The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-01-30
What Mr.. Lockyer Has Discovered,
and the Deductions He Draws
TherefrOm.

stances which chemists have been ac-
custOmed to style elements" are not
elementary but compound in their ma
ture. Since then, on the 18th of De-
cember last, Mr.. Lockyer has commu-
nicated to the Royal Society the results
of his researches. 1nasmuch as we
may presume that every person who is
interested in any degree in science will
be eager to know just what is the ma
ture Of Mr.. Lockyer's discoveries, it is
proper to correct the original report
and explain exactly what he has done,
and what he thinks the result teaches.
We assume that the general princi-
pies of spectroscopic science are known,
and particularly this-for discovering
and defining which Mr.. Lockyer de-
serves the chief credit; that the spec.
trum of an impure or mixed substance
furnishes the lines belonging to each of
the simple substances of which it is
made, and that these lines vary in
number, length, brightness and thick
ness according to the amount of the
substance given those lines. Thus an
alloy in which the proportion of one
metal greatly exceeds that of the other
will give only few of the more char
acteristic lines of the metal of which q
small amount only is used, and those
lines will be short, narrow and faint.
If the proportion of the metal is in
creased new lines appear, and those
which were before seen become larger
and more distinct. Mr.. Lockyer, in
his studies with the spectroscope, en-
deavored to eliminate all the lines due
to impurities in the substance under
examination. In this work he became
persuaded that certain condolences of
lines in the spectra of different metals
could not be the result of mutual i'm
purities, and this point he has demon
strated. 1t remained then to ascertain
the real cause of the constant appear
ance of these coincident lines. He was
assisted in his investigation by the
known fact that the spectra of the
brightest, and therefore presumably
the hottest, stars are more simple than
those of the DINNER and cooler suns.
Sirius shows very thick hydrogen and
a few thin metallic lines; our sun,
which is cooler, furnishes numerous
metallic lines; some of the coolest stars
add to these the lines of some non
metallic bodies. The hypothesis that
in the hottest state sll bodies are broken
up in their most simple forms, and
that as the temperature diminishes
compounds more and more refractory
are made, would fully explain the OBJ
served phenomena.
Assuming, however, only what is
known, that heat does break up and
associate some compounds, Mr.. Lock-
yer reasons in this way: Suppose that
in the substance A the substance B is
present, either as aconstituent or as an
impurity. In the latter case the spec
trum will reveal the lines of B in the
order of their Importance, and in size
and brightness proportioned to the
amount present. On the other hand,
if B is component part of A, and if
other substances in A, then upon an in
crease of temperature the character
istic features of the spectrum of A will
disappear, and those of B will become
more prominent. In other words, if A
is simple body, but not quite pure,
its spectrum will remain constant as
long as the proportion of impurity is
unchanged; if it is compound, its spec
trum will not be constant, but, as the
substance is broken up, the lines of its
components will become more promi-
nent. This principle Mr.. Lockyer IL
lustrates by dealing with the salts of
calcium. Each of these salts has its
own definite spectrum. As the tenn
perature is raised this fades away grad
ually, and the lines of.the metal, cal
cium itself, appear in definite order.
Now, in examining the spectra of cal
cium, lithium, iron and other metals,
at different temperatures, changes
analogous to those observed when heat
is breaking up known compounds, are
seen; and these changes are in some
cases even greater than those brought
about when known compounds are un-
der examination. Certain strong lines
of calcium are rarely seen in the chro-
mosphere, though always present when
the spectrum is obtained in the labora-
tory; other lines, faint and short in the
laboratory, are greatly intensified in
the spectrum of local storms. One
hydrogen line, which is never seen in
the laboratory except under very high
temperatures, was wholly absent from
the solar protuberances during the
eclipse of 1875, though the other lines
were seen; and this line is coincident
with the strongest line in the spectrum
of iridium.
The above are merely specimens OF a
large number of facts which Mr.. Lock
yer has collected. It need not be said
that they do not singly or unitedly
prove the compound nature of what we
have been accustomed to term elements
beyond question. They certainly make
the supposition that they are compound
not unreasonable, and no other suppo-
sition yet brought forward accounts SO
fully as does this for the changes OBJ
served. A mere argument from anal
ogy is Mr.. Lockyer's theory. Certain