New-York tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1841-1842, 1841-12-24

| TO CorvlsdFt, MS pny'lc!ao ne me- i.,..-.,
| ing analogy between the phensuena OF sal.
! - ,b.-,|e M, and went on 10 show how the yer
/ ,hI -I,,-,, -,iqhr act a. = Violate PIE, ana 10
100 ~. nnalory through different parts OF the
-rti, occurred in the presence OF Chap
~ "a va first published By Bequere, to whom
I Ch,-,.l,olJ II. In 1880, Sir John Hersoheii made
( - oh.a,va,ion in his Preliminary Discourse on PM
asa,ty. bearing = striking analogy to that OF Ma
polcon. without any knowledge OF the above anec-
do-e. He saws: II the brain be an electric pile,
constantly in action it may be conceived 10 dis
charge i,sei at regulsr intervals arug the nerve.
which communicate with the heart, ard thus to
excite the pulsatoa Of TIA, organ This idea was
forcirly suggested by an elegant apparatus, the
dry pile OF De LUc, in which the successive accu-
mutations OF electricity carried of b. suspend
ed ball which /, kept in OF regular pnlsation
for any length Of time Another circumstance.
still more remarkable IS, that DR.. ARNorr.
Scotch philosopher living in London, published
work on PHYSICS, in which precisely the same idea
Is suggested |. j. curious fact that these three
minds should all have fallen the same time up
on 50 remarkable conjecture.
And now as must iresrass somrwha, longer
on your attention In this branch of the Lecture, l
will mention one or two * the great discoveries
which Sir II. Dayy made in the course Of his m
yestiga,ions have already stated that Carlisle
and Nicholson had discovered that wire passed
from one end to the otker Of the pile conveys
electricity from each end This thsy followed
out, and found that if the points .; Two wires con
nected wiki the two extrcmites Of the pile be la-
lnerscd in water, upon coming together they effect
a accommodation Of the water into oxygen aud
hydrogen gases Tie oxygen being attracted 81
The positive. and the hydrogen by the negative
ldid and then being evolved they separate and
escapc. The first subject which attracted Dayy :
attention was this curious result, which TO this
hour is unexplained, and may be accounted an ulii-
mate fact He determined TO ;ry if decomposition
could be effected in water contained in separate
vessels united hy u conducting substance
To try this he placed in one vessel the positive
wire and the negative in the other Between the
Two he placed :. third vessel of liquid and formed
connection between this ard each Of the otiiet
vessels by metal conductor like syphon. rs .oo1
/. the connection was formed the dscomposiuoH
was efecied-ihe oxygen rising iron. the negative
glass and the hydrogen from the siher The cues
non arose-what became Of the hydrogen evolved
at the negative polc-ior they could exist Only IN
combination II did not appear, and 1t certainly
could not remain in the water. Again, what b.
came Of the oxygen evolved at the negative pole
no one could tell, nor any one to this day. IL
seems an inevitable conc usipn that when water Is
decomp tsed in one vessel the oxygen passes into
the liquid and escapes, or else it travels through
the conducting body and thus makes lis escape.
More wonderful stil!-he found that when he took
away the middle vessel and placed instead OF it
himself, placing one hand in each vessel, one OF
Of the TWO principles must pass through his body,
by some mysterious agenc.i. Various theories have
been devised to explain this phenomenos-by
ries of decompositns aad recompostions; bur
none of them are satisfactory and this naked fact
alone is left resting upon experience for lis basis;
that the water is decomposed and one OF its
5iituents escapes vessel and the other at the
second. The theories of GRoTTHcUs and the oth-
eis who have written upon this subject arr all in
conclusive and unsatisfactory.
The Lecturer here concluded the first par; Of
his Lecture and passed to the consideration Of the
Sun and Fixed Stars; but this latter portion We
are compelled for lack of room, to omit ual TO-
morrow
TIE SIS.
was discoursing. at the conclusion OF the lat
evening lecture upon the circumstance sand Physl-
cal state OF the surface OF the SUM- There are some
very striking facts, connected with this subject,
which have been but recently untoded aud Of
which many are the discoveries OF living phlloso
piers. 1t the opinion OF the late Sir 81 LILLIAN
HhRscHELL, (and his supposltlon had many adj
yo,etes,) that the Sun is opaque globe entirely
covered by luminous furi of some kid ; but whe-
tici it ice an ocean o; liquid fire. like molten iron
or an ocean of gaseous uid-as OF flame; or yet
again, an incandoscen solid, like iron glowing with
white heat, remained wholly without eXplarat1
until within a very recent period But the question
mas now been reduced 10 u positive absolute de-
monstra ion; and the process by viii hit was done,
and fh, nj tfui t, n IL
uful example OF the mode in which the different
sciences minister to each other.
We sec, in this snguIarly elegant solution Of an
apparently nsouble problem three sister sciences
hiding and cherahing each other In Optics
beam of light is proved to be susceptible ot Pc
cular modification called polarization. All hsh,
is proved TO be in either pourizcd an unPoiar-
lied and although ii may not bccasy fully to
explain what is meant by the polarization of light
still hy the aid of fancitul illustration can give
YOU n notion OF il sufficiently precise Tor our present
purpose. Suppose this wand, which hold IN my
hand Ia represents ray OF light; il has TOUR sides;
suppose tie two opposite sides. which are painted
bue to possess certain Propcrty-and the other
two opposite, which colorcd red to possess
property different from the first. This wand, then,
Exactly represents polarized ray OF light. If all
the sides had The properties then II would
represent an unpolarzcd raw Now chit may
dergo certain change which shall po!arize tim
parting to TWO OF lis sides opposite to each other.
certain property which the other two do not
possess. The question arises what are these pro-
pcriics
They ale various one however is so simple and
so nearly connected with the demonstration 10
winch call your attention. that shall mention It.
Ii ray of light fall upon a rejecting suiace with
either of those tco sides, whieh represented by
the red side. of the vans il will be reflected at AZ
angle equal that by which it approached the sur
face. Blu, if it strike the surface upon the other
opposite sides-,he blue-it will not be reflect