Item 139 - James David Forbes to William Whewell

6 pp

Pitlochry, Perthshire - JDF has just returned from a tour of the south and west of England. Has WW heard of Mr Graham's 'new observations on the condition of ice when nearly melting? Lyon Playfair sent him details in which Graham describes it as a 'gelatinous like glue, and like that body will stick and cement together. This gelatinous condition however he does not think is 'viscous' - on the contrary he believes it to have elasticity and that it is compatible until its rupturing or crevassing point...Graham has just communicated to the Royal Society a paper on the 'Colloid condition of Bodies'. It does strike one as somewhat singular that the 'glue like' state of bodies may not be described as 'viscous'. It is clear that the English language requires to be 'Tyndallized''. They are attempting to restore the main features of an English College hall at St. Andrew's - any advice WW has would be appreciated. JDF is trying to learn about the altered state of the English Universities under the new Acts, 'with reference to examinations and education generally'.