New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-01-16
an THE CASES LIoUEFIED.

We have before expressed the belief that the last
half of tbe present century will always be accounted
among the great eras of scientific discovery. There
are so many wonderful results of recent research,
that il is difficult to enumerate even the more prom
inent ones Among them are the invention OF the
spcctroscopc, with the discoveries reaching from
earth TO inconceivably distant fixed stars, which
have followed in its train the determination of the
laws Of the correlation of forces and the conser-
walton of energy, which succeeded the discovery
that heat is only mode Of motion, and created new
conventions of the whole universe to its past,
present and future the preparation of the anline
colors which has furnished an infinite number or
iridlsccnt and varying hues: tho composition. from
-, --~'~ oroanlc substances, by
which false notions about vital force (Which had
been accounted halfmraculousl have been over
thrown the discovery of the satellites of Mars.
which round out and nearly complete the picture of
the solar system the invention of the telephone
and the phonograph, which enable us on the one
hand to transmit voices TO great distances. OF or
the other, to preserve uterances for indefinite
periods, ST that the speech of to-day may be set
aside and heard again at any time IN the future
To this wonderful record chapter is now TO
he added. Within very few weeks, two European
investigators have succeeded III condensing to
liquid form all the gases that had hitherto defed
such effort In the early part Of this century, when
certain gases were lqueiied By Faraday and other
expermenters the facts excited general interest as
giving clew TO the real constitution of matter.
The new experiments were widely tried. and in per-
forming them at Paris, in a public lecture. an
plOsion occurred which killed one Of the operating
assistants Then. for than half century.
discovery in this line was almost suspended.
Several gases such as nitric oxide acetylene nitro
gen, oxygen and hydrogen, absolutely wthstood all
atta Within a f. wppkS IN pasc
named and some Others have been liquefed Next,
oxygen yielded to pressure and cold an event of
sufficient Importance to be telegraphed by Professor
Tyndal to HE London Times and to be announced
at scientific centres all over The world OF this,
detailed account given In the column of Science
for the People by THE TRIBUNE. Now comes the
announcement that the remaining gases have under
gone a similar treatment and are liquefed nitro
gen, under II pressure of 200 atmosphercs hydro
gen. under $50. The latter gas was only reduced 10
an Opaque mist, but the air which we ordinarily
breathe was converted into a liquid, and poured out
in fine stream. The cold required for these expert
Incnts is almost iucOnceiyablc; it is estimated at
300 below zero of the Centigrade thermometer.
equivalent to than 5000 below, of Fahrenheit's
scale.
Tho discoveries who have achieved these re-
sults-M. Cailetet of Paris, and NJ. Pictet, of Ge-
neya-will receive due honor FROM their scientific
brethren. 1t remains to be shown what the
discoveries teach. The degree of cold that was
required in condensing common air, though re-
markable, is not greater than is estimated for the
void of space through which the planets are travel
ling that extends infinitely between and perhaps
beyond the stars. 1t was the low temperature-not
the great presSure-whch liQuiiied the gases they
took the liquid form while escaping from pressure
and in the act of escaping the extreme cold was at
tanned. II follows that, III the cold of space I'M
warmed by the sun, an atmosphere like that of our
globe would freeze first into liquid, and then into
n solid mass, becoming at last mere rock as hard
as granite. We can now better appreciate the vast
changes which comets undergo in passing from the
frozen confines of our solar system to so close
neighborhood of the sun that they are reduced
to vapOr. knowing now rs We do with GER
tainty, the extremes of form to which all matter is
liable may surely predict that the future Of our
globe simply depends upon the amount of heat re-
ceived by its surface. 1T the heat dimnshcS all
earth and air will be silent stone without the
breath of life upon it, if the heat increases the
whole world will melt in thin air.