air. And if any man should assert the absolute equality between the blow of the rifle stock and that of the rifle ball, you might request him to put his assertion to this practical test, with the absolute certainty that he would decline. Equality between the two!—Impossible! Why, if this were the case, a company of soldiers engaged in war would suffer much more than the enemy against whom they fired, for the soldiers would certainly feel each recoil, while the enemy would suffer from only a small proportion of the bullets.
The Rifle Ball possesses Energy.
18. Now, what is the meaning of this great difference between the two? We have a vivid perception of a mighty difference, and it only remains for us to clothe our naked impressions in a properly fitting scientific garb.
The something which the rifle hall possesses in contradistinction to the rifle stock is clearly the power of overcoming resistance. It can penetrate through oak wood or through water, or (alas! that it should be so often tried) through the human body, and this power of penetration is the distinguishing characteristic of a substance moving with very great velocity.
19. Let us define by the term energy this power which the rifle ball possesses of overcoming obstacles or of doing work. Of course we use the word work without reference to the moral character of the thing done, and con-
