Attraction

(at-trākshun.) [L. attract io, a drawing together.] (Phy.) The tendency of certain bodies to approach one another, varying according to the nature of the bodies attracted, and the circumstances under which this A. takes place. All bodies are supposed to consist of very small undecomposable particles named atoms, which form groups termed molecules. The immanent forces of atoms, leading to the formation of molecules, are named atomic forces; molecules, though chemically decomposable, are incapable of decomposition by any mechanical force whatever; and therefore, in a mechanical point of view, the molecule may be regarded as the fundamental element of bodies. Molecules are kept at certain distances apart, by a force called molecular force, which exhibits itself in the form of A. (frequently called the A. of cohesion) when the space between the molecules is increased, but in the form of repulsion when such space is le ened. See GRAVITATION. [s. 59]