First Lessons in Natural Philosophy for BeginnersMartindale, Joseph C. (Joseph Comly)
Science
First Lessons in Natural Philosophy for Beginners
Martindale, Joseph C. (Joseph Comly)
Physics
Because stars may be seen from every part of the earth, when it is
night.
Stars are in every direction around the earth, just as we may imagine
the apples to be in every direction around a boy who has climbed into a
tree full of that fruit.
What planet moves around the earth?
The moon moves around the earth.
Upon what part of the moon does the sun shine?
It shines upon the part towards the sun.
What does the moon do with the light which it receives from the sun?
The moon reflects the light received from the sun.
What is this reflected light called?
It is called moonlight when reflected from the moon.
Is that part of the moon on which the sun shines always towards the
earth?
It is not always towards the earth.
When all of the moon on which the sun shines is towards the earth, how
does the moon appear?
The moon appears to be round, and the whole of it seems to shine.
What is the moon then called?
It is called the Full Moon.
When no part of the moon on which the sun shines is towards the earth,
how does the moon appear?
We do not see the moon at all, and we say there is no moon.
When a small part of the moon on which the sun shines is first turned
towards the earth, what is it called?
It is called the New Moon.
Does the lighted part of the moon grow?
It seems to grow larger and larger, until the whole of the moon is
lighted.
What is it then called?
It is then called the Full Moon.
What then takes place?
It seems to grow smaller and smaller, until the whole of the lighted
part is gone.
Just before the last part is gone, what is it called?
It is called the Old Moon.
How long is it from one full moon to another full moon?
It is a lunar month.
How many full moons are there in a year?
There are thirteen full moons in a year.
Is the sun much larger than the moon?
The sun is many thousand times larger than the moon.
Why does the moon appear nearly as large as the sun?
Because it is so much nearer to us.
How far is the moon from the earth?
The moon is nearly 240,000 miles from the earth.
How far is the sun from the earth?
The sun is nearly 92,000,000 miles from the earth.
How long does it take the light of the sun to reach the earth?
It takes about eight minutes; therefore, the light of the sun must
travel about twelve millions of miles in a minute, or two hundred
thousand miles in a second of time. At this rate, the light would come
from the moon to the earth in a little more than one second of time. It
would take no longer for it to come than it does for the pulse to beat
once, or the clock to make one tick.
Eclipses.
How do we know that the earth is round, like a ball?
We know that the earth is round like a ball, because its shadow is
similar to the shadow of a ball.
How else do we know that the earth is round?
We also know that the earth is round, because we can circumnavigate or
sail around it.
Where can we see the shadow of the earth?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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