Outlines of a mechanical theory of storms : $b containing the true law of lunar influence, with practical instructions to the navigator, to enable him approximately to calculate the coming changes of the wind and weather, for any given day, and for any part of the oceanBassnett, Thomas
Science
Outlines of a mechanical theory of storms : $b containing the true law of lunar influence, with practical instructions to the navigator, to enable him approximately to calculate the coming changes of the wind and weather, for any given day, and for any part of the ocean
Bassnett, Thomas
Weather
If action be equal to reaction, and all nature be vibrating with motion,
these motions must necessarily interfere, and some effect should be
produced. A body radiating its motion on every side into a physical
medium, produces waves. These waves are a mechanical effect, and the
body parts with some of its motion in producing them; but, should
another body be placed in juxtaposition, having the same motion, the
opposing waves neutralize each other, and the bodies lose no motion from
their contiguous sides, and, therefore, the reaction from the opposite
sides acts as a propelling power, and the bodies approach, or tend to
approach each other. If one body be of double the inertia, it moves only
half as far as the first; then, seeing that this atomic motion is
radiated, the law of force must be directly as the mass, and inversely
as the squares of the distances. There may be other atomic vibrations
besides those which we call light, heat, and chemical action, yet the
joint effect of all is infinitesimally small, when we disregard the
united _attraction_ of all the atoms of which the earth is composed. The
_attraction_ of the whole earth at the surface causes bodies to fall 16
feet the first second of time; but, if two spheres of ice of one foot
diameter, were placed in an infinite space, uninfluenced by other
matter, and only 16 feet apart, they would require nearly 10,000 years
to fall together by virtue of their mutual attraction. Our conceptions,
or, rather, our misconceptions, concerning the force of gravity, arises
from our forgetting that every pound of matter on the earth contributes
its share of the force which, in the aggregate, is so powerful. Hence,
the cause we have suggested, is fully adequate to account for the
phenomena. Whether the harmony of vibrations between two bodies may not
have an influence in determining the amount of interference, and,
consequently, produce _some_ difference between the gravitating mass
and its inertia, is a question which, no doubt, will ultimately be
solved; but this harmony of vibrations must depend, in some degree, on
the atomic weight, temperature, and intensity of atomic motion.
That a part of the mass of the earth is _latent_ may be inferred from
certain considerations: 1st, from the discrepancies existing in the
results obtained for the earth's compression by the pendulum and by
actual measurement; and, 2d, from the irregularity of that compression
in particular latitudes and longitudes. The same may also be deduced
from the different values of the moon's mass as derived from different
phenomena, dependent on the law of gravitation. Astronomers have
hitherto covered themselves with the very convenient shield of errors of
observation; but, the perfection of modern instruments now demand a
better account of all outstanding discrepancies. The world requires it
of them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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