The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1899-07-26

A New York seientist says II Fur
nishes Heat Through an Eiec-
trio Carrenf.

Henry Raymond Rogers, NJ. d., of
Dunkirk, n. Y, has evolved new the
cry Of the universe which, IL adopted
generally. will reyolutionize astronom-
zeal science, or at least that part of it
relating to the sun. From the days
OF the star gazers of Palestine almost
the popular notion regarding this CEN
trail ruler of our family of planets has
been that it is a great whirIing globe
of molten material in constant and
perpetual state of combustion. Now
comes the man from western New York
with the Information that this idea is
false and that the conventional pic
ture representing the sun with bright
lines rndiating in all directions into
space, thus implying that actual heat
and light are produced within, and of
the body itself. is an utter absurdity.
This view of the sum-" he says. ''is
strangely inconsistent with and an
tagonistic 10 certain well-known cos
mical facts. Science teaches and dem
onstrates to be true that the universal
space is inconceivably cold and utter
darkness 4 burning fire BALI sun
thus becomes an impossibility. an abb
surdity."
Rather should the sun be represents
ed, this philosopher maintains. as a
huge planet, like unto the earth, only
many times larger, perhaps even fit for
habitation. surrounded by darkness
and the stars, not on fire, but ire
mendously electrical in its activities; in
other words, a vast celestial dynamo
producing currents of electricity which
pass invisible and free through all the
90-Odd millions of miles of cold and
darkness. until they meet their resist
ance at the earth and its atmosphere.
Such resistance is all that is needed,
in the mind of this twentieth century
scientist, TO develop the so-called sun
heat and sunlight Just as light and
heat are produced in the electric cur
rent by the resistance offered by car
bon or other material. Arc lights, such
as stud our Streets. are in effect the
planets fed by the sun. After excit-
ing our atmosphere to these and other
activities. the electric currents pass
into the earth. awakening in it gray
itation and other electrical effects,
thence completing the circuit by re-
turning to the sun and arousing in it
identically the same functions as on
its humble satellite.
1t follows that IL the sun emits
neither light nor heat, but simply cleo
trical currents which produce these
phenomena. it cannot longer be said
that the moon borrows from its gentle
effulgenee. and the poet loses sub
ject for some of his daintiest concep-
tions. What has been with him here
tofOre n "full-orbed glory" becomes
simply n prOsaic electrical machine
as do those from the sun, though TO a
less degree on account of difference in
power. Science, with its newly-found
facts and progressive theories, has al
ways been destructive TO old imagery,
but the old decisions are far less pO-
etic after all than their successors when
the poets minds have become read
justed to them.
But, says the practical reader, what
shall we say of the suns dazzle. which
is so real and so painful to the human
eye?" Simply an optical illusion. an
swers the new theory. such dazzling
brightness cannot he located at the
sun, neither is it found in the
black of infinite space nor in
our atmosphere. therefore It can
be found only in the depths of
the eye Of the beholder--i. e.. upon
the retina." So. too, there is no longer
such n thing as a moOnbeam; that
which seems such is simply an illusion
and is no more real than the existence
of actual spots upon the surface of the
sun! Dear. dearl--Boston Transcript.