New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-10

Having found that he wished TO ind how much Toe
would melt in minute aud fonnd at the CsPs OF Good
inch OF ice In two hours and fifteen minutes Sup
pose then the whole clrcumference OF the sun
thickness and assuming that radiation OF the sun Is
equal all directions land there is reason to suppose
In notwithstanding that to be 80, TINS snea
of ice 1s6,000,oO0 miles IN Circumference h,stss
suppose the shell OF ice TO be contracted down 9ans
diameter oDehal great and the shell four time' a.
the surface in the same time and il the diameter OF tue
shell be reduced that the shell OF ice is thirty
minute Every square foot OF the Gums surface gives
out energy enough to of those enghes
is square foot Of the solar surface orv strr.
Hersche showed it in another way that Is very saI
ing. Suppose column OF ice is forty miles IN daneteI
driven toward the sun at the velocity OF hgt a be
column Of ice projected toward It, th9 ice would
be melted as fast as II approaches. IA 49, be
melted, although driven at the velocity Of light. That
would not be large enongh Experiments seen 70 sum INV
creased to sixty seventy feet ana sili 1t would DC
melted of as fast q. r, IL ap pr loaS sbiT
ing for 1000 years and sending out practically us ianen
heat to the aIth is to- day We know that rom
distribution of light the earts surface II the sun
should alter the amount Of its radiation TO any cose
able extent, plants would not grow now where they
grew 1000 years ago. and although there have been
slight local changes here and there yet there mas Dee
no such great change ON the surface Oh ta9 earn s ~
show any great alteration in the degree OF hear bestowed
upon the earth Somehow or other that enormous OUT
pouring OF heat has been kept up. How so! cannot
tell you to certainty but think it is altogether probable
that it is caused by the slo contraction OF ls mass
know how il be kept up. IL cannot nc ny CON-
buson for II the had been made OF coal emu nun9u
to Its best do & IT. wSnd nave be hot
body cooling down, for II would nave changed us tel-
perature even in hundred years. n..,
few years ago the theory was advanced tnht We
solar heat kept up by bodies falling into the sun
drop stone to tine n aoST sCmeg " yns kinds
and partly heating of the stone All the energy IL nc
,neanwbe it appears In heat Those little shooting
stars that flash through the armament WIN Veoe t
heated by the Sudden decrease OF their motion on coming
into contact with our atmosphere nave NOT nov n"
that fact-that the checking OF motion prOuuceg
heat II the earth from its present distance were 70 al
Jupiter should drop into I'll would keep going 500
fall into the it would keep 4 going t9n
sands of years Meteors are all the time Ia a ace
of the earth and the heat is maintained by them rms
theory found deal of favor for many years Pro
lessor Tynda advocated it himself. But the difficulty
in the theory that If the suns heat Is kept up N d s
boiling water in fact And then, again, II there were
such quantity OF matter 10 the neghborhood OF ihe sun
planets would be different from what they are SO hat
think ali nearly all astronomers are prepared 10 say
dueed in that way It is only partIonY 2 smam per per,
cenage, in fact; and VIC are thus LED oaeR 10 our iS'
position again.
HEAT FROM CONTRACTION.
But Hclmholz suggested some time that the heat
Of the sun might be keTt up blythe slow contraction oil
its mass. When drop stone IL makes no diHcrchce
whether 1t drops in second or in ten seconds or on
an inclined plane; in passing from here to the hOOr It's
stoppage viii produce Just much heat nd no more and
no less Suppose the surface is contracted then
every portion OF ts mass goes in towards wards
the GENRE a number OF Ieet. pound 'neF f1
produce n very considerable amount OF energy. II IL
easy TO show that contraction OF I'D ieet Ia the
that it gives Off TO tue earth, TO such n
small fraction that could not notice H.
for not Thousand years-no $50 years-and II Il
shrinking at That rate for the past Loo years
is true the sun is doomed Professor Ncwcombs calculd
ton ID that we can get along very wel for Tq0oVOo or
collar system must begin ultimaeiy-oi course WITHIN
lind ind toat if-ths Is tremendous if'-we dnd say
that II tue suus heat been produced IN that way
from the beginning of system, during the time Of
its redacto size OF tne orbit Of Neptune down
10 its present oulk then IL has been giving on s present
supply Leaf not Iuore than about lsOOJOOO years,
ana the present material dspensaiion OF things would
be a,ted aT 10 5 ooo 600 years. Ths reoegst
don't ike that. They want more -tDe-sune
~ ~ thv uIst enyrose we shall have 10 modify the
theory again But this theory o. contraction j. ~ pres
ent generally accepted ana susceptible oI
the strongest eylIelog. tninH :. 40 NANNY
shall be al al surprised II ID turns out 10 DC hhH
been contracted il It, has been losing
heat. And now here ia something to sur
has been growing hotter ali the time That seems para
doca rs II 10 true. Ii mass as Ia fge "a tbis
room contracts b. its own contraction anu the loss
Of neat outside, ts temperature VIII actually rise
When il gets nall IL VIII be hotter IL VIII
have lees heat IL viii he IL before.
90 that this process OF COOLING OF the sun, IN one
sense will be followed by actual rise
of temperature: and, although the sun Is pouring on
beai Fate not able Ia whether ~
rs growing warmer or colder All say Is that IL
has been so light 1000 years that We cannot detect
the change.
say-that the IS not wholly gdreous Whlle mainly
a 1t is almost certu Tat the luminous sur
lace which gives us light IL cloud Ike the clouds
above MS now only made OF Dar!c OF shbg
ana little drops water, while the particles or the suns
couas are cast and other molten metals heated TO
mare than white heat and depO lied there condensed IN
me case. that constitute the just the drops OF
water are condensed into the minute crystal that make
clouds But the clouds
of the sua are intensely mot and shine,
while our clouds cola aud do not. OF course
above those clouds the ont Of which these
cOndensat0ns take place. just Us above our clouds we
nave air and net entirely devoid Of water that
fine view that generally held Of the is that the
unknown is o gas This centre II covered
Inv shell OF clouds formed by condemnation
from these vapOrs within, and those clouds
Themselves are exceedingly brilliant aud inter
sDersed tarOugn upper atmosphere, which ~ said 70
he hot and bright though NOT AT all compared with
the cloud surface and il is only 10 be under excep
tiOua. circumstances and by peculiar arrangements
1 would now ask the room TO be darkened lpausingl
while the following figure Is thrown upon the screen:
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