Cosmology Old and New

Author(s): G R Jain
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 59

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SŪTRA 1 (Adharma) Put more briefly and generally :
The force of attraction of two bodies varies directly as the product of their masses. Next assume that the masses of the spheres remain the same but that the distance is trebled. The force of attraction is now reduced by 3x3 times,... i.e., nine times. In other words, the force varies inversely as the square of the distance.
But how is it that force does not menifest itself in connection with objects which surround us? Why do not chairs, tables, houses tend to move towards each other? The answer is simple: The forces of attraction are extremely small; in the case of objects around us they are insufficient to overcome the forces of resistance to motion...that is to say, the forces of friction...which are always brought into play. If the attracting bodies are very massive, the forces of attraction become appreciable. It is due to them that the earth attracts the bodies in its vicinity and the planets move around the sun and the moon moves around the earth.
Yet another question suggests itself in this connection. If bodies attract each other along the straight lines which join them how is that the earth does not fall upon the sun and the moon upon the earth? The principles of Newtonian dynamics supply the answer to this question The direction of motion is not that of the direction of the force. When a stone drops freely from a height, it falls vertically towards the earth's centre. A projectile discharged from a heavy gun, however, describes a parabola, although, here too, the force of gravitation acting upon it is towards the earth's centre. If we could impart to the projectiles a sufficiently great velocity, we could make them move round the earth as does the moon.”
Newton extended the concept of gravitation to molecules and atoms also. The propensity of two bodies to react chemically was attributed to the attraction of the particles of one for the particles of the other. Later on the term attraction was changed to affinity. The Greek philosopher Democritus" held the view that the atoms are attracted to one another on account of their whirling motions."
These considerations lead us to the conclusion that gravitation is the cause of the stability of the macroscopic as well as microscopic systems of the universe. But the gravitation, there
75. A Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry by J. W. Mellor; p. 785.