New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-23
4 NEW ASTRONOMICAL LAW
THE ALLEGED DISCOVERY OF DIR. T. J. J.
SEE
THE TEMPERATURE OF NEBULE SUNS AND
OTHER CELESTIAL BODIES.


and physicists by the announcement by DR.. T.
J. j. See of an alleged discovery of a law Of wide
application in regard 10 the temperatures Of
celestial bodies. With some notifications the
nebular hypothesis of Laplace-which assumed
that not only the members of our own solar sys-
tenn but all the stars Of the universe Also had
been condensed from almost infinitely difuse
and extended cloud Of vapor-has been generally
accepted by the scientific world.
One point on which there has been some DIFF
ference Of opinion. however. is the temperature
which prevails in nebua in the early stages or
its history. The old notion was that the raw
material out Of which worlds are made was not
at the beginning. II hard to understand
how a nebua could shine II II was not hot.
nebula, when examined with a spectroscope. ex-
hibits a spectrum in which there are bright
lines; and such a spectrum in a terrestrial
laboratory is usually obtained from gas heated
to incandescence
But of late there has been a tendency to be-
lieve that a nebula. at least the outermost
portion OF one. is cold The temperature OF In
terstellar space has been estimated by physicists
at 273 degrees below Zero Centigrade. and 1t is
natural TO infer that nebula would become 30
chilled thereby as to be dust cloud rather than
a mass of red-hot white-hot vapor. This in
ference is strengthened by the fact that light is
often obtained without heat, and also by the
occasional production Of bright line spectrum
in cold laboratory experiments. to say nothing
OF the aurora in the upper air.
Then. too. there is now strong belief that the
contraction OF a nebula is attended with the de-
velopment OF higher temperatures. Hemholtz.
in accounting for the ability of the sun 70 keep
on radating heat off into space for millions OF
years although without any visible means OF
support" suggested that the effect observed was
due to gravtation-the mere contraction OF
mass by an amount that could not be detected
by human observers. All that the eminent Ger
man attempted TO do. though. to explain
maintenance OF temperature at an approx
matey uniform degree But Lane went step
further. He held that the contraction OF gas
eous body from a diffused TO compact state
was attended by increase Of temperature.
And his doctrine has been received with favor.
This new view of the matter has led to sus-
picion that fresh classification Of the stars. on
a basis OF their age. might be necessary. 1t is
conceded that the white ones. like Sirius. are the
hottest that the yellow ones like the sun and
Arcturus are little cooler. and that the red
ones are yet colder Secchi put the white ones
in his first class, and II has been assumed that
they came nearer to the nebula historically
than any others He put the yellow stars In a
second class. and divided the red into his
third and fourth classes But Lockyer. who has
theory TO account for moderately hot nebua
to start with. nevertheless believes that every
star first goes through an ascending scale OF
temperature. and then. after passing q certain
climax. descends again. Hence he makes seven
classes instead Of four. He puts a part OF the
dark red stars into his first among the very
cela tfaI bodie ~ no oh rcd
ones in the next older class part of the yellow
ones in the third and the white in the
fourth, assuming that they have reached
turity Then he comes down the scale again.
putting the remaining yellow stars in his fifth
class-rather venerable lot-the remaining light
red ones in the sixth and the remaining dark
red ones in the seventh. And. though II is not
clear how one is TO distinguish star that is
growing hotter from that is growing colder
the new classification is not altogether unrea-
sonabe.
But whatever be thought OF Lockyer's sugges-
tons all astronomers are now disposed 10 think
It probable that up TO a certain point the con-
traction of a gaseous body is attended with
rise of temperature Perhaps this fact is not
due entirely 10 gravitation, as Helmholtz seemed
to believe. II is probable that chemical action
has share in the phenomenon. And It is
not unlikely that electricity and other forces are
concerned in the matter. But so long as the
body remains in a gaseous condition, and has
not yet liquehed solidihed it is believed that
the body gets hotter as II grows smaller.
Lane did not attempt TO indicate the precise
rate which temperature with condensa-
ton The law which Dr. See recently
nounced is that the increase is inversey proper
tional 10 the radius OF the globular mass. If the
&c To no p
half the temperature will be doubled If the
radius is reduced to one-fourth the temperature
is quadrupled. Some Of his critics allege that
DR.. See has not given due credit to a German
physicist, Ritter. who published results OF a
somewhat similar character several years ago
Fault is found with DR.. Sees logic and methods
of computation. Doubts have been expressed as
10 the feasibility Of determining the rate OF in
crease with anything like precision. and ques-
lions OF taste have been raised as to the manner
in which the alleged discovery has been set
forth. No final verdict has yet been reached on
these points. But the subject itself Is pro-
foundly interesting. and the discussion that mas
been started will doubtless prove fruitful IN
many ways.
Among the minor conclusions at which Dr.
See has arrived is this: The larger planets
Jupiter Saturn, Neptune and Uranus-are prop
q bly, in a gaseous condition. and therefore grow
ing hotter so that some day. instead Of SHINING
only bv the suns reflected light. they will be hot
enough to produce glow of their own The
earth. however. having passed from the gaseous
TO the liquid state. and having developed crust
OF solid material over its molten mass Is no
longer developing higher temperatures. but is
steadily approaching the condition Of dead
star.
nrropCr m DrrFFPFyT STATES.