Note 307 — Chapter V · THE FORMS OF CELLS (continued 2)

This cellular pattern would seem to be related to the “cohesion figures” described by Tomlinson in various surface-films (Phil. Mag. 1861 to 1870); to the “tesselated structure” in liquids described by Professor James Thomson in 1882 (Collected Papers, p. 136); and to the tourbillons cellulaires of Prof. H. Bénard (Ann. de Chimie (7), XXIII, pp. 62–144, 1901, (8), XXIV, pp. 563–566, 1911), Rev. génér. des Sci. XI, p. 1268, 1900; cf. also E. H. Weber. (Poggend. Ann. XCIV, p. 452, 1855, etc.). The phenomenon is of great interest and various appearances have been referred to it, in biology, geology, metallurgy and even astronomy: for the flocculent clouds in the solar photosphere shew an analogous configuration. (See letters by Kerr Grant, Larmor, Wager and others, in Nature, April 16 to June 11, 1914.) In many instances, marked by strict symmetry or regularity, it is very possible that the interference of waves or ripples may play its part in the phenomenon. But in the majority of cases, it is fairly certain that localised centres of action, or of diminished tension, are present, such as might be provided by dust-particles in the case of Darling’s experiment (cf. infra, p. 590).