Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-12-19
1ne Sun a sle rllc1alc LIGHT.
Its Dazzling Briiliancy Caused By Glow.
ing Clouds Of Carbon.


ing Clouds Of Carbon.
The light Of the great orb Of day ema.
mates solely from a closely fitting robe OF
SURPRISING brightness. Tho great bulk Of
the sun which lies within that brilliant
mantle Is comparatively obscure, and
might at first seem TO play but an unim-
portant part so far as the dispensing OF
light and heat Is concerned.
With regard to the thickness of the robe
we might liken this brilliant exterior says
Cir Robert Ball, to the delicate, filmy skin
of the peach. ar-
As the. ability OF tho sun to warm and
light this earth arises from tho proper
ties Of the thin, glowing shell which sur
rounds 1t, we want to ascertain what that
special stuff can bo which enables the sun
to bo so useful to us dwellers Of the Garth.
This great problem has been solved, and
the result is extremely interesting ead in
structive. 1t has been discovered that this
material is carbon.
A lump OF coke only differs from piece
Of carbon by the ash which the coko leaves
behind when burned. As charcoal is al
most entirely carbon, SO wood is largely
composed of this samo element.
In the ordinary incandcscent electric
lamp the brilliant light is produced by q
glowing flament of carbon. The power
full current Of electricity experiences SO
much resistance as it flows through this
badly conducting substance that 1t raises
tho temperature of the carbon wire so as
to mako it dazzlngly whito hot.
There Is no known metal, and perhaps
no substance whatever, which demands so
high temperature to fuse it as does the
element carbon. A filament of carbon,
and q filament of carbon alone, will remain
INFUSED and unbroken when heated by the
electric current to the dazzling brillianoe
necessary for effective illumination.
Modern research has now taught us that,
just rs the electrician has to employ car
bon as the immediate agent in producing
the brightest Of artificial lights down here,
so the sun in heaven uses precisely the
same element as the immediate agent in
the production of its transcepdcnt light
and heat.
Owing to the extraordinary fervor which
prevails in the interior parts of the sun,
all substances there present, no matter
how difficult we may find their fusion,
would have to submit to be melted-nay,
even to be driven off into vapor.
In tho presence Of tho intense heat of
tho inner parts Of tho sun even carbon 1t.
self is unable to remain solid.
The buoyanoy of carbon vapor is one of
its most remarkable characteristics; ac-
cordingly immense volumes of the carbon
steam in tho sun soar at higher level
than do the vapors Of the other elements.
AS the buoyant carbon vapors soar up
ward through the suns atmosphere they
attain ut last to an elevation where the
fearful intensity of tho solar heat has so
far abated that though nearly all other
clements may still remain entirely gas
eous, yet the exceptionally refractory car
bon begins to return to tho liquid state.
Under the influence of a chill the carbon
vapor collects into myriad host of little
beads of liquid.
Each of these drops Of liquid carbon in
tho glorious solar clouds has tempera-
ture and a corresponding radiance vastly
exceeding that with which the fllament
glows in tho incandcscent electric lamp
Boston Globe