New-York tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1841-1842, 1841-12-29

Soon after, BAcos had promulged, in his great
and immortal work the Norlm OrgoHum, the new
method of scientific inquiry, it was applied with
tie highest success ~ NEWTON. At the early Pc
Rod 81 his life he was not careful and accurate
observer; but nc profound mathematician
a.d he saw the whole value and force OF BAcoS's
rules and determined to carry them cut in their ap
pcations to Astronomy; and noby did ne fulfil
this purpose The first fruit OF his investigation
was this He took the three great principles of kEP
LER-those splendid laws OF nature which before
scattered and isolated facts. namely, that ,he
planets revolye in Ellipses wiki The Sun IN one CT
the two foci. that .he spaces swept over in equal
times By a Inc Joining the planet to the SUM- are
always equal. and finally thst the squares OF the
times always in proportion to the cubes OF the
Misunderstanding these three principles NEWTON
submitted them TO careful inq=iry in accordance
with the method Of BAcoS
The very frs; conclusion al which he arrived
was pregnan, with importance. He showed this :
it had been proved that when one BODY moves
round another as centre. the areas swept over in
equal times By q line Joining the two bodies, are
equal; this was Of consequence oaly viewed
by this principle, established by the nest demon
s;ratye reasoning by NEWTON. that the body round
which the other moves i centre of attraction and
hence springs the conclusion that the sun round
which the planets Tsu-i be the centre OF
traction for the System. This was the first step
in the discovery o; the grand principle OF gravita-
ton-the central and animatng principle Of the
Solar System.
But NEWTON went farther He took the other
discoveries of kEPLEP and said that If one oodv
should reyo!ve around another in an ellipse with
that other in focus. whatever be the of the
force it must be such that it shall decrease a the
distance Increases; and this he showed by a most
beautiful mathematical demonstration. This Vas
nothing more than an incidental consequence OF tie
eliptcal character of the orbit; and a sill planets
move round the Sun in elliptic1l paths. with the
Sun in one focus, NEwroN proved by one sweep
Ing proposition, that the action OF the Sun upon the
planet al. mented as the square Of the distance d.
r.inishea. NEWTON thus showed by kEPLERs
FIRST principle that the Sun the centre of a,trac-
ton and by the second what is it, law. This law
Of gravitaton once established all the other truths
respecting the planetary motions were but corola-
ries from this. The third proposition OF kErLEE
was easily disposed of as it was shown to be only
consequence of the ellipticty of the planetary
orbits.
Thus ,prang out Of the true method Of philoso-
phzing, commenced in the time of GALILEo, pos
sessed and improved By KEPLER, meihodiz-d and
and prac,ised with most illusiriou= success by NEW.
roS, that theory of gravtation which is the boast
and pride Of modern philosophy
| have mentioned that before tho time of BAcoN
the true method of phil7sephizing had been prac
Used with considerable acumen and success
Among the discoveries thus evolved, of the
most interesting is that Of the pressure OF our at
mosphere. We are all familiar with the fact that
air is extremely lIght-ihat it is imPal pable and
quite invisible, and that attenuated is its nature
that II Is always taken rs type OF every thing
spritual vet it has been proved that this material
light as it seems to be, has, nevertheless, weight
of fifteen pounds for every square incl! of surface
on which it rests This fact il Of recent discovery,
and was unknown TO the ancicnts; and indeed,
from its very paradoxcal nature, it mast have been
received slowly and with distrust. The effects OF
atmospheric pressure were too obvious not to have
attracted attention at Il very carly period. The
rush OF air INTO the mouth when the lungs in
faled was obvious, though n satisfactory ex pana-
ZION of the phenomenon was given. The word
suction used express the principle now
known to belong to nothing more than the weight
OF the atmos phere. The first and most familiar
effect, from which, indeed, the word is taken, is
thus: that when the mouth is applied TO one end of
tube, the other end resting in any liquid upon
drawing the air from the tube, the liquid rises and
fills the mouth. This effect cIibed 10 the
unknown and imaginary principle called snctson.-
The use of the common pump wa. perfectly known
antecedent to the time of CALICO; 1t was known
that on raising the piston the water would follow
it, The cause which elevated the water was an
known 10 the ancients, but was explained by sue
ton. This the vulgar explanation, but phoso
piers 80 visionary the ancents would hardly
rest satisfied with mere word as the explanation
for physical fact. They therefore got up as
was their wont, high sounding maxim-cx-
pressed in poetic phrase, and said that nature az
horS a pdcunsi. Thus they personiiied Nature
and invested her with certain kind Of moral feel
ing-of mingled dread and fear, and this OF a space
where there is nothing This, like the circular
hypothesis laid down a. an incontrovertih!e
maxim, and no one dared to dispute the assertion
that nature abhors u vacuum. This accounted
and 10 them satisfactorily. for the elevation OF the
water in the pump. The piston when raised
would cause vacuum in the pump il the water
did not follow it; but nature abhors a vacuum
therefore the water follows it. This their
demonstration, and it was received and taught by
sases quite as wise the philosophers OF the
present day 1t happened during the life time OF
Calico and while he Vet had name and con-
siderable authority in Italy, that pump maker
near Florence had occasion sink cylinder 10 an
unusual depth Having sunk the pump he at
tempted to draw up the water the hight OF
about forty feet; but lie found tina, ii would not
follow the piston farther than about hrty-two feet.
At this he tremendously puzzled and had
course TO the greatest philosopher Of the day
GALILEo-fsr an explanation, Sad he, what
is this we have here a most extraordinary CIR
cums,ance 10 be sure the water Will rise To the
hlgut OF about thirty 1850 feet very rendly-but
beyond thar i, viii tot go all The tradition
of Nature TO a vacuum is limited that she aL-
hors vacuum up 10 ihirty-two feet, but that be-
v,nd th,t she has M oliertinu IN =, TIN. an