The Forces of Matter is a series of six scientific lectures by author and scientist Michael Faraday. Faraday, who was known as a popularizer of science presents lectures around the topics of gravitation, cohesion, chemical affinity, heat, magnetism and electricity.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1860.

These popular lectures are free from the technicalities of science. They treat of gravitation, cohesion, chemical affinity, heat, magnetism, and electricity; and are remarkable alike for the philosophical precision of their statements and the lucid beauty of their illustrations. It is rarely that a treatise on physical science presents so much sound and important information in such a singularly attractive manner.

Excerpt from A Course of Six Lectures on the Various Forces of Matter, and Their Relations to Each Other Which was first, Matter or Force? If we think on this question we shall find that we are unable to conceive of matter without force, or force without matter. When God created the elements of which the earth is composed, He created certain wondrous forces, which are set free, and become evident when matter acts on matter. All these forces, with many differences, have much in common, and if one is set free it will immediately endeavour to free its com panions. Thus heat will enable us to eliminate light, electricity, magnetism, and chemical p action; chemical action will educe light, elec tricity, and heat; in this way we find that all the forces in nature tend to form mutually dependent systems, and as the motion of one star affects another, so force in action liberates and renders evident forces previously tranquil. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Self-taught chemist and scientist Michael Faraday was one of the most prolific and prescient researchers to emerge from England in the nineteenth century. In this captivating collection of talks and lectures, Faraday sets forth some of his most influential theories, findings, and conjectures.