New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-02-10
thought Of the Jury law Sheriff Brennan said that It's
main features good but he was not prepared 70
discuss any amendments TO It st this time.
CONSTITUTION or THE sun.
A LECTURE BY PROF. @. p. BARKER.


LECTURE BY PROF. @. r. BARKER.
The third of tho Cooper Union free course
OF scientific lectures and the second of series of thre
lectures on the specrOscope and Its applications de
uvered on Saturday evening by Prof q. H. Barker o
Yale College in the large ha OF the Cooper Institute
The audience very largo and spprecative one
filling both floor and platform and encroachnR upon The
ases and corridors The subject OF the evenings lecture
was The Revelations OF the sun through the Spectre
scope and the theme eopously illustrated by image
and diagrams thrown upon at the back OF thu
platform Before taking up tho topic OF the eyennI
the Professor rapidly reviewed his previous lecture
The most essential part the speotroscope said he
among other things, IA the prism To decompose the ght
1t is necessary have opening for the light
pas through, that in the spectrum obtained no por
tons will overlap one another II tho opening could b'
a mathematical line, the spectrum obtained would b.
mechanically perfect When the hight from solid
heated till 1t becomes luminous, passes through prism
we have continuous spectrum, containing all colore
Incandescent vapors give interrupted specra which Dc
not contain all colors. II the vapors Of certain sub
stances give certain coOrs and which pecu
liar know what substances are present.
Various experiments were here performed BY means
Of thaene it shown that lines In the ultra violet Of
the spectrum could be seem although they invisible
under ordinary circumstances. This is discovery Of
President Morton OF the Stevens Institute.
The Professor then account Of the gradual
tension OF the field Of observation OF the spectroscOpe
Prof Bunsen, said he, the dscoverer Of spectrum
analysis and true to his character OF science,
his spectroscOpe his constant companion One night
during illumination Of the Castle OF Heidelberg, he
took small spectrOscope from his pocket and with 1t
examined the cOlOred lights These told the story Of
the materials which produced them. Might not the sun
have story to tell much more edifying aud interest
ing the light from that orb exceeds these petty colored
lights Thus he reasoned out the problem Of solar anay
Sis and disclosed the only satisfactory theory OF the sun
that has been given to The spectrum OF the
is altogether like that OF neither solid nor
gas Is light gives spectrum containing all the colors,
but also interruptions and breaks These
first discovered by Dr. WoastOn in 1902 and he thought
IL matter OF slight Importance. Twelve years later,
however, Fraunhofer mapped out the positions Of the
prominent OF these for the purpose Of making some
in tho solar spectrum. He counted SIC Of
them, and TO OF the prominent he gave the first
letters of the alphabet. Afterward he added inter
mediate ones. to which he affixed letters and b.
A, are in the red, Is in the orange &c In this way
we may fix the position and indicate color without color
Sir David Brewster mapped out 1000 Of these lines,
Kirchhof 5000.
diagram OF Kirchhos spectroscope was here thrown
upon the and explained Referring to it, the lee
turer said would have deranged the instru-
ment with which these solar unfOded The
total number OF the dark lines is immense probably not
less than 10000 or these 5000 have mapped ont
and their positions determined. The lines below the
line toward the blue end Of the spectrum, have been
photographed by Mr. Rutherford OF this city
The lecturer then went TO exp lain the OF the
presence OF the dark spaces in the solar spectrum 1t
observed, said he by Fraunhofer that If salt
put In the flame OF spritamp and the lamp placed IN
front OF the slit OF the spectrOscOpe the spectrum OBJ
tanned consisted of "A angle yellow line which
spOnded 10 the dark line d. OF the solar spectrum. This
is not the only coincidence observed -Four hundred and
400 dark lines III the spectrum given by sunlight. The
probabilities as to whether these are merely coinci-
dences effects due 20 the in favor Of
the latter alternative millions Of millions OF millions
Such probability amounts " demonstration. We
may, therefore, state that iron exists In the The
coincidence does not stop here In like manner the
&c. respectively correspond with various dark lines Of
the solar spectrum. Gold does not exist in the sun
neither does cadmium. The most interesting part OF
KrchhOs experiment Il that which shows the cause OF
these lines being dark. He thought that II sunl ght
which contained dark line in place OF the yellow were
permitted 10 pass through yellow nghts spectrum would
have the yellow line. He tried it, but found that the
dark line merely intensified. This established the
fact that colored lame Is Opaque to the same cOlored
light. therefore white light, which contains yellow in
through yellow light it will emerge shorn Of its yellow
SO also with red aud the other coiored lights
THESE facts and experiments lied klrchhoh TO a
knowledge OF the constitution OF the IL the
liquid or solid it would give a continuous spectrum
materials and the Is surrounded by lumnouapors
which intercept the light OF the cOors which they
spectiyely give; so that in place OF coored lines we
would dark lines This theory tested during the
ccpSeS 1853 and 1852 AT these times the light from
the central nucleus is cut or and the light Of the lumn
gaseous envelope may be examined These obserya-
lions showed the truth OF kirchhOfs hypothesis. In
the eclipse Of 1862 observed at different stations in
Iowa under the supervision Of President Morton and
Prof Mayer OF Stevens institute the best results
Obtaned and although IL is matter Of national interest
and national PRIDE the results OF nese observations
have not yet been made public. The presence in the
OF 25 OF the elements known the earth has been
etermined by Prof. Young OF Dartmouth College. He
is the best authority on the constitution Of the sun in
this or any other country.
The chromosphere with its protuberances and the
corona, then ucdly explained By the Professor
The constitution OF the SUM- known az present
follows First the central body around which
shell Of light known the phOtosphere; outside OF
this OF luminous yapOr, with Tongues OF col
ored fame shooting FORTH called the chromosphere and
prOtubeTances; and beyond this, and stretching for
more than million miles into space, was radiant
light known as the corona.