In describing the construction of the earth-nebula we showed that
particles of matter placed at different parts of its interior, even not
very far from the surface, would be drawn out, in the first place by
the greater number coming in from a greater distance from the centre,
and that when they met they would all be drawn in towards the centre by
the conjoint attraction of the whole mass; and now we can apply this
fact to the larger solar nebula, and consider what might be the result.
Let us fix upon a certain number of equidistant zones in a sphere of
cosmic matter, extending from the centre at _a_ to _b_, _c_, _d_ and
_e_, at the surface. We know that, according to our former reasoning on
particles, and the law of attraction, part of the matter of the zone at
_a_ will be drawn outwards by that at _b_, while part of that at _b_
will be drawn inwards by that at _a_, and that the same will take place
with all the other zones out to the surface at _e_; and thus there
might come to be congested layers between these equidistant places,
and there might even be formed hollow spheres within hollow spheres,
independent of each other, all through the nebula from near the centre
to the surface. This idea is by no means fanciful, as is witnessed
by the accounts given in Chambers's "Handbook of Astronomy," already
referred to, Vol. I., and the Figs. 215, 222 and 223, showing the form
and appearance of the remarkable comets of 1874 and 1882. If different,
almost concentric, zones or layers of cosmic matter can be constituted
in the hemisphere forming the head of a comet, there is no reason why
concentric layers of the same matter should not be formed in a nearly
spherical nebula. In fact, we can appeal to what is seen in the heads
of the two comets cited, Donati's also represented in the same work,
Figs. 199-203, as convincing proof of the correctness of our contention
and demonstration that all satellites, planets, suns, and stars are
hollow bodies. Even the tails of comets, at least of the larger ones,
are acknowledged to be hollow bodies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account