The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1872-11-28
GrayitatiOn, Light and Heat,

every other particle with u force
which diminishes as the square OF
he distance increases. Thus theI
sun and the earth mutually pull
each other; thus the earth and the
moon are kept in company; the
force which holds every respective
pair Of masses together being the
intcgrated force Of their component
parts. Under the operation OF tins
force, Il stone falls to the ground
and is warmed by the shock; under
its operation, meteors plunge into.
our atmosphere and rise to incadeS'
ccncc. Showers of such doubtless
fall necessarily upon the sun. Act,
ed on by this force, were 1t stopped
in its orbit tomorrow, tho earth
would rush towards and dnaIlycom-
bnc with the sun. Heat would also
be developed by this collision, and
Mayor, Helmholtz, and Thomson
have calculated its amount II
would equal that produced by the
combustion of more than 5,OOo
worlds of solid coal, all this heat
being generated at the instant OF
collision. In the attraction OF gray
ity, therefore, acting upon non-lu-
minous matter, we have source OF
heat more powerful than could be
derived from any terrestrial com
bustion. Aud were the matter OF
the universe cast in cold detached
fragments into space, and there
abandoned to the mutual graylta-
tion of its own parts the collision OF
the fragments would in the end pro-
ducc the fires Of the stars.
The action of gravity upon mat.
ter originally cold may in fact be
the origin OF all light and heat, AND
the proXimate source OF Such othel
oowers rs arc generated by hgh'
and heat. But we have now to in
ouiro what is the light and what l.
the heat thus produced? This
question has already besn answered
in general way. Both light ao'
heat are modes Of motion. IW'
ulancts clash and come to rest; thel
motion, considered as masses, IS dc
strovcd but it is really continue,
m q motion Of their ultimate partl
: clcs. 1t is this motion, taken up b,
y the ether, and propagated through
it with u velocity OF lSo,OOO mIlc
Il second, that comes to us as lll
. ligh. and heat Of suns and star
" " The atoms Of Il hole body SWIM
n with inconccivablc rapidity, but tn
" power Of vibration necessarily !"
plies the operation Of forces bctwee
h the atoms themselves. 1t reye"
to rs that while they are held t
a gethcr by Que force, they arc kel
4 4 asunder by another, their posl'l(I
|, at any moment depending on Il
OF eouilibrium Of attraction and rept
a. 9%'o',' % 49, w ,in,,;c .nrinws which @
III l'o''s" ~ " JNn "amn timo their 4
of Po'o Pi ,' o,J W" ,bn;r rotrrrt but viii
or p'D"", ,I""oto thc yihration called hoa
al When two bodies drawn togeth
+" ',I'' ~, t"noo Wv" ~ gravity strike ca
os oy ~ WV .pa 'p' " iniansi,v of tbo ultima
oo ot'oai :!,n, ;an W., ~ in Gthcr words, t
20 WIZ ll,,''t ','o - hoot oonorotod. is pl
" q n'noH,,' ,'ionah,n y, % 70 the rjsa ri,u destrc
ta Ppr ~ ',o,''o'o ,I'a o,Il;s;nn The molecu
| Y' eo ny '''0 a ooa'',,D"' Dnt nm !. instan
W. ~ ',o'lo' 1 ..;tI G tl,o n,h-r and difIu,
~ u Sh"too -, w." '.ia,,t S,'N sraco
"a. " ny ~ ~ WI m ~" VS. north,s surface |
.ho I W. 1 ~, ,nr 1n,. ~ ,Tn midst Of ct
:nI :I , nlS,'' aan,rn"2ion "," 10y The medium
~. ~ rcal co!II"'J '.,, ,j 'I,,J n,nonv oh,
w. n5 never S'Ii,' ~ ,Eior, y,;o roonrh TO Shut
M ,n' US may ~ S',i,,I S,Lo stars hut This ca
nS' m the L'2"o q - Wv ',,o,,n hodv which
III py Is 'I9ci, " " ,r,,a,,,,h ,',',, ,,hor r
~ o'''tIS l llio''G,' j., ,"ar,n and sends
W ' eoi :" "too I, - ,,os"amtIv forth II
,Go . heaV puIs'' e''it'' ~, n,oIecnIor mot
'n' W inc waste Vi VI L;,,, ,55 tho o,rth mo
81" in space In"V 0!''''I a." w." notrrn Of
'os clear h'Sn., ~ u.s. - oInnd. '"u which
nee M mo''oli lro"l ,I,, 'l'o .a,,,orotnrc .,
al" th vents the .h, Jnr'h fn,o ,'ia faIIin~ SO
'he cloudy nlSh' lro'n i: af l'r5 snooa he
;fo ; 10 10 inc co"oVpt'0,ib ,,l"t ,bcrrfore, add
,lon w hnou' we N.Y. ~, I"G Lo;n,, ~ in . stat
no0 n cohcoPt'o', , VI 10 MI M sourrcs
m JIG lnceSsanI oro"'Ia' ', 4Tn nordcrohJe ma
III vibration arc V"0 PDm' Tat us tolc a q
ger OF inc UNIVERSE universe ,',;"o i'ov vs. ' ii IN
al pie OF I'll, these ana Ai' eAn',tl''V AZ onr ~ nj,
ed tail Wheh we iooN ~ ,,'a,.btn Wv" r., -
we find 1t TO DC I u" ,.osas "ss''e W
solids, hquius, an" anu "oo', ro ,,o 20
the we LOOK at any ol t"of0' e atiIl TT ~ y
Is 1t ally hnu IL coIiPoSou W 't'i'