The building of a gaseous atom of hydrogen may be traced downward from E 1,
and, as stated above, the lines given in the diagram are intended to
indicate the play of the forces which bring about the several combinations.
Speaking generally, positive bodies are marked by their contained atoms
setting their points towards each other and the centre of their
combination, and repelling each other outwards; negative bodies are marked
by the heart-shaped depressions being turned inwards, and by a tendency to
move towards each other instead of away. Every combination begins by a
welling up of force at a centre, which is to form the centre of the
combination; in the first positive hydrogen combination, E 2, an atom
revolving at right angles to the plane of the paper and also revolving on
its own axis, forms the centre, and force, rushing out at its lower point,
rushes in at the depressions of two other atoms, which then set themselves
with their points to the centre; the lines are shown in +b, right-hand
figure. (The left-hand figure indicates the revolution of the atoms each by
itself.) As this atomic triad whirls round, it clears itself a space,
pressing back the undifferentiated matter of the plane, and making to
itself a whirling wall of this matter, thus taking the first step towards
building up the chemical hydrogen atom.
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