The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-03-11
9aItsre11alrerms.
THE vAsTNEss OF SPACE AND
TIME.
Professor Proctor at MslOdsOn Hall Last Eve.
ming.

-e-
Professor Richard A. Proctor gave his
second lecture at Melodeon Hall upon
the subject, "The Vastness of Space and
Time. The following is brief synopsis
the lecture:
First with regard to space. 1t is USE
less to simply present figures, for the
mind will not realize their meaning
Let us, then, present them in miniature.
Suppose the earth to be one'inch
globe. On this scale the sun would be a
gl0be three yards in diameter and 324
yards away. Neptune is sixty times as
far away, or ten miles. But even to con-
ceive this distance is difficult, even here
IN America, where the atmosphere is 80
clear. Let us, then, reduce it still fur
ther, and make the sun globe one inch
square, leaving the earth like grain of
mustard seed. With this the entire
space of the solar system becomes, so far
as we know, $50 yards. But when we
come to the distances separating the 80
lar system by the stars, we must reduce
again. Although the books give the dis.
. tances of several stars, yet we really on
ly know the distance to the nearest. AS
tronomy is always ready to admit when
there are doubts, We can not get base
of measurement wider than the earth's
orbit.
In regard to time, we judge something
as does the woodmsn Of the age of the
tree. Hejudges by the rings visible af.
ter he cuts down the tree. So we find
strata in the earth which, comparing
them with those now forming, we are
able to judge something OF the length of
time. There is only one body which
could have created these processes of
rain and snow, that is the sun. We
know, then, that the sun has been doing
the work it now does since these pro.
Cesses began taking place. Instead of
taking five hundred millions of years,
the supposed time, let us take one hun.
dred millions. Before this the earth,
there is evidence, was molten, too hot
for life, too hot for water to last upon its
surface. That period probably lasted
three hundred and fifty millions of
years, probably much longer. There
was preceding period when the whole
earth was vapor., OF this we learn by
the study of the sun. According to the
views of Tyndall, that period lasted lon.
ger than the others, but we will call it
but fifty millions of years; yet these
make the age five hundred millions of
years. We only need this as a standard
with which to measure the age of the
other planets. If we take larger mum.
Der it would involve a slower rate of
change, and the relative ages would be
the same. If you heat two globes, one
an inch in diameter and the other two
inches, equally hot, you find that tie
smaller one Cools much quicker. We
then see that the giant planets took a
much longer time to cool, Jupiter seven
times as long, or $500 100000 years, or it
must be yet 3,00000000 900 years before he
reaches the present condition of the
earth if he started at the same time of
the earth. Therefore we should expect
to find those planets in a much earliar
stage Of development than the earth,
probably with the water held IN vapor.
The moon, upon this same principle of
size and other conditions, is $500 mil
lions of years further advanced, provid-
ed it began at the same tine as the
earth.
We suppose that this vapor which
preceded the molten condition formerly
floated in space, and that it gradually,
by CyCloniC action, gathered in masses.
1t ia also supposed that the size of the
sun and other bodies has been increased
by the fall of meteoric bodies upon
them. These meteors follow in the path
of the comets, and there are some two
hundred systems of these through which
our earth passes. Then it is estimated
that the earth receives millions of these
annually, some in solid, but most in va.
porous, form. AS to the size Of the pla-
nets, it seems probable that they are re.
ally much smaller than they would
seem from appearances. The larger
ones, If started at the same time that the
earth was are in such state that water
cannot existhpon their surface, and are
probably surrounded by vapor which
makes them appear larger than they are.
This vapor probably accounts for the
rings which we see surrounding certain
of the planets and the changes in form
of others. In the planets smaller than
the earth, it may be supposed, if they
started at the same time as did the earth,
they are now cooled much more than
the earth, in other words, older or fur.
ther advanced in the process. Thus
Mars, we find is, upon this theory, older
or further advanced than the earth, and
we find contains much greater proper
ton of land. We conclude that the old
er these bodies become the less water
there is upon them, and in support of
this theory we pointto the fact that there
is no water upon the moon. Indeed, 80
cold has it become that it has no atmos-
phere of sufficient density to absorb any
of the light of the sun, and the shadows
there are much more intense than upon
the earth, whose atmosphere is more
dense, We find also that the outer por.
ton, which hardened first has become
shriveled, as the inner part has contract
ed in cooling. But there are many of
these worlds in the star system which
we have reason to believe are in that
condition in which they may be and
doubtless are inhabited. OF those and
the future of this earth and of the sys-
TENS to which they belong must be the
work ofanother lecture.