The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-06-19
The SUMS HEAT.
why It seeu.s Greater on the Earth FhsA
Ont In Space.

ouL III 6phSos
A correspondent asks: "Does the
heat of the sun come to the earth the
same as It would from q fire from
which We stood only short distance
away? And, If so, why Is 1t so cold
between us and the sum-"
These questions have doubtless puz.
zled q good many people. 1t is sus-
pected that the temperature of inter-
stellar space, outside the earth's at
mospheric envelope, is several hun.
dred degrees colder by the Fahrenheit
scale than the lowermost stratum OF
air in the sunshine Of summer day.
Yet when one stands before a stove
he notices that the heat diminishes
steadily with distance. The two phe-
nomena do not appear to be alike at
first sight. :
Nevertheless, O comparatively SIM
pie explanation for the difference Is
given. The wisest students Of the sun
have yet great deal to learn concern
ing 1t, and it Is possible that existing
theories on the subject may be upset
in the future. But at the present time
it Is believed that light, heat and elec-
tricity are all vibrations Of the other.
Light has the shortest waves, and
these in turn are Of unequal length,
the violet and blue waves Of the spec
trum being shorter than the orange
and red. The waves that produce the
sensation Of heat when they reach US
are still longer, while these In turn are
exceeded by those which give rise to
electrical phenomena.
Heat and electricity, though, differ
somewhat from light rays In their be-
havior. The energy which comes to
US from the sun or lamp in the form
Of light cannot be stored up on arriv-
al; that is, not as light. It Is thought
that when light waves hit US they are
converted into heat, but the quantity:
Is 80 small we are not sensible Of 1t.
Now, it seems probable. that under
certain circumstances, and up to
certain limit, electricity can accumu-
late in the air. But however that may
be, heat certainly does, and the mois-
ture In the earth's atmosphere Is
largely responsible for catching it and
retaining 1t. There are other materials
(of which glass is one) that viii let
heat go through in one direction and
not In the other. Thus 1t is possible
to develop greater warmth in a green
house than outdoors even when no
artificial means Of developing heat is
employed. The heat comes through
the glass and is there imprisoned. The
moisture of the atmosphere behaves
in the same manner. >..
theoretically at least it should be
possible to initiate this phenomenon
with stove in a large room. ALI In
terchange of air with adjacent re-
gions should be absolutely checked for
q sufficient time to prevent changes
CT temperature from this cause, and
some way should be found to keep the
heat radiation from the stove uniform
during the experiment. Then q glass
fronted and perfectly tight case.
placed suitable distance away, ought
to store up heat in such manner that
after time delicate thermometer In
side would read a little higher than
one outside and close to the glass. But
it is doubtful whether the experiment
could be conducted In any ordinary
household In such manner as to
yield results of any scientific value. 1t
would be better to undertake 1t In q
specially arranged laboratory.