en
from one another--in proportion to their size. The atoms and
the spaces between them are so small to our sight that they seem
to touch. If we had a microscope of sufficient power to reveal
the atom, you would see that no two atoms touch, and that the
spaces between them are, as Faraday says, very great in
proportion to their size. I showed you last term that what
appeared to be a solid stream of water, when magnified and thrown
upon a screen, was merely a succession of independent drops that
did not touch. I can not yet give you proof of the bar of iron
being composed of independent atoms, but that is the fault of our
instruments, and you must take my word for it until the proof is
simplified and made easy of application.

"Each one of these physical atoms is a miniature world. It is
the center of an ocean of ether, composed of many atoms; and
while no two physical atoms touch, their etheric atmospheres do
touch, and any change in the vibration of the etheric atmosphere
of one will be imparted to that of the next. As the vibration of
the physical atom must be in harmony with that of its etheric
atmosphere, any change coming to one will be imparted to the
next, and the next, through the ether surrounding them.

"You can see that the index at the end of the bar has moved,
showing that it is now longer. That means the etheric atoms are
now vibrating faster, taking more space, and have necessarily
forced each physical atom farther apart. The bar is not only
longer, but softer, and as the vibrations increase in rapidity
the time will come when it will bend by its own weight, and even
when it will become a liquid and a gas.

"If you put your hand anywhere near the bar you will feel a
sensation called heat, and say it has become hot. The reason for
that is that you are in actual and literal touch with the bar or
iron through the ether. It is not alone each atom of the bar of
iron that is surrounded by the ether, but each atom of the air,
and each atom of your body. Their etheric atmospheres are all
touching, and the increase in the vibration of the ether
surrounding the atoms of iron is imparted to those of the air
surrounding it, and these in turn raise the rate of vibration in
the etheric atoms surrounding the physical atoms of your hand.
This rate of vibration in your nerves causes a sensation, or
mental impression, you call "heat." Consciousness of it comes
through your sense of touch; but after all