Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-02-23
Is the Sun Inhabited2 7

NJ. Amedee Guilemin concludes his
recently published work on the sun
by discussing the question, us the
sun inhabited?"
The physical constitution Of the sun,
he SAYS, is so adverse to the existence
of animal life on its surface, that the
question would be hardly worthy of
consideration if it wefe not for the
fact that some men of high scientific
character have answered it in the
affirmative. In so answering 1t, how
ever, they have assumed that the
known laws of physical phenomena
which prevail upon the earth do not
manifest themselves in the same way
upon the solar globe, which may
therefore be inhabited by living be-
ings constituted differently from any
on earth, and able TO endure the high
temperature to which they must nee
essarily be subjected. 1t was also
believed by many philosophers, until
recently, that the solar globe, or nu-
cleus, was comparatively dark and
cold, being separated by thick layer
of cloud, endowed with the property
of absorbing both light and heat.
NJ. Guillemin opposes both these
theories, and thinks there is no reason
to believe that the laws of physical
phenomena are different at the sun
from what they are on earth, while
he pronOCnees the hypothesis Of a
dark, cold nucleus, no longer tenable
under the light of late discoveries.
He argues that the interpOsitiOn of
matter acting as a screen, either
OPAQUE or endowed with very weak
absorbing power for light or heat
suppOsing its existence to be proved
would only settle one thing, name
ly, that the internal nucleus is not
heated by radiation. But if the pho
tosphere is really in contact with the
cloudy layer of the penumbrse, it
must transmit its heat by cOnductiOn ;
as it envelopes the solar globe entire
| ly, it must heat il at every point of its
surface, and even if the conducting
power were very slight, equilibrium
/ of temperature, would, in time, be es-
/ tablished in the whole mass, and this
| temperature can not be lower than
| that of fusion. Gases are, it is true,
! very bad conductors of heat, but theil
eonduetiOn is not nil, and its effects
/ being accumulated for centuries, it is
easy to see that equilibrium of tenn
perature between the phOtOsphere and
/ the nucleus must be established. We
must not forget, moreover, that gas
eous matter gets heated Throughout
its mass by correction, or Transports
ton of the heated portions by circu
lation among the cooler portions; and
unless we suppose it to be absolutely
at rest, its heat must thus be propaga
ted very rapidly. Now, the phenom
ena of the spots, their rapid transfer
nations, the movements which thest
transformations must cause, either il
the different layers of the photo
sphere or in the deeper regions of tn,
solar globe, appear To place beyOn'
doubt the constant mixing of tn
different layers, by continual inter
change of heat.
1t is, therefore, extremely probabl
that the entire globe of the sun has
very high temperature throughout it
mass-a temperature which surpasse
the melting or boiling points of mos
of the elementary substances of whiel
spectral analysis has revealed the eX
istenee in its atmosphere. AT tn
same time, it is evident that the con
centric layers, of which the sola
: globe may be supposed to be formed
exert one upon the other cOnsiderabl
pressure, since we find that, at tn
surface itself, the intensity of gravi
tation is twenty-eight times as grea
as upon the earth's surface; this pres
sure may hinder fusion to a certail
extent, but not incandeseenee. Bu
the hypothesis of a liquid incandes
! eent-or even q gaseOus-nucieus
the more probable.
However that may be, it is absolute
ly impossible to understand how an.
, living beings, animals or vegetables
. could live in euch conditions. 1t
all very well to eonjure up fantasti
romance as to the kind of people VIII
. live in the sun, to imagine then
dwelling in kind of hOt-house, an
observing the sky through the open
ings produced by the spots, but that
mere Imagination, and not science.
True it is, that the physical eonsti
; tuition of the sun is yet to slight.
! investigated to enable any one 4
make an authoritative statement Ol
this subject; we can only rely upol
probabilities, but in doing so we mus
remain within the bounds of wei
authenticated facts; we must not, il
order to favor any gratuitous hypoth
esis, imagine at will the existence o
physical laws different from thOs
which observation and experimen
have revealed. But this is the posi-
ton taken up by those who believ
that the sun may be inhabited.
At any rate, there is one fact whiel
they can not get over, namely, tn
eonstancy of solar light and health
prodigious expenditure Of light ant
heat, which the thin envelOp or pho
tosphere certainly can not suffice +
to produce, unless its incandeseen
state is kept up by heat from the in
terror of the suns mass. Whethe
we adopt the meteorie theory or tn
transformation of gravitation int
heat, we can not suppose the interna
nucleus of the solar globe to be at
low temperature.
In short, it appears extremely diff
cult to consider the sun as a globe
inhabited by organized being; W
have no idea what sort of life coult
: exist in a medium at so high tenn
perature. All Psychologists agree tha
no terrestrial being can exist in
temperature scarcely higher than on
hundred degrees C., and it is not o
> one hundred degrees but of one thou
sand and two thousand degrees of hea
we must speak, when alluding to tn
strata of the solar globe immediatel.
beneath the photOsphere. How cal
we conceive plants or animals livini
in a temperature capable of meltiD!
metals?-[FTom Appleton's Journal
A En-d 40 RnrS