, 1870-04-24
1NVIS1BlLITY OF LIGHT.
Interesting Experiments by ProTc4-
kor Tyn doy1.

&0F n dn11s
From a< Buffalo E1Ire44
We are permitted to publish the following
interesting e1srast from the paper read few
the Buffalo Society Of Natural Sciences:
friend recently handed me file OF Eng
lisli papers containing partial report OF
lecture or lectures recently delivered befor,
announcing phxt seemed to ne an impostsn
discovery. No account Of these Lectures tay
ing Us set appeared in our own papers or tour
nals, haTo thought q slight abstract from
them, With few observations Of my own
might be interesting and instructive. II i
erb Of Professor 1yndan was ssMr. Jeucken
an English ba11ister, who was tecent
II nearly murdered BY :. mol
in Spain. because ther thought
be wanted 70 kidnnp and murder young chil
lren to anoint The telegraph wires With thri
This in . civilized, Christian country, and i,
the nineteenth century. We must remember
however, that it wAa In Spain--that countt!
cursed above all others by ecclesiastical rule
and where science and education have bon1
the most houy Persocuted il the name OF 1nli
gion.
The discovery announced by Prot. Tyndal1 is
that parado1ical ~ it may seeu,, light ltsel
u perfectly invisible thing" It seems tina
Tynda|l, III lis experiments On the decomPosi
ton Of yapors by light, vas much troubled by
seen OCCASIONALLY when small body Of light il
let into partially darkened room. Thest
notes he found were both organic aud morgan
ic; he WAS much troubled IN lis endeavofs tt
get I'D OF them, and aftcr trying to do 60 unsuc
ceastully, by passing the air through caustir pot
ath and su1phuric acid, he finally succeeded il
making the air perfectly pure By burning then
out he then showed by Sations experiments
that light wonid not pass ihrougl, perfectly
pu1o ais, and Provea eonclnsisely that the
thing We call Light isabsolutels without witness
Of itself except 1t has something to strike upon
to reflect or ill with the myhtesious aud subtle
life OF nlumiuation. Ono Of the methods b!
which he proved this was aower shade w7tt
hydrogen gas, or glass tube with COMMON air
free from those Motes. On passing rays oil
Light through these yessela, or interceptinG
the rays, they BECAME perfectly dirk in the
Vessel and light again upon emerging from
tho other side. Another way Of showing it was
to cover Lis mouth and nostrils with thics
batting OF cotton wool. The notes were
caught il tie lungs and cotton, and the ex-
laled breath Instantly abolished the light in 1tH
path. Verify, the Billie and science are no,
at var here, for We are told that " The light
slintth III darkness aud the darkness conpre-
lendetf it not"-an exact description OF this
physical phenomenon.
One would naturally infer from the multi
tuda uf etarH We sec in the heavens, every ono
OF which il a sun like our OWL, that tho uni
Se1ee would be FLIED with light but it is not
Eo, md it is certain that tho ora,s OF heaven,
guided by Hand which needs no light, wheel
Iu their appointed paths amidst tho most pro-
found and incohceivable darkness. This dis-
roysry Of Tyudail may esI1sin the mystery OF
the daEkness OF the great stellar spaces which
the astronomers have herctofore bcen unable
to account for. In reading the history Of sci
entit,c truths, one IL constantly surprised 1t
Al HfA FT11H AEHksn HaH
played in their advancement Tho means OF
mensuIi1lE the tnconceivable velocity of light,
problem which Nnwton WAS unabio tn solve,
wero, discovered by accident and often In
sealcbiug after triilea we stumble upon facts Of
the Greatest Tsluc. This ciscoverv Of ypdsil's ia
striking illustration Of this truth. and Of that
cohstant revolution OF knowledge from knowl-
edge ever going on; it il full OF significance,
inquiry, and may b. Of the greatest
practical value to naukitnl. 1ynla4l also
showed that iron. when heated only to tho
up these notes. 4 French chemist recently
announced tlat one Ut the uiost poisonous Of
the gases emitted in tho combustion Of coal
went through red-hot iron as readily IN water
does through rieva: We know that in the
bcrt constructed furnaces there is alwaya more
o. .lees leakage Of gas Which is impercepti-
bic to thu scnses. end tLst, notwithstanding
every oIc Tect Gnizes the fact that Easements
arc not healthy places to live and aeep ia, we
take air from its lowest strain on the eArth's
surface. and from cellars, to warm our houses.
These facts may 90 far toward explaining
tic alleged nnhealt!lincss Of hot-ais furnaces
Tho air filled With these notes We ars con-
stantly passing through our lungs. One Of
the scientific men Of Europe, ycors ago, az
serted that when decoction OF meat was HAut
of from common air, and only exposed to
that wilici, had been raised TO high tenrri-,,-
!nre. rnt:et8ction neTc1 set in{tEE,,, ~ ~
.o' e''ff'e1 u.nE !llU.o tnau tIIB 1Asfeno Va .ae
hir was needed iu the proce.e+ Of destruction
and decay. :. lady now ~ tue city tlahalo),
Isho was living N 'Estas few yeara since, at a
place where tic yellow fever ragged with great
and where tho air il III pure aud dry
Lat ordinarily, in the hottest weather. fresh
teef nerer spoiled, but dried up-makiag the
'' jerked beef Of tho s'paniar.ls-iufotms INC
hat for a few days before the fever broke odt
heir fresh meat spoiled in q few hours@ and
before tho animal was fairly cold. aFalarious
.Ddinfectious diseases. and the hay fever, Lave
long been supposed to be owing to germs in
The air. Surgeons in hospitals are careful not
10 allow wounds to be EXPOSED to the air for
FEAR Of ganeTene. We know how this class Of
lscases il rropsgated by clothes, hides, ETC.,
md it may be that whilst 11te air would not
amy along there infectious gerns, these
notes act aa kind Of raft to float them from
,face to place, and this fact demonstrated
might give TIE the means Of stopping to sona
'1tent At least the spread Of infectious and ep-
demic diseases.