Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/422

ATTUCZS 336 AUBURN particles of all bodies tend necessarily to approach each other. It operates at whatever distances the bodies may be from each other, whether the space be- tween them be filled with other masses of matter or is vacant, and whether the bodies themselves are at rest or are in motion. When they are not closely in contact, the attraction between them is called that of gravitation or of gravity. It is of various kinds: (1) The at- traction of gravitation or of gravity is the operation of the above-mentioned at- traction when the bodies acting and acted upon are not closely in contact. It is often called the law of gravity or gravi- tation, but the term law in this case means simply generalization. It states the universality of a fact, but does not really account for it. By this law or generalization, the attraction between any two material particles is directly proportional to the product of their masses, and inversely proportional to the square of their distance asunder. (2) Molecular attraction differs from the former in acting only at infinitely small distances. It ceases to be appreciable when the distances between the mole- cules become appreciably large. It is divided into cohesion, affinity, and ad- hesion. Capillary attraction, meaning the at-- traction excited by a hair-like tube on a liquid within it, is, properly speaking, a variety of adhesion. In magnetism, the power excited by a magnet or loadstone of drawing and at- taching iron to itself. In electricity, the power possessed by an electrified body of drawing certain other bodies to itself. The repulsions or attractions between two electrified bodies are in the inverse ratio of the squares of their distance. The distance remain- ing the same, the force of attraction or repulsion between two electrified bodies is directly as the product of the quanti- ties of electricity with which they are charged. ATTUCKS, CRISPUS, a mulatto or half-breed Indian, born about 1720; was a leader of the crowd of people, who, on March 5, 1770, provoked the British sol- diers in Boston to open fire, which re- sulted in the death of Attucks and others and created the incident known as the Boston massacre. The British officer of the day and six of his men were tried for murder and acquitted by a jury. ATWATER, WILBER OLIN, an American chemist, born in Johnsburg, N. Y., May 3, 1844; was graduated at Wesleyan University in 1865; made a special study of chemistry in the Shef- field Scientific School of Yale and the Universities of Leipsic and Berlin; be- came Professor of Chemistry in East Tennessee University in 1873; was di- rector of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 1875-1877, and was appointed director of the Storrs (Conn.) Experiment Station in 1887. He was connected for several years with the United States Department of Agricul- ture. He died in 1907. ATYS, or ATTYS (at'is), in classical mythology, the shepherd lover of Cybele, who, having broken the vow of chastity which he made her, castrated himself. In Asia Minor Atys seems to have been a deity, with somewhat of the same character as Adonis. AUBE (ob), a N. E. French depart- ment; area, 2,326 square miles; pop. about 240,000. The surface is undulat- ing, and watered by the Aube, etc. The N. and N. W. districts are bleak and infertile, the S. districts remarkably fer- tile. A large extent of gjound is under forests and vineyards, and the soil is admirable for grain, pulse, and hemp. The chief manufactures are worsted and hosiery. Troyes is the capital. The river Aube, which gives name to the department, rises in Haute-Marne, flows N. W., and, after a course of 113 miles, joins the Seine. Capital, Troyes. AUBER, DANIEL FRAN9OIS ES- PRIT (o-ba'), a French operatic com- poser, born Jan. 29, 1782, at Caen, in Normandy; studied under Cherubini. His first great success was his opera "La Bergere Chatelaine," produced in 1820. In 1822 he had associated himself with Scribe as librettist, and other operas fol- lowed. Chief among them were "Masa- niello; or La Muette de Portici" (1828); "Fra Diavolo" (1830); "Lestocq" (1834); "L'Ambassadrice" (1836); "Le Domino Noir" (1837) ; "Les Diamants de la Couronne" (1841) ; "Marco Spada" (1853); "La Fiancee du Roi de Garbe" (1864). Despite his success in "Masa- niello" his peculiar field was comic opera. He died in Paris, May 13, 1871. AUBURN, city and county-seat of Androscoggin co.. Me.; on the Andros- coggin river and the Maine Central and Grand Trunk railroads, 30 miles S. W. of Augusta. The river, which separates Auburn from the city of Lewiston, has a fall of 60 feet near the cities, giving them excellent power for manufactur- ing. Auburn is principally engaged in the manufacture of shoes, though it is doing considerable in the lines of cotton goods, furniture, and tanned leather. It is lighted by electricity, and has 1 Na-