Chemical Experiments on the Radical Dissolution of Bodies

Rational Conjecture on the Possi-

bility of the Existence of an Abso-

lute Light-Heat and an Ab-

solute Fire-Matter.

Light-heat and fire are for us hitherto new phenomena, and are merely perceived as phenomena; they have so far only a subjective existence for us, because the reality of their objective being is still hidden from us.

Yet, despite this hiddenness of objective reality, the phenomenon of light, heat, and fire is nonetheless always felt by us, and sensation original: "Empfinden." Here used to mean sensory perception or the act of feeling a physical stimulus. presupposes a cause that acts upon the sensory organs; and the acting objective cause must be substance, or matter.

The essence of light, heat, and fire can be assumed to be an object that fills a space. Filling space original: "Raumerfüllung." In Kantian and Newtonian physics of the time, the ability to occupy space was the primary defining characteristic of matter. is a property of the essence of matter; consequently, light, heat, and fire, as space-fillers, must also belong to it.

The objective cause of all sensations is and remains always matter; — light, heat, and fire are, through all the organs, per- The text cuts off here. The catchword "nom-" combined with the fragment "ausges" suggests the word "ausgenommen," meaning "perceived" or "taken in" in this context.