Science in Short ChaptersWilliams, W. Mattieu (William Mattieu)
Science
Science in Short Chapters
Williams, W. Mattieu (William Mattieu)
Science
Now, the new atmospheric matter which is thus encountered and inspired,
is the recipient of the everlasting radiations whose destination is the
subject of Mr. Grove’s inquiry; and these, when thus encountered and
compressed, will of necessity evolve more or less of the heat which,
through millions of millions of centuries they have been gradually
absorbing; while, on the other hand, the expired or ejected matter of
the gaseous eruptions will, like the artificially compressed air above
referred to, have lost all the heat which during its solar existence
it had by compression, dissociation, and re-combination contributed to
the solar radiations. Therefore, when again fully expanded, it will be
cooler than the general medium from which it was originally inspired by
the advancing sun.
The daily supply of fresh atmospheric fuel will be a cylinder of
ether of the same diameter as the sun, and 450,000 miles in length!
I have calculated the weight of this cylinder of ether on the
assumption (which of course is purely arbitrary) that the density of
the interstellar medium is one ten-thousandth part of that of our
atmosphere. It amounts to 14,313,915,000,000,000,000 tons, affording a
supply of 165 millions of millions of tons per second; or, if we assume
the interstellar medium to have a density of only one-millionth of that
of our atmosphere, the supply would be rather more than one and a half
millions of millions of tons per second. The proportion of this which
is effective in the manner above stated is that which becomes stirred
into the lower regions of the sun in exchange for the ejected matter of
the prominences.
I will not here dwell upon the bombardment hypothesis, beyond
observing that my explanation of solar phenomena supplies a continuous
bombardment of the above-stated magnitude without adding anything to
the magnitude of the sun.
So far, then, I answer Mr. Grove’s question, by showing that the
heat radiated into space by each of the solid orbs that people its
profundities, is received by the universal atmospheric medium; is
gathered again by the breathing of wandering suns, who inspire as
they advance the breath of universal heat and light and life; then by
impact, compression, and radiation, they concentrate and re-distribute
its vitalizing power; and after its work is done, expire it in the
broad wake of their retreat, leaving a track of cool exhausted
ether—the ash-pits of the solar furnaces—to reabsorb the general
radiations, and thus maintain the eternal round of life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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