The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-04-22
Half-HOur Recreations I'm Popular
Science.


We have received parts sac and Seren of
this series of pamphlets more popularity |
called .brochaues), by Dana Estes, Editor;
the first containing two papers, on the "Un-
conscious Action of the Brain" and Epi- |
demic Decisions" by DIR. W. b. Carpenter,
f. r. s., and the second on I" The Geology
of the Stars" by Professor A. Winchell,
of the University of Michigan. The pub
fishers are Messrs. Estes and Lauriat, lab
Washington street, Boston, whose scientific
miscellany we should have noticed much
more promptly, had they sent us the full
series of their popular publications flor sale
by Woodhouse & Parham, Of this city,
and not these two broken numbers. Of
the two papers by DIR. Carpenter, of the
Royal Society of England, we have no par
tcular criticism to offer. They are both
admirably written and fully deserve
place in the popular scientific miscellany
OF. the day. Of the Sociology of the
Stars.p however, we have word or two
to say, albeit our views may not entirely
harmonic with those of Professor Winch
| ell, or with the revelations extorted by the
| spectrum from the sun and those twink
ling orbs of the night, which are destined
by and by, according to these spectroscop-
ie observations, to become ''played-out
worlds" losing all their majestic bright
ness, and wandering, like Byron's stars in
the dream, .g.s,--f r.i.r-s. ers.
'Darkling in the eternal space. ,rf
Raylegs and pathless /"
while the icy earth swings "blind and
blackening in the moonless air." .FAeA
For this horrible condition of things is
certainly to happen in time, if we are to
accredit the slender beams of light that
come to US from the distant stars, to reveal
in their spectral lines through narrow
"sllt in the window-shutter'' more ter
rible and nerve-shattering truth than that
which presented itself to Byron's perturb-
ed mind in his awful nightmare dream Of
the universe. According to these spectral
revelations, which we are called upon to
believe at the hands of our modern astro-
nomical observer, the sun and all the
stars are molten globes of fire,
with substantially no difference
10 their material composition from this
present opaque globe of ours, except that
our planet is in a more advanced stage Of
development towards final cinder''
4 than those more gaseous or vaporous orbs
the fiery sun and stars. Our staid ole
mother earth has absorbed all her fire-mist
and is fast absorbing the water upon hel
incrusted surface, and by and by she will
be played-out, world, like the moon, will
wintry silence and desolation to brood owe
her dark gulches and spectral mountain
tops, as she swings through an eternity o
time and space,
"seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, life
"a lump of DEATH, 90 saSz5a w 5& -
According to these infallible scientists
this is the present condition of the Moon
if not of Mars, and is destined to be tn
condition of the Earth, and all the majest
host that shine on high. Instead of oui
world being burnt up in wrath for mans sin
it is to 'dry up" into shriveled mass o
cinder, and become the incrusted mummy
of a world forever played out Ant
this is the magnificent process of incrusta
ton towards which all worlds--suns
moons, planets, asteroids, ring-girt saturns
stars, nebul@, fre-mist comets, an
all-are now slowly but most inevitabl.
tending throughout the entire universe Q
matter! The prospect is pleasantsone
especially if we are to exist on and on in
spiritual state, until this grand consumma
ton of all things-a million played-ou
worlds revolving on in space--with no ra,
of light to pierce the interstellary spaces o.
to shine out from the abysmal depths Of al
F eternal night. ..aras ID
j We have but one complete answer t
all this, and that is, that the sun is n
such liquid ball Of fire as he is represents
to be. The light and heat that emanate
from his magnifcently luminous surface
has no identity with the light and heat tina
comes from the burning elements of
world on fire. II is rather identical will
electric light, which need not imply tn
presence of 'fire-mist," glowing vapor,
or any other ponderable substance IN tn
SUMS atmosphere; as the source of ligh
and heat to our material universe.
r If the spectroscope speaks thestruth, th
sun is in state of primordial ignition
with sodium, iron, hydrogen, magnesium
barium, copper, zinc, calcium, etc.-th
same elements that are in the earth-al
: in violent state of cremation. Ii this b
the case, the light and heat of the sun cal
differ but little from that which woult
come from the volcanic action of the earth
in which the same elements are in ignitio
as spectroscopic analysis would indicate
the sun and stars. What preposterou
induction must follow this statement in re
spect to the light and heat Of our centri
luminary? Simply this: that they com
through ninety-fye million miles of ''soli
icebergs,' y or their equivalent thousan
times over in intensity of cold, and actual
tunpat culinary light and heat to The earth
Were the whole heavens, from the sun t
Sirius, in agrand pyrotecnic blaze fror
these elementary substances of the earth
, we should not get the millionth par