New and Original Theories of the Great Physical Forces

Light, heat, gravity and wind come under a single explanatory scheme in Henry Raymond Rogers's short treatise on physical forces. He presents his ideas as personal opinions and acknowledges that they challenge accepted scientific accounts. His opening argument stresses the mutual action of sun and planets, proposing that their relationship involves an exchange rather than a wholly independent sun supplying everything.

The chapters extend this proposed system to the atmosphere, the seasons, sunspots and sound. In the discussion of winds, Rogers attributes moving air to a magnetic fluid, using observations of whirlwinds and waterspouts to develop his reasoning. Headings, illustrations and references to other investigators help organize a wide field of speculation. For readers interested in historical approaches to natural philosophy, the book offers a sustained example of an author trying to explain diverse phenomena through one underlying force, with his confidence and reservations both stated in the preface.