The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-01-13

Contrary to the Commonly Recciv.
cd Doctrine OF Star Formation
Through tho Gradual Cooling OF
Gaseous Mattcr-Dr. Sec Asserts tho
Cosmfc Process TO Have been Quite
tho Reverse, 4
Washington Post: 7 DR.. T. J. J. See,
the famous Missouri astronomer. In q
lecture before the Lowell Institute,
Boston. will announce tonight a new
laweotgtemperature forSsun, stars and
nebulae. Prof Sees theory is that our
sun and other gaseous heavenly bodies
arc growing hotter and hotter from
generation to generation.
Tho young astronomer has found a
law which, st Is asserted, is almost as
| universal tas Newton's law OF gravita-
tion.f IT. applies Ito oil gaseous stars
and nebulae throughout the universe,
and shows how the temperature. OF
gaseouSSworldsS Is regulated. The result
Will bc:a radical revolution OF astrono-
micah theories OF the ages OF the gtdrs,
DR.. SceSwiIl sshowT by mathematical
demonstration that;if the evolution ot.a
gaseous star the Temperature OF the
mass varies sinyersely as the radius.
The law isseven simpler than that OF
Newtonian; grayitation.
For more than a century It has been
supposed that stars form from the con-
densattou OF rebuiae. Lapfacc outlined
the accepted theories. and gave the
first grand picture OF the process bv
which the planetary system has de
! veloped. This new discovery by Dr..
! See will radically modify the old nebu-
lar hypothesis, IL 1t does not completely
overthrow It. i N
4 According 10 Laplace our planets
were vera, hot when first formed. Ac-
cording to DR.. See the Temperature OF
these masses was thentveryi LOW indeed.
Utmost at absolute zero orfsnree.s lap
4 lace's theory! was, assumption, ptfc and
q simple, and was neverFverined though
adopted by all astronomers for the
past century. ~ 3f..5 z.
Laplace and Herschel assumed, s that
the nebulae; are at, n great iempern lure.
4 and that the heat of the stars arose
from the condensation}of this matter.
DR.. See shows that the rebulae are. ex-
cess!vely cold and have never bee1if hot
Z at any past age. As the 3nebufae con-
densed. the tempcraturetrose: at first.
] very slowly, and at length more rapid
q ". the law being that the heat varies
L inversely as the rndius. The greatest
heat occurs when the radius Is smallest
i and. when the radius Is very great, as
/ in the case Gof the widely expanded
Z ns'bulac. the temperature Is at the ab-
sofute zero OF space. The rebuiae are
4 thus involved in a death chill while the
stars are enormously hot. Such stars as
Sirius and. Vega are intensely hot, and
4 are far removed from the condition OF
nebulae. Prof. See says that Sirius
/ and Vega and other stars OF the hottest
class are nearing the stage OF Iiquefac-
] ton and that their future cosmical life
I is. OF short duration. When they begin,
to wanei in luster, their brilliant light
I will ;henceforth be shrnuded IN perpet-
ual darkness. These views are diam,
!; etricallyI opposed to those held BY lead
Ing EuropEan savants.
Dr., See, says the sun Is growing hot
!. ter fron7dGes'to age. but as the disk, is,
GettinG smaller on account OF shrok-
age. the earth will not In the future re.
cetvc-as mcCli:hcnt from the sun as 1t
: does now. Thus In geological ages the
earth was warmer than at present. AS
the SUMS temperature. determined by
4 experiment. 10 found to be about 5000
degrees centigra6tS, It follows from the
Z newflaw of temperature that when the
) earth was first Separated from the sun,
Z: the temperature OF the terrestrial neb-
{, ulaei mass was forty degrees on the
absolute. scale. or go degrees below our
present zero.ti&
Tks earth was thus not hot, as Lap
lace'aHd the ecoloEists claim. but in
tensely. cold. As the imass shrank and
: contracted, 1t grew hotter according 20
Yrof. See. ~ The temperature OF the
4 earth was never higher than the melt
ing POINT OF lava as Il, issues from our
volcanoes: moreover, In descending to
4 the: bowels offthe earth the TEN peratura
does not increase after certain depth
is reached, but is uniform throughout
the whole interior of the globe 1t Is
thought that these conclusions must
radically affect geological theories
rs DR.. See points out that the planets,
Jupiter and Saturn, are stu gaseous
d and therefore have never been hot IN
the past, as Laplace supposed, but may
4, become hotter and even self-luminous
, ut, some future TING, In consequence OF
this change of view all the theories OF
Kant, Folinor, and Proctor who sup
II posed that Jupiter and Saturn are
z cooling down. will have to be abandon
!. ed. The temperatures OF all the great
I planets arg rising. and Jupiter. Saturn,
4 Uranus and Neptune may eventually
( give light of their own. When the solar
q pehulqe; extended to the orbit of Nep-
4. tune Il was Intensely cold and probably
q gave no appreciable light.
Arguing, by analogy. Prof. See.. con-
y cludcs that the heavens are full or
" nebulae which mortal eye has never
seen because these cold masses are
swholly invisible. There will thus re-
\ main other. invisible worlds for nstron-
Il omers TO search for.
tf DR.. Sec; Is o native OF Missouri. n Phi.
I'D. of Berlin. q fellow OF the Royal AS
astronomical Society, n member Of the
* !tstronomichc Geseiischaft. and Is per
~ haps the most promising astronomer Of
= hlssase In the world.
SS. Otis lnnctton.
S 8, LONDON, Jan .12.-Thc Daily Mail
publishes the following dispatch from
z Hong Kong: