VORTEX

(Lat.) ' An eddy or whirlpool; a body of water running rapidly round and forming a cavity in the middle, into which floating bodies are drawn. The term is also applied to whirlwind. In the Cartes i an philosophy, vortex signifies a collection of material particles, forming a fluid or ether, endowed with a rapid rotatory motion about an axis. By means of this hypothesis, and the received doctrine of centrifugal forces, a plausible explanation may be given of the motion of the planets, which move nearly in the same plane; but the motions of the comets which traverse the heavens in all directions are inexplicable, and in fact are inconsistent with the hypothesis. Des cartes, neverthele , had the merit of attempting to show how the universe might have a umed its present form and be preserved on mechanical principles. For an explanation of the system of vortices, see Maclaurin's Account of Newton's Philosophical Discoveries. VORTICEL, Vorticella. (Lat. vortex, a whirlpool.) The generic name of certain pedicellate Wheel Animalcules, which are provided with vibratile organs at their anterior extremity, whose apparently rotatory actions produce little whirlpools in their vicinity, and thus attract the particles of food. VO' [s. 1324]