Page:Life in Motion.djvu/26

as a whole, or they move parts of their bodies. Animals run, leap, swim, fly, and perform many other movements. These movements are obvious. Every one can see them. But here, again, we must go a little farther in thought and look below the surface. We then find that in living things there are also molecular movements, and that the larger movements which we can all see depend on the small ones that are invisible to our eyes.

To aid us in understanding these statements a little better let us now perform a few experiments. Take, first of all, one or two chemical reactions. I add a solution of nitrate of silver to a solution of chloride of sodium. You see a solid matter appear, which soon falls to the bottom of the glass. This solid matter is chloride of silver, a new substance formed by the interaction of the nitrate of silver with the chloride of sodium. The change may be expressed in this way:—

Nitrate of Silver	$+$	Chloride of Sodium
$\scriptstyle {\underbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$		$\scriptstyle {\underbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$
consists of Nitric Acid and Silver		consists of Chlorine and Sodium
	gives
Chloride of Silver	and	Nitrate of Soda
$\scriptstyle {\underbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$		$\scriptstyle {\underbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$
Chlorine and Silver.		Nitric acid and Sodium.