Excerpt from Treatise on the Motion of Vortex Rings: An Essay to Which the Adams Prize Was Adjudged, in 1882, in the University of Cambridge The subject selected by the Examiners for the Adams Prize for 1882 was "A general investigation of the action upon each other of two closed vortices in a perfect incompressible, fluid." In this essay, in addition to the set subject, I have discussed some points which are intimately connected with it, and I have endeavoured to apply some of the results to the vortex atom theory of matter. I have made some alterations in the notation and arrangement since the essay was sent in to the Examiners, in so doing I have received great assistance from Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S. one of the Examiners, who very kindly lent me the notes he had made on the essay. Beyond these I have not made any alterations in the first three parts of the essay: but to the fourth part, which treats of a vortex atom theory of chemical action, I have made some additions in the hope of making the theory more complete: paragraph 60 and parts of paragraphs 58 and 59 have been added since the essay was sent in to the Examiners. I am very much indebted to Prof. Larmor of Queen's College, Galway, for a careful revision of the proofs and for many valuable suggestions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.