Molecular and Cosmical Magnetism

Abstract

RECENT researches on magnetism tend to suggest that the negative electron may be a magneton or unitary electromagnet as well as a unitary electric charge, consisting, that is, of an anchor-ring of negative electricity in rotation about its axis of symmetry. Such a magneton would behave mechanically like a gyroscope; magneto-gyroscopic effects have been previously considered and observed in relation to ferromagnetic bodies on the assumption that the ferro-magnetism is due to electrons in orbital motion as a whole. Wider conclusions can be drawn, however, if the magneton hypothesis is adopted, and the deductions are of importance, not only in the theory of atomic and crystal structure, but also in relation to cosmical magnetism. The following notes describe a few of the more important consequences; a detailed account of the theory and of some experiments designed to test its validity will be published shortly.