Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-01-12
ORIGIN OF THE STARS.

This is the rather ambitious title Of
an essay advancing and claiming 10
establish new theories concerning the
light and heat Of the sun and other
stars, and their original formation IN
space. The author adopts the old idea,
long since discarded by the scientihc
world, that the light and heat Of the sun
are derived from a vast contiagration,
which has been going on there for mil
lions Of years, as the facts OF geoiogy
show its duration must have been. Inc
great objection to this view has been
that the mass of the sun could not FUR
nish the fuel for so fierce q heat through
so long o period Of time. But the au-
thor attempts to remove this by the sup
position that there may exist in the sun
forces and agents of which we can have
no conception, and which may so work
upon the products Of combustion as 10
form new fuel and new elements, thus
furnishing the means of sustaining the
combustion for unnumbered ages yet to
come. He discards the present most
accepted theory of the philosophers
which are supposed to envelop the sun
and give off light and hest, from the
very reasons which he assigns in proof
of his own-that we know of no physical
forces which would produce such effects
as are assigned to these luminous envel-
opes and have no right to suppose any
such, which is certainly a novel way OF
constructing an argument. He supposes
those stars which are recorded as hav-
ing disappeared from the heavens to De
suns whose fires have finally burned out,
a consummation which II is to be hoped
will not soon occur in our solar system.
The celebrated Nebular Hypothesis
has always been considered as defective,
chiefly in compelling the assumption Of
the rotation of the primitive nebulous
mass. Newton, Herschel, Laplace,
Lardner, Helmbold, and many other
eminent men have c%oncurred in pro-
nouncing it out Of the question for this
rotation to have been caused by the
force Of gravity; but the author OF this
new work claims to have proven this to
have been the force which produced
the present motions, not only OF our So
lar system, but of all the heavenly bod
les. How far the scientific world will
be convinced by its ~reasonings in is
matter Of some doubt; but he a evil
IDENTIFY fully satisfied himself, as appears
from the following closing sentence Of
a chapter: "If ever a theory was es-
tablished firmly, triumphantly and glo-
riously by facts, then is this theory OF
the action of gravity so established"
The whole book is written in very
much the same confident stylei and if
the future advances Of science should
confirm the theories Of the author, there
will be found an exception to the rule
that modesty is the companion of true
merit. Darwin's theory Of progressive
development is taken up in the latter
part of the work, but unfortunately is
supported by statements the truth OF
which would be positively denied by
our most eminent biologists. The book
is earnestly written and contains a great
number Of facts which will be of inter-
est to the general reader. 1t has one Sc
rious defect, however-the carelessness
of the author in stating, to strengthen
his argument, many things which are
still much in dispute among scientific
men, as though they were undoubted
facts of science. The educated reader
is able to make all due allowances for
these errors; but Q false impression is
likely to be made on the minds Of popu-
lar readers.