Vapors and Exhalations

The sun can agitate the air-aether and small earth-aether particles inside the pores of terrestrial bodies.

• The earth-aether particles are more strongly agitated than the air-aether.

The following earth-aether particles are easily separable:

• the small ones
• those shaped or situated in a separable way

This causes them to scatter and rise into the air simply because they cannot find any other place to go.

• It is not because they have an inherent inclination to ascend.*

This is similar to how dust in a field rises when it is pushed and agitated by the feet people passing by, making them go up into the air.

• More dust rises when more people walk on them.

The action of the sun raises vapors quite high, since the sun always shines over half of the earth and stays there all day.

These small particles that are thus raised into the air by the sun should mostly have the shape of water.

• This is because they are the most easily separable from the bodies that they are in.

These alone I will call “vapors”. These are different from the more irregular shaped ones I call “exhalations” [ionized air], as I know no more proper term.

Included in the exhalations are those with nearly the same shape as the water particles but are more subtle.

• These make up spirits or life waters that can easily catch fire.

I will exclude the earth-aether particles that make up the physical air that are:

• divided into several branches
• so subtle

There are earth-aether particles that are a bit coarser and also divided into branches.

• They cannot leave the hard bodies which they are a part of by themselves.
• But they can be driven by fire, such as the fire which drives them out as smoke.

When water slips into their pores, the water can often release these earth-aether particles and carry them up with it.

• This happens in the same way that the wind, passing through a hedge, carries away the leaves or straw entwined among its branches.

Vapor Size

Vapors always occupy much more space than water even if they are made of the same small particles.

Water particles only move strongly enough to bend, intertwine, and slide against each other, as represented at A.

When they become vapor, their agitation is so great that they quickly turn around in all directions and stretch out to their full length. Each has the force to push away all its similar particles that tend to enter its small sphere. This is represented at B.

This is similar to how, if you spin the pivot LM fast enough, cord NP will stand in the air, straight and stretched. It will occupy all the space within the circle NOPQ. In this way, bodies within that circle are immediately struck and driven out.

However, if you move it slowly, it will coil around the pivot itself. It will no longer occupy as much space.

These vapors can be:

• compressed or expanded
• hot or cold
• transparent or obscure
• humid or dry

When their particles get cooler, they no longer stretch out in a straight line. They begin to bend and draw closer to one another as shown as C and D.

Sometimes, the vapors are confined between mountains or between various opposing winds. These prevent these vapors from agitating the air. This is seen at E.

Sometimes, the vapors are under some clouds. This prevents them from expanding into as much space as their agitation requires. This is also seen at E.

Sometimes, they use most of heir agitation to move together in the same direction. And so they no longer whirl around as strongly as usual, as seen at F.

Sometimes they emerge from space E, generating a wind that blows towards G.

Their vapors are denser or more compressed than when none of these 3 things happen.

Assuming the vapor at E is as agitated as that at B. Then it becomes much hotter because its particles are more compressed, and have more force.

This is similar to how the heat of red-hot iron is much more intense than that of coals or flames.

This is why we often feel a stronger and more stifling heat in summer when the air is calm and equally pressed from all sides, indicating rain, than when it is clearer and more serene.

The vapor at C is colder than that at B, even though its parts are slightly more compressed. This is because they are much less agitated.

Conversely, the vapor at D is hotter because its particles are much more compressed and only slightly less agitated.

The vapor at F is colder than that at E, although its parts are neither less compressed nor less agitated.

This is because they are more aligned in moving in the same direction. This prevents them from shaking the small parts of other bodies as much.

This is like how a strong wind that always blows in the same direction does not shake the leaves and branches of a forest as much as a weaker one that is less steady.

Heat resides in this agitation of the small particles of terrestrial bodies.

If you blow strongly against your fingers held together, you will notice that the breath from your mouth will seem cold above your hand, where it passes very quickly and with equal force, causing little agitation.

But you will feel it quite warm between your fingers, where it passes more unevenly and slowly, agitating their small particles more.

Similarly, you always feel it warm when you blow with your mouth wide open, and cold when you blow with it almost closed. This is why:

• impetuous [fast] winds are usually cold
• warm winds are usually slow