The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-01
TIE SUNS FIERCE RAYS.
Scientists Say They Win Some
Day Die Out
A Learned Opinion Is That In Time the
Solar Light and Heat VIII Vanish
Into Utter Death and
no.

So far as our present knowledge gees
it would seem that the brightness of
any sunlilze body is to be attributed
solely to the transformation in some
fashion of mechanical power into heat.
To take our own sun as an example.
1t is now an assured doctrine that the
heat SO necessary for our welfare is
sustained by the gradual contraction
of the solar volume. The energy
availa bic for TRANSFORMS ton into heat
in this process seems sufficient to sup
ply the radiation OF the sun, not only
for ages suchNas those we reckon in
the human period, but even through
out a lapse of time SO vast as that
which geology demands for the forma-
ton of the earth's crust, writes Sir
Robert Ball in the Fortnightly Re-
view. But it is certain that the guam
tity of possible light and the heat to
be dispensed by the sun is limited in
amount. The sun cannot shine on for
ever. A time must assuredly come
when the orb. at present SO brilliant.
will have nc more potency for the ra-
diation of light than is at present pos
sessed by the earth or the moon. In
like manner it can be shown that tho
materials constituting the sun have
not always been luminous. We can
not, indeed, say with certainty by what
influence their brightness was origi-
nally kindled. 1t probably arose from
collision or an approach to COLI
sion, between two dark masses which
happened to come to an encounter with
enormous velocities in their progress
through space. 1t is, however, plain
that the ages during which the sun has
been brilliant form only an incident.
SO to speak, in the infinite history of
that quantity of matter of which the
solar system is constituted.
Notwithstanding the millions of
thousands of millions of years which
that matter has existed, it has, per-
haps, only once become SO heated, ow-
ing to the circumstances which we
may describe as accidental or casual,
as to have acquired the ample light
dispensing power of the sun. 1t is,
however, possible, that such periods Of
lght-radiating capacity should have
occurred more than once; they may
possibly have occurred several times
throughout the ages of time past. Nor
is it likely that the last phenomena of
this kind have yet arrived. The sun.
after the lapse of amounted years,
viii lose all its heat, and pass into
black, dark mass In that form it may
endure for an epoch so protracted that
the spell during which it has acted as
the luminary of our system will appear
but moment in comparison with the
dark ages which succeeded the solar
splendor. But we can conceive that
system, need not necessarily be eter-
nal so far as it's materials are con-
cerned; it may be that again in the
course of its wanderings through space
the tide of chance may at length bring
the dark and tremendous globe SO near
some other orb that another collision
should take place with appalling We
hemence. The solid materials shall
again become transformed into a stu
pendous glowing nebula, and then, in
the course of the tedious contraction
of this nebula, another protracted pc
Rod of brilliance will diversity the ca
reer of the great body, and may last
long enough for the evolution of plan
cts and of whole races of highly or
ganized creatures. The essential point
of our present consideration must not
be misunderstood. A little reflection
will show that any periods of bril-
lance must be regarded as exceptional
periods in the history of each body.