The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1892-07-29

have been imperceplible. Bul
the energy of the system is as
surely declining as Tie energy OF
The clock declines as the weights
ru: down.
II was long a mystery how the
sun was able to retain lis heat so
as TO continually supply lis prodi-
giouS rate of expenditure. The
suppo>ilipn that would most nat
urally occur were shown to be ut.
terly insufficient. We know that
a great iron casting O!,en takes
many hours TO grow cold after it
has been drawn from the mould.
Ii the casting be a sufficiently
large one, the cooling Will proceed
so slowly that II will not get cool
for days because The hardness OF
cnoling increases with the dimen-
>ions of the body. 1t was mol per-
haps unnatural TO suppose that as
the sun was so cast the process ul
cooling would proceed with such
extreme slOwness that, notwilh.
standing the quantity of heat
poured out every second, the an.
nual amount of los would be so
small relatively tolhe whole store
that the effect Of that loss would
be imlercep'ible in such periods
as those over which our knowledge
exlenls. This supposllion, how
ever plausible, is speedily dimin-
ished when brough, TO the test by
which all such questions must be
deciued-the test of actual cdlcnla-
ton. We can determine with all
needful accuracy the store of heat
that the sun would coniain il re.
garded merely rs a white hot solid
globe. When we apply The known
annual loss, we see at once that if
the sun had merely The simple
constitution here supposed, the
annual expenditure would bear
snch a considerable proportion TO
the total supply that the effect OF
the loss would become apparent.
1t is certain that the sun must, nm.
der such circumsi ances, tall some
degrees in temperature each year.
In IA couple OF thousand years the
change in temperature would be
sufficiently great to effect to he
profoundesl manner the supply OF
snnbeams. A, however, we know
that for couple of thousand
years, or, indeed for periods much
longer still, there has been no per
ceptible decrease in The volume OF
solar radlallOhs, we conclude tha,
the grea, luminary cannot he re-
garded merely rs growing solid
globe dispensing its heat by radia
ion. There is another supposi-
tion as TO the continuance OF sun
heat, which must be mentioned,
only, however, to be discussed as
quite incapable of Offering any So
luton of the problem. As we
generate heat here so largely by
The combination of fuel, it has
been sometimes thought that a
similar process may be in progress
on the sun. 1t has been supposed
that he elements capable and de
slrous CT chemical union may eX-
ist IN the sun IN such profuslon
that by their entering into assocl-
alton quantity OF heat is hberat.
ed sufficient to account for the con.
linuous dispersal by radiation,
Here again, The test must be ap-
piled which is decisive of such
pretensons. 1t may certainly be
The case that chemical actions OF
one kind or another are going on
in the sun, and among them are
doubtless some of such character
that they evolve heat. But We
happen to know exactly how much
heat can be evolved by the action
OF specified quantities of element.
ary bodies by whose union heat j:
generated. 1t appears clear from
The figures that che mical action is
a wholly inadequate method oI
accounting fer solar radiation. Tc
lake one instance, we may men
ton that if the sun had been g
globe of white. hot carbon, and il
there had been a sufficient supply
OF oxygen to effect its combination
The total heat generated by the
entire mas, would not supply the
solar radiation for the period that
has elapsed since The building oI
The pyramids. 1t Is. therefore
clear that The supposition that the
sun is a burning globe, ike the
suppostinn of the sun as a cooling
solid globe, is quite inadequate t6
explain the marvellous persistence
with which Tor countless ages, The
orb of day has distributed It's
beams.
There is another supposition
which, though not itself providing
the explanation that We are
searching for, still points so far il
that direction that | have kept i
Till the last. 1t has been some
times suggested that The dashin:
of meteoric matter INTO the SUI
from outside may afford the reqni
site supply of energy. 1t can
however, be shown that there arr
not enough meteors III existence
to supply a sufficient quantity o
heat 10 the sun 10 compensate tht
loss by radiation. The indraugh
of meteoric matter may indeed
tend 10 some small degree to re
lard the ultimate cooling of IN
great luminary, but its effect Is s.
small that we can quite afor.! 1
overlook il from the point Of viey