When Lord Salisbury says that nature is a mystery, he means... that this simple conception of Boscovich is refuted almost in every branch of science,… - Ludwig Boltzmann

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When Lord Salisbury says that nature is a mystery, he means... that this simple conception of Boscovich is refuted almost in every branch of science, the Theory of Gases not excepted. The assumption that the molecules are aggregates of material points, in the sense of Boscovich, does not agree with the facts. But what else are they? And what is the ether through which they move? Let us again hear Lord Salisbury. He says<blockquote>"What the atom of each element is, whether it is a movement, or a thing, or a vortex, or a point having inertia, all these questions are surrounded by profound darkness. I dare not use any less pedantic word than entity to designate the ether, for it would be a great exaggeration of our knowledge if I were to speak of it as a body, or even as a substance."</blockquote>