He would later promote J. H. van't Hoff's theory of the tetrahedral carbon atom, believing that it, together with the supposition that there are "specially directed forces, the affinity-energies",  which determine the relative position of atoms in the molecule, afforded a method by which the spatial arrangement of atoms in particular cases may be ascertained by experiment.
He would later champion J. H. van't Hoff's theory of the tetrahedral carbon atom, believing that it, along with the notion that there are "specially directed forces, the affinity-energies", which determine the relative position of atoms in the molecule, provided a means to ascertain the spatial arrangement of atoms in specific cases through experimentation.