quite independent of the horizontal dimensions of
the fluid.
As a tea-pot is not transparent, let us try the experiment by filling
this large glass goblet, by means of this narrow tube, (fig. 6.)
Caroline. Look, Emily, as Mrs. B. fills it, how the water rises in the
goblet, to maintain an equilibrium with that in the tube.
Now, Mrs. B., will you let me fill the tube, by pouring water into the
goblet?
Mrs. B. That is impossible. However, you may try the experiment,
and I doubt not that you will be able to account for its failure.
Caroline. It is very singular, that if so small a column of water as is
contained in the tube, can force up and support the whole contents
of the goblet; that the weight of all the water in the goblet, should
not be able to force up the small quantity required to fill the tube:—
oh, I see now the reason, the water in the goblet, cannot force that
in the tube above its level, and as the end of the tube, is
considerably higher than the goblet, it can never be filled by pouring
water into the goblet.
Mrs. B. And if you continue to pour water into the goblet when it is
full, the water will run over, instead of rising above its level in the
tube.
I shall now explain to you the meaning of the specific gravity of
bodies.
Caroline. What! is there another species of gravity, with which we
are not yet acquainted?
Mrs. B. No: the specific gravity of a body, means simply its weight,
compared with that of another body, of the same size. When we say,
that substances, such as lead, and stones, are heavy, and that
others, such as paper and feathers, are light, we speak
comparatively; that is to say, that the first are heavy, and the latter
light, in comparison with the generality of substances in nature.
Would you call wood, and chalk, light or heavy bodies?
Caroline. Some kinds of wood are heavy, certainly, as oak and
mahogany; others are light, as cedar and poplar.
Emily. I think I should call wood in general, a heavy body; for cedar
and poplar, are light, only in comparison to wood of a heavier
description. I am at a loss to determine whether chalk should be
ranked as a heavy, or a light body; I should be inclined to say the
former, if it was not that it is lighter than most other minerals. I
perceive that we have but vague notions of light and heavy. I wish
there was some standard of comparison, to which we could refer the
weight of all other bodies.
Mrs. B. The necessity of such a standard, has been so much felt,
that a body has been fixed upon for this purpose. What substance
do you think would be best calculated to answer this end?
Caroline. It must be one generally known, and easily obtained; lead
or iron, for instance.
Mrs. B. The metals, would not answer the purpose well, for several
reasons; they are not always equally compact, and they are rarely
quite pure; two pieces of iron, for instance, although of the same
size, might not, from the causes mentioned, weigh exactly alike.
Caroline. But, Mrs. B., if you compare the weight, of equal quantities
of different bodies, they will all be alike. You know the old saying,
that a pound of feathers, is as heavy as a pound of lead?
Mrs. B. When therefore we compare the weight of different kinds of
bodies, it would be absurd to take quantities of equal weight, we
must take quantities of equal bulk; pints or quarts, not ounces or
pounds.
Caroline. Very true; I perplexed myself by thinking that quantity
referred to weight, rather than to measure. It is true, it would be as
absurd to compare bodies of the same size, in order to ascertain
which was largest, as to compare bodies of the same weight, in
order to discover which was heaviest.
Mrs. B. In estimating the specific gravity of bodies, therefore, we
must compare equal bulks, and we shall find that their specific
gravity, will be proportional to their weights. The body which has
been adopted as a standard of reference, is distilled, or rain water.
Emily. I am surprised that a fluid should have been chosen for this
purpose, as it must necessarily be contained in some vessel, and the
weight of the vessel, will require to be deducted.
Mrs. B. You will find that the comparison will be more easily made
with a fluid, than with a solid; and water you know can be every
where obtained. In order to learn the specific gravity of a solid body,
it is not necessary to put a certain measure of it in one scale, and an
equal measure of water into the other scale: but simply to weigh the
body under trial, first in air, and then in water. If you weigh a piece
of gold, in a glass of water, will not the gold displace just as much
water, as is equal to its own bulk?
Caroline. Certainly, where one body is, another cannot be at the
same time; so that a sufficient quantity of water must be removed,
in order to make way for the gold.
Mrs. B. Yes, a cubic inch of water, to make room for a cubic inch of
gold; remember that the bulk, alone, is to be considered; the
weight, has nothing to do with the quantity of water displaced, for
an inch of gold, does not occupy more space, and therefore will not
displace more water, than an inch of ivory, or any other substance,
that will sink in water.
Well, you will perhaps be surprised to hear that the gold will weigh
less in water, than it did out of it?
Emily. And for what reason?
Mrs. B. On account of the upward pressure of the particles of water,
which in some measure supports the gold, and by so doing,
diminishes its weight. If the body immersed in water, was of the
same weight as that fluid, it would be wholly supported by it, just as
the water which it displaces, was supported, previous to its making
way for the solid body. If the body is heavier than the water, it
cannot be wholly supported by it; but the water will offer some
resistance to its descent.
Caroline. And the resistance which water offers to the descent of
heavy bodies immersed in it, (since it proceeds from the upward
pressure of the particles of the fluid,) must in all cases, I suppose,
be the same?
Mrs. B. Yes: the resistance of the fluid, is proportioned to the bulk,
and not to the weight, of the body immersed in it; all bodies of the
same size, therefore, lose the same quantity of their weight in water.
Can you form any idea what this loss will be?
Emily. I should think it would be equal to the weight of the water
displaced; for, since that portion of the water was supported before
the immersion of the solid body, an equal weight of the solid body,
will be supported.
Mrs. B. You are perfectly right; a body weighed in water, loses just
as much of its weight, as is equal to that of the water it displaces; so
that if you were to put the water displaced, into the scale to which
the body is suspended, it would restore the balance.
You must observe, that when you weigh a body in water, in order to
ascertain its specific gravity, you must not sink the dish of the
balance in the water; but either suspend the body to a hook at the
bottom of the dish, or else take off the dish, and suspend to the arm
of the balance a weight to counterbalance the other dish, and to this
attach the solid to be weighed, (fig. 7.) Now suppose that a cubic
inch of gold, weighed 19 ounces out of water, and lost one ounce of
its weight by being weighed in water, what would be its specific
gravity?
Caroline. The cubic inch of water it displaced, must weigh that one
ounce; and as a cubic inch of gold, weighs 19 ounces, gold is 19
times, as heavy as water.
Emily. I recollect having seen a table of the comparative weights of
bodies, in which gold appeared to me to be estimated at 19
thousand times, the weight of water.
Mrs. B. You misunderstood the meaning of the table. In the
estimation you allude to, the weight of water was reckoned at 1000.
You must observe, that the weight of a substance when not
compared to that of any other, is perfectly arbitrary; and when water
is adopted as a standard, we may denominate its weight by any
number we please; but then the weight of all bodies tried by this
standard, must be signified by proportional numbers.
Caroline. We may call the weight of water, for example, one, and
then that of gold, would be nineteen; or if we choose to call the
weight of water 1000, that of gold would be 19,000. In short,
specific gravity, means how many times more a body weighs, than
an equal bulk of water.
Mrs. B. It is rather the weight of a body compared with a portion of
water equal to it in bulk; for the specific gravity of many substances,
is less than that of water.
Caroline. Then you cannot ascertain the specific gravity of such
substances, in the same manner as that of gold; for a body that is
lighter than water, will float on its surface, without displacing any of
it.
Mrs. B. If a body were absolutely without weight, it is true that it
would not displace a drop of water, but the bodies we are treating
of, have all some weight, however small; and will, therefore, displace
some quantity. If the body be lighter than water, it will not sink to a
level with its surface, and therefore it will not displace so much
water as is equal to its bulk; but only so much, as is equal to its
weight. A ship, you must have observed, sinks to some depth in
water, and the heavier it is laden, the deeper it sinks, as it always
displaces a quantity of water, equal to its own weight.
Caroline. But you said just now, that in the immersion of gold, the
bulk, and not the weight of body, was to be considered.
Mrs. B. That is the case with all substances which are heavier than
water; but since those which are lighter, do not displace so much as
their own bulk, the quantity they displace is not a test of their
specific gravity.
In order to obtain the specific gravity of a body which is lighter than
water, you must attach to it a heavy one, whose specific gravity is
known, and immerse them together; the specific gravity of the
lighter body, may then be easily calculated from observing the loss
of weight it produces, in the heavy body.
Emily. But are there not some bodies which have exactly the same
specific gravity as water?
Mrs. B. Undoubtedly; and such bodies will remain at rest in whatever
situation they are placed in water. Here is a piece of wood which I
have procured, because it is of a kind which is precisely the weight
of an equal bulk of water; in whatever part of this vessel of water
you place it, you will find that it will remain stationary.
Caroline. I shall first put it at the bottom; from thence, of course, it
cannot rise, because it is not lighter than water. Now I shall place it
in the middle of the vessel; it neither rises nor sinks, because it is
neither lighter nor heavier than the water. Now I will lay it on the
surface of the water; but there it sinks a little—what is the reason of
that, Mrs. B.?
Mrs. B. Since it is not lighter than the water, it cannot float upon its
surface; since it is not heavier than water, it cannot sink below its
surface: it will sink therefore, only till the upper surface of both
bodies are on a level, so that the piece of wood is just covered with
water. If you poured a few drops of water into the vessel, (so gently
as not to give them momentum) they would mix with the water at
the surface, and not sink lower.
Caroline. I now understand the reason, why, in drawing up a bucket
of water out of a well, the bucket feels so much heavier when it rises
above the surface of the water in the well; for whilst you raise it in
the water, the water within the bucket being of the same specific
gravity as the water on the outside, will be wholly supported by the
upward pressure of the water beneath the bucket, and consequently
very little force will be required to raise it; but as soon as the bucket
rises to the surface of the well, you immediately perceive the
increase of weight.
Emily. And how do you ascertain the specific gravity of fluids?
Mrs. B. By means of an hydrometer; this instrument is made of
various materials, and in different forms, one of which I will show
you. It consists of a thin brass ball A, (fig. 8, plate 13.) with a
graduated tube B, and the specific gravity of the liquid, is estimated
by the depth to which the instrument sinks in it, or by the weight
required to sink it to a given depth. There is a small bucket C,
suspended at the lower end, and also a little dish on the graduated
tube; into either of these, small weights may be put, until the
instrument sinks in the fluid, to a mark on the tube B; the amount of
weight necessary for this, will enable you to discover the specific
gravity of the fluid.
I must now take leave of you; but there remain yet many
observations to be made on fluids: we shall, therefore, resume this
subject at our next interview.

Questions
1.(Pg. 118) What are the two divisions of the science which treats of the
mechanical properties of liquids?
2.(Pg. 118) Of what do hydrostatics and hydraulics treat?
3.(Pg. 118) What is a fluid defined to be?
4.(Pg. 118) From what is fluidity supposed to arise?
5.(Pg. 118) Into what two classes are fluids divided?
6.(Pg. 119) What is said of the incompressibility of liquids, and what
experiment is related?
7.(Pg. 119) Ought this experiment to be considered as conclusive?
8.(Pg. 119) Why do fluids appear to gravitate more freely than solids?
9.(Pg. 120) When is a fluid said to be in equilibrium?
10.(Pg. 120) What is there in the nature of a fluid, which causes it to
seek this level?
11.(Pg. 120) What circumstances occasion oil to float upon water?
12.(Pg. 120) What is the nature and use of the instrument represented in
fig. 1, plate 13?
13.(Pg. 120) What difference is there in the gravitation of solid masses,
and of fluids?
14.(Pg. 121) What results as regards the pressure of fluids?
15.(Pg. 121) How is this illustrated by fig. 2, 3, plate 13?
16.(Pg. 121) From what does the lateral pressure proceed? and to what
is it proportioned, as exemplified in fig. 5, plate 13?
17.(Pg. 122) Has the extent of the surface of a fluid, any effect upon its
pressure downwards?
18.(Pg. 122) What will be the difference between the pressure upon the
bottom, and upon one side of a cubical vessel?
19.(Pg. 122) What occasions the upward pressure, and how is it
explained by fig. 4, plate 13?
20.(Pg. 123) How could the equilibrium of fluids be exemplified by
pouring water in at the spout of a tea-pot?
21.(Pg. 123) How by the apparatus represented at fig. 6, plate 13?
22.(Pg. 123) What is meant by the specific gravity of a body?
23.(Pg. 123) What do we in common mean by calling a body heavy, or
light?
24.(Pg. 124) Why would not the metals answer to compare other bodies
with?
25.(Pg. 124) What must be supposed equal in estimating the specific
gravity of a body?
26.(Pg. 124) What has been adopted as a standard for comparison?
27.(Pg. 125) What is the first step in ascertaining the specific gravity of a
solid?
28.(Pg. 125) What quantity of water will the solid displace?
29.(Pg. 125) Why will a solid weigh less in water than in air, and to what
will the loss of weight be equal?
30.(Pg. 126) What is the arrangement represented by fig. 7, plate 13?
31.(Pg. 126) What is stated of gold as an example?
32.(Pg. 126) In comparing a body with water, this is sometimes called
1000, what must be observed?
33.(Pg. 126) What quantity of water is displaced, by a body floating
upon its surface?
34.(Pg. 127) How can you find the specific gravity of a solid which is
lighter than water?
35.(Pg. 127) What is observed of a body whose specific gravity is the
same as that of water?
36.(Pg. 127) What is the reason that in drawing a bucket of water from a
well, its weight is not perceived until it rises above the surface?
37.(Pg. 128) Describe the instrument represented by fig. 8, plate 13, and
also how, and for what it is used?
 CONVERSATION XI.
OF SPRINGS, FOUNTAINS, &c.
OF THE ASCENT OF VAPOUR AND THE FORMATION OF
CLOUDS. OF THE FORMATION AND FALL OF RAIN, &c.
OF THE FORMATION OF SPRINGS. OF RIVERS AND
LAKES. OF FOUNTAINS.

CAROLINE.
There is a question I am very desirous of asking you, respecting
fluids, Mrs. B., which has often perplexed me. What is the reason
that the great quantity of rain which falls upon the earth and sinks
into it, does not, in the course of time, injure its solidity? The sun
and the wind, I know, dry the surface, but they have no effect on
the interior parts, where there must be a prodigious accumulation of
moisture.
Mrs. B. Do you not know, that, in the course of time, all the water
which sinks into the ground, rises out of it again? It is the same
water which successively forms seas, rivers, springs, clouds, rain,
and sometimes hail, snow and ice. If you will take the trouble of
following it through these various changes, you will understand why
the earth is not yet drowned, by the quantity of water which has
fallen upon it, since its creation; and you will even be convinced,
that it does not contain a single drop more water now, than it did at
that period.
Let us consider how the clouds were originally formed. When the
first rays of the sun warmed the surface of the earth, the heat, by
separating the particles of water, rendered them lighter than the air.
This, you know, is the case with steam or vapour. What then
ensues?
Caroline. When lighter than the air, it will naturally rise; and now I
recollect your telling us in a preceding lesson, that the heat of the
sun transformed the particles of water into vapour; in consequence
of which, it ascended into the atmosphere, where it formed clouds.
Mrs. B. We have then already followed water through two of its
transformations; from water it becomes vapour, and from vapour
clouds.
Emily. But since this watery vapour is lighter than the air, why does it
not continue to rise; and why does it unite again, to form clouds?
Mrs. B. Because the atmosphere diminishes in density, as it is more
distant from the earth. The vapour, therefore, which the sun causes
to exhale, not only from seas, rivers, and lakes, but likewise from
the moisture on the land, rises till it reaches a region of air of its
own specific gravity; and there, you know, it will remain stationary.
By the frequent accession of fresh vapour, it gradually accumulates,
so as to form those large bodies of vapour, which we call clouds: and
the particles, at length uniting, become too heavy for the air to
support, and fall to the ground.
Caroline. They do fall to the ground, certainly, when it rains; but,
according to your theory, I should have imagined, that when the
clouds became too heavy, for the region of air in which they were
situated, to support them, they would descend, till they reached a
stratum of air of their own weight, and not fall to the earth; for as
clouds are formed of vapour, they cannot be so heavy as the lowest
regions of the atmosphere, otherwise the vapour would not have
risen.
Mrs. B. If you examine the manner in which the clouds descend, it
will obviate this objection. In falling, several of the watery particles
come within the sphere of each other's attraction, and unite in the
form of a drop of water. The vapour thus transformed into a shower,
is heavier than any part of the atmosphere, and consequently
descends to the earth.
Caroline. How wonderfully curious!
Mrs. B. It is impossible to consider any part of nature attentively,
without being struck with admiration at the wisdom it displays; and I
hope you will never contemplate these wonders, without feeling your
heart glow with admiration and gratitude, towards their bounteous
Author. Observe, that if the waters were never drawn out of the
earth, all vegetation would be destroyed by the excess of moisture;
if, on the other hand, the plants were not nourished and refreshed
by occasional showers, the drought would be equally fatal to them.
If the clouds constantly remained in a state of vapour, they might, as
you remarked, descend into a heavier stratum of the atmosphere,
but could never fall to the ground; or were the power of attraction
more than sufficient to convert the vapour into drops, it would
transform the cloud into a mass of water, which, instead of
nourishing, would destroy the produce of the earth.
Water then ascends in the form of vapour, and descends in that of
rain, snow, or hail, all of which ultimately become water. Some of
this falls into the various bodies of water on the surface of the globe,
the remainder upon the land. Of the latter, part reascends in the
form of vapour, part is absorbed by the roots of vegetables, and part
descends into the earth, where it forms springs.
Emily. Is there then no difference between rain water, and spring
water?
Mrs. B. They are originally the same; but that portion of rain water
which goes to supply springs, dissolves a number of foreign
particles, which it meets with in its passage through the various soils
it traverses.
Caroline. Yet spring water is more pleasant to the taste, appears
more transparent, and, I should have supposed, would have been
more pure than rain water.
Mrs. B. No; excepting distilled water, rain water is the most pure we
can obtain; it is its purity which renders it insipid; whilst the various
salts and different ingredients, dissolved in spring water, give it a
species of flavour, which habit renders agreeable; these salts do not,
in any degree, affect its transparency; and the filtration it undergoes,
through gravel and sand, cleanses it from all foreign matter, which it
has not the power of dissolving.
Emily. How is it that the rain water does not continue to descend by
its gravity, instead of collecting together, and forming springs?
Mrs. B. When rain falls on the surface of the earth, it continues
making its way downwards through the pores and crevices in the
ground. When several drops meet in their subterraneous passage,
they unite and form a little rivulet; this, in its progress, meets with
other rivulets of a similar description, and they pursue their course
together within the earth, till they are stopped by some substance,
such as rock, or clay, which they cannot penetrate.
Caroline. But you say that there is some reason to believe that water
can penetrate even the pores of gold, and it cannot meet with a
substance more dense?
Mrs. B. But if water penetrate the pores of gold, it is only when
under a strong compressive force, as in the Florentine experiment;
now in its passage towards the centre of the earth, it is acted upon
by no other power than gravity, which is not sufficient to make it
force its way, even through a stratum of clay. This species of earth,
though not remarkably dense, being of great tenacity, will not admit
the particles of water to pass. When water encounters any
substance of this nature, therefore, its progress is stopped, and it is
diffused through the porous earth, and sometimes the pressure of
the accumulating waters, forms a bed, or reservoir. This will be more
clearly explained by fig. 9, plate 13, which represents a section, of
the interior of a hill or mountain. A, is a body of water, such as I
have described, which, when filled up as high as B, (by the continual
accession of water it receives from the ducts or rivulets a, a, a, a,)