The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-01-28
yILLETTE's vIvACITIEs.
Fabrics of Fact and Fancy Fashioned by
the Facile Faber of a Fair Felicianian.
WEST FEL1CIASA. Jan. l6, 1882.

Fabrics of Fact and Fancy Fashioned by
the Facile Faber ofa Fair Felicianian.
WEST FELICIASA. Jan. Is, 1882.
EDITOR CHIEF:
will attempt in this solution Of the
problem which appeared in your issue of
the 7th, hoping to make that (which
was hidden, manifest" to your readers.
To get at the "true inwardness" of the
problem, it is first necessary to under
stand the difference between sidereal
(from sideralis sidus, a star, and solar
time. At casual view it would seem
that all the heavenly bodies reappear on
a given meridian-say that Of Donald
sonville-after lapse of the same inter-
val of time, conformable to the successive
reappearances Of the sun, viz: "a hours.
This, though, is one of those popular
errors which science refutes. The exact
time in which all the stars-exclusive of
the sun and moon, which hold a different
relation to us from the other heavenly
bodies-perform their diurnal revolutions
without variation, is % hours, Sc minutes
and 400 seconds. This period of time
forms sidereal day, and in it the earth
makes one complete revolution OIL its
axis; consequently it is shorter than our
solar OF natural day of "a hours marked
by the common clock OF chronometer,
and still shorter than the lunar day,
which marks "a hours and 81 minutes OF
our ordinary time. This sidereal day
never varies in its duration, but for rea-
| sons not necessary here to state, the solar
day is liable to more or less decided per-
turbations. For example, about the 22d
of December it is half a minute longer,
and about the 22d Of September nearly
| as much shorter than its average dura-
ton. Therefore, time as indicated by a
we'll regulated clock and sun-dial is
scarcely ever the same, the difference
| between the two, called "equation of
| time," sometimes amounting to Is min
utes and Is seconds. Now, as the earth
advances nearly degree or 60 minutes
eastward III its orbit, in the same time
same direction, it follows that just one
revolution will not bring the same merid-
| ian around from the sun to the sun again
at noon. So, if the earth did not reyolye
| around the sun, the solar or sidereal days
would be the same; as it is, though, il
requires little more than one complete
revolution each solar day to bring the
sun on the meridian; or, III other words
the earth in one solar day performs one
complete revolution and 1-:365th part ol
another on its axis; consequently III 80;
days the earth revolves or its axis 36G
times, making 366 sidereal days ill the
year.
Now we come to the problem involving
the travels of those Donaldsonville
brothers. The first, whom for the sake
of convenience we will call A., goes east
q wonder if your problematic citizen
ever heard the childish rhyme:
Wier, briar, Undertook,
Three geese in a flock,
One flew east, one flew west,
| And one few to the wild-goose nest.)
B, the second, follows Greeley's advice
we are told, and "Goes west;" the third
c., sensible fellow! realizing that IA
rolling stone gathers no moss. stays at
home. A, travelling around the earth
eastward, of course sees the sun rising a
little sooner every succeeding day, and
going down little earlier every eve
ming; he is advancing upon thesua aud gain
ing in time, aud the time thus gained
bears the same proportion to solar da,
as the distance traversed does to the
earth's circumference; for, as the eartl
} is 300 degrees in circumference, and tht
sun apparently goes over that surface il
|, "a hours, it will take one hour to pas.
over 1-24th or Is degrees of the circum
!, ference, which is minutes to each do
gree; therefore, the sun rises, comes t.
the meridian and sets minutes earle
for every degree cast of us. Now A
travelling one degree eastward: will TIL
first day see the sun rise 4 minutes Garlic
than C, who is still at Donaldsonville
, tho second day & minutes earlier, th
third day II minutes earlier, and SO on
{ until he finally makes the circuit bac!
, to Dona!dsonville : this continual gail
, of minutes every day amounting to
complete day in advance Of C.'s time, a
, indicated by his calendar; therefore,
| has seen the sun rise and set once NOR
than C. B, going westward, loses i
time; for as AS days are minutes shorte
than C's, so are BIS minutes longer; Q
the sun rises, comes to the meridian, an
sets MINUTES later every suceeedin
: day; thus B loses one complete day, c
has seen the sun rise once less than {
and twice less than A. IF the day upo
which all three brothers meet again i
Donaldsonville be Saturday to c, it wi
be Sunday to A, and Friday to B, for
!. has gained one day, aud B lost QUO
: reckoning; making two whole days t
| harmonize again.
l hope l have made this solution a
:. plain as possible without the aid of di;
grams, ETC., and that your problempr'
FOUNDER will find it correct.
can not, of course, pretend to accout
for the feelings of your sprishtly eorre