Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1845-09-06
LORD RossE's TELESCOPE.

Il Az tne niteenth meeting OF the British Associa-
non Tor the Advancement of Science, at Cambridge,
or -. HERscHEL, IN the introductory address, thus
spoke OF Lord Rosse's Telescope:
"The last year must ever be considered an epocb i;
uonomy from its having witnessed the successful completion
OF the Earl OF Roses seet reAector-an achievement
such magnitude, both in itself of discovery and
In respect Of the difficulties be sumouned in lis constpc
on difficulties which perhaps few persons here present are
oeer able from experience TO appreciate than myself
want words to express my admiration Of it, have not my
sell been SO fortunate to have witnessed its Performance
out rom what It's noble constructor has himself informed me
OF It's effects on particular nebue with whose
IN powerful telescopes familiar, am prepared for any
which may be made Of its optical capacity What
may DC the effect OF so power in adding our
knowledge OF our immediate neghbors the universe
III OF course impossible conjecture but for nv own part
cannot help contemplating, of the grand fields omen
Tor discovery with such instrument those marvellous and
Dode or systems of bodies the nebule By far
the major part probably least ninetenhs of the nebulous
contents oil the heavens consist of nebua of spherical clip
teal FORMS presenting variety eongation and central
condensation Of these great number have been resolve
into distinct stars and vast multitude more have been found
to present that notified appearance which renders almost
matter OF certainty that increase of optical power would
show them to be similarly composed unnatural or mr.
fair induction would therefore to be that those which re-
s such resolution do only consequence of the smaness
and closeness of the of which they consist that in
Short they only OFFICIALLY and not physically nebuous
There 49, however, circumstance which deserves especial
remark and which, that my observation has extend
ed to the Debum Of both hemspheres feel able announce
with confidence as general law VIZ that the character of
easy resovabty into separate and distinct almost
ey confined to nebule deviatng but little from the spherical
form; while, the other hand very elliptic nebul
large and bright offer much greater difficulty in this
spect The of this difference of be
jecura but believe possible for any review
sram the nebuous of the heavens without being
satisfied of its reality physical character Possibly the
limits of the conditions of dynamca stability in spherical
cluster may be compatible with less numerous compare
lively larger individual constituents than in elliptic
Be that as may though there no doubt great number of
elliptic nebua in which stars have yet been noticed
there many which they hare and the graduation
nsensihle from the most perfectly spherical the eon
gated elliptic FORM that the force the general induction is
hardly weakened by this peculiarly and for my pa
should have little hesitation in admitting all nebua of this
class to be, in fact congeres of And this
have been my fathers opinion of their constitutions with the
exception OF certain peculiar locking Objects respecting
whose nature all opinion must for the present be suspended
Now among all the wonders which the heavens present
contemplation there astonishing than such
close compacted families communities Of stars forming
TENS either insulated from all others binary connexion,
double clusters whose confines ntemx and consisting of
individual stars nearly equal in apparent magnitude, and
crowded together in such multudcs to defy all attempts to
count to estimate their numbers What these
mysterious families Under what dynamica conditions do
they subsst Is it conceivable that they exist ALL and
endure under the Newtonan law of gravaton without per-
petnal collisions And if SO, what problem of unimagin
able completely is presented by such system, if should
attempt dive its perurbations and conditions of
bity by the feeble aid of analysis. The existence of
luminous NATTER not congregated into bodies the
in vaporous or cloudke state, undergoing awaiting the
slow process of aggregation into by the power CRAWL
aon, originally suggested to the late Sir W. Heschel
in his reviews of the nebu9, by those extraordinary objects
which his researches disclosed which exhibit regularity of
outline systematic gadator of Brightness but of which
the wisps and curs of chus cloud afford not napt de-
scrption The widest imagination conceive nothing
capcous than their forms which in many instances
seem totally devoid of plan, much real couds-in
others offer traces Of regularity hardly essuncouh.
Shoud the powers of an instrument such Lord ROSES
succeed in resolving these also 10 stars and moreover in
demonstrating the starry nature of the regular elliptic nebue
which have hitherto resisted such decomposition the idea of
nebulous matter the Of shining fluid condens
BILE gas must of to rest support derived
from actual observation in the sdereal heavens whatever
may still receive 1.-THE minds of cosmogonss
from the tails and atmospses Of COMETS and the zodaca
light in system. But, though all idea of ts being
given mortal eye view aught that carir-earded
outstanding portion of pmeva chaos be dissips3ed it
will by have been then demonstrated that
among those stars confusedy scattered, aggregang
powers in action tending TO draw them into groups and
nsuate them from neighborng groups and, speaking from
my impressions, should say that the structure of the
Magelanic clouds, it is really difficult to believe
distinct evidences of the exercise Of such power part
Of fathers general views Of the construction of the hea-
vens, therefore, being entirely distinct from what of late
been called the nebulous hypothesis will still susist as
matter of rational and philosophical specuaonand perhaps
all the better for being separated from the other"
We find the following recorded among the pro-
ceedings of the same meeting of the Association:
Spheroida State of Bodies and its application to boil
ers and the Freezing Of Water in Redhot Vessels" by
Prof Boutgny. Professor Boutgny, who made his commu
ncaon the French language, first proceeded show that
drop of projected upon redhot plate does touch
but that repuve action is exered between the plate and
the fuid which keeps the latter in of rapid vibration
AT white heat this epuson acts with the greatest energy
whilst ceases and the ordinary process Of evaporation takes
place at brown-red heat The temperature of the
whilst in the spheroda found be only 96o and this
temperature is maintained long the heat of the plate is
kept up To bring this TO the boiling point Ito 2l2o
is therefore necessary to cool the plate These phenomena
explained by Boutgny the supposition that the
sphere Of water has perfect rejecting surface, and
qucnty that the heat of the ncandescen plate reflected
back upon and experiments have been made which
show that this the CASE the plate becoming vsby redde
those parts which the vibrating gobue played Sew
era experiments made in proof Of this necessary cooling
produce ebullon. The redhot plate, with its spheroda
drop, removed from the sptlamp, and after minute
two the began boil and rapidly disspaed in
steam. Ammonia and ether shown, although
ceedngy VOLATILE act in the the ether how
ever being decomposed whilst in the vbratory condition.
the il is by the action Of pana w forming
peculiar acid Iodine put upon the heated plate became
fud and revolved in the other fluids
pors escaping whilst the high temperature of the metal
but when allowed to cool tho point dull red
ness Immediately dpated in violet vapors The nj
of fused the glowing hot plate and vbrated
with great energy but cooling the capsule the salt en-
tered into vivid combustion The cpulsve action was shown
by pungng lump Of silver at glowing red heat INTO gass
Of AS long its bright redness was mainanen mere
ebuion but slowly cooled boiling TOOK place.
In this experiment. appeared if the glowing metal Drmeu
around itself an atmosphere and the contiguous surfaces OF