The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-09-12

e
Thsss = paper published in Phiisdel-
phia termed "The Rsinboss.' and which i
,hrssa upon the public with srea. hour.
ish OF scienti6c pretension. This paper
Processes to predict. BY means Of certain
theory which the editor has discovered, the
vsriess changes in the conditions Of the At
mosPhere, and sequently, The conditions OF
the health Of those subjected to lite inhu-
encs. The following para graph from the
Rainbow will give the data upon which the
editor builds his theory, and promulsstes it
in HE paper
THEoRT.--In the Solar Spectrum formed
BY the prism, we end that rays OF liRh, po-
lsrzed in some angles, will, when coaverg-
ed, perfectly mss1euxe unmsgnetizsd wire
in less than an hour; whilst rays polasized
10 other angles, viii have no ssch effect
Here We have the fact sxperimentslly pro.
we'd, that light, polarized in some angles,
Ike the violet, blue, Sc, will supply many
times more electricity than when polsrizsd
in oshess, like the red ray, SC
For many years the announcement has
been made in works upon science, that
Mrs. Somcrville had made the great dseos-
ery, that the violet and blue rays OF the So
lar Spectrum possessed the properties OF
Communicating magnetism to steel. This
assertion wss copied from one work into
| another without question, until some PET
son cognizant OF the laws of electricity.
though, proper to investigate its truth
The result Psoses that no person, unless
scquain,ed with science thoroughly. should
pretend to institute scientific Investigations
with the view ofenhghtenipg the world.
Now il 10 known that il any body no, dia-
magnetic, be placed in the direction Of the
mag netis meridian and allowed 10 remain
there awhile, will become itself magnetic
through the inductive influence Of the earth
You can scarcely take up piece of iror
the least hardened. or piece of steel, with
DOT, BY testing with delicate gslvanome
ter, perceiving that il has become magnet
ic. All the steel tools upon carpenter:
bench--all needles in lsdy's work box
&C., can thus be ascertained to be magnet
&c. Here was Mrs. Somervills's error
The needles she used were either magnet
ic before she submitted them TO the Sofia
Spectrum, or else in p,aciBg them in thu
colors. she allowed them to remain Their,
long enough to become msgnetic through
the inductive isnuence of the earth. Thi
vas proved by Prof. Hunt and others. VIII
have not, after submitting needles for
whole day to the violet and blue rays
Creeping the needles out of the magnet
meridisn) been able TO gel the least mag
netism, - Indicated BY the most delicat
galvsnome,er. In fact, series Of exper
ments BY several Of the most eminent ph
losophers Of this sge, have rel ulted in sui
, stantiating the correctness ofthose ofPro
Hust, and it i.. therefore,. an admitted fac
thai there are no magnetizing rays in ,h
Solar Spectrum. II, then, this be cas-,
what becomes of oil the theori es Of tn
Rainbow editori As they are all built vi
on the superstition that there are magnet
: ting rays in the Solar Spectrum and as
10 proved beyond refutation, that there al
not minglsd with the violet and blue. or an
other rays from the sun, any that comm
nicsie TO steel magnetic properties, or d
velop them within the steel, the whole
The Rainbow's theories about the weathe
are necessarily built upon error.
lf the data upon which theory is sui
, be enron eo1s, Of course the entire s,ruetu
must be equally SO. The only ground II
editor Of the Rainbow can take is, tina, Il
! visle, and blue rays Of the Spectrum ar
> msgnetize steel II he takes that positiS
}. instead OF wasting ream OF paper and
! pint OF ink upon the subject, in the way
J logic, let him at once indicate to us the e
perimentsl proof that the suns rays W
/, develop magnetism in steel.
II J. NJ. S.