The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-03-02
SCIENCE.
pnrnrsronro pnAwrNos or ANIMALS.

historic man, either carved on bone or In
oised on the walls OF the cavern. A famous
example Is the engraved bone showing two
reindeer fighting. A cave az Combarelles
tDordogne. Francel has lately been discovered
that contains more than a hundred such
drawings incised on the vertical walls for a dis
lance OF more than a hundred yards on both
s sldes Of 18th passage T 3nC, IP iotIresss the 9 aoS1
feet higher. Some OF the lncisions are deeply
engraved while others are mere scratches.
The character OF the. engravings. proves that
animals they ye reprssented. and and'1 the drawings
are iull OF spirit and life. There. are many
pictures OF horses, and in some Of them the
animal has a halter round the neck or q Tope
ancient days. some horses were domestl-
engraving. usually With great spirit IL not
with great skill. Risons. antelopes. reindeer.
stays and other animals are well represented.
marks may represent the human face. a
tet ot drawings probably represent cups Tor
drinking. Taken together this Is a very I'm
portant ind OF troglodyte
EARLY HISTORY OF THE EARTH.
Prof. Chamberlin Of tho University Of
Chicago concludes that the nebular hy-
pothesis OF Laplace needs to be replaced
or greatly modified. The parent body out
OF which the earth was evolved had only
a limited amount Of matter; only a very
small proportion OF this matter. near the
exterior. was possessed OF high energy OF
motion; the central portion had necessarily
only low energy. The earth in its early
history may be conceived to have. been a
small body, growing gradually by the infall
Of material from without. and lacking in
its early stages an atmosphere. Gradually
the accretion OF atmosphere permitted the
gathering. OF water .vapor and the oceans
were in time formed. From this time for
ward the oceans protected the i~nfalling mat
slowly yU under HSeV watS Ist thsn under nSdsss free pta exposure mErS
to air. This process continued gave rise to
areas Of higher specific gravity. and thus
under oceans is explained. FROM a very
early stage volcanic action arose from tho
excessive generation OF heat in the interior
affects certain substances more than others
and, the present distribution OF volcanic
products Is to be explained on these lines.
Is sufficiently accounted for by. compression,
then the temperature developed, by the infall
OF matter may have been available for the
sustenance OF life from a very remote epoch.
and the opposing time estimates OF geologists
and OF biologists may be reoonoiled in this
way.
VALIDITY OF THE IoSIsATIoS THEORY.
In a long review In Nature for Jan. &c.
W. T. c.. discusses the validity OF the theory
OF ions now on its trial. A few paragraphs
may be quoted here. 1t follows from the
- - y ie NhoN ANA n w SUM
connection between freezing points and
boiling points OF solutions as the theory
demands, Often there Is not even a quail
itatlve agreement, let alone a cumulative
one. In the realm of physiology the theory
does not represent the facts, The heats
OF naturalization OF acids and bases have
been used as an argument in favor Of ion
.isation, but recent experiments have shown
the theory TO be not only Inadequate. but
unnecessary. Neither can the theory be
brought into harmony With the law of mass
action; and this IL one Of the very strong
theory Is at rs best In explaining electro
lysis. but even here. there are many phe-
nomena that are, left unexplained.
from some SOM solutio5ns poorly cogl y'p Sdherent and
from others dense and well sdhering, the
potential difference and current-density
gases and solutions has clearly been pressed
too far. and the fact that we are only reason
ing by analogy, has been FORGOTTEN. The
solution OF a substance and the expansion
a gas are really very different. A gas
VIII expand In Vacuo or mix with any other
iiquld Here lies the chief difficulty Of the
lt negleGts the all-important role
of the solvent. 1t fail, to emphasize the
IA mutual attraction between solute and
solvent, and that this attraction is the es-
sence OF osnotic pressure, which IL closely
20, u not absolutely identical with.
chemical affinity.
DURATION OF TWILIGHT IN THE TROPICS.
There Is a wide spread popular notion that
twilight in the tropics Is very bright and
that daylight Is almost Immediately sue
Cccded by night. Twilight lasts until the
sun is about eighteen degrees below the
and even In the tropics IL requires
more than an hour for tho sun toreach this
Observing station at Areuuipa
In Peru has lately printed observations bear
on the point in question, as follows:
$50 p NJ. local time, At Q he could read
ordinary. print with perfect ease. At $50
time could be told from a watch face Until
p. NJ. NEARLY an hour and Il half after
sunset. the shadow OF an Opaque body on
n white surface was stu visible. Similar
oe. !, 6S Eng we're y. W H'1b re f. G 1Ssn \ fTCG GsSsd
prin: could stu be read forty-seven minutes
after sunset.
ELECTRIC RNERdT AND TIRE THEoBiEs OF
c~osMoGoNY.
VI Skvortzow considers that in the past
history OF the earth and planets electrical
md chemical energies have played the most
important parts in remote times and that
heat energy has become more and more
In proportion "a the earth has
assumed its present condition. The heat
Of the earth is assumed by the writer TO be
due 10 electric currents circulating mostly
near 20 the surface: the interior OF the earth.
on the other hand. may be as cold as the
depths OF the ocean Changes IA the state
Of the earth and meteorological Uhcnomen1
are attributed 10 electric currents induced
solar energy The temperatures of the
are considered 10 depend less on their
distance from ~" sun than on their reserve
OF energy and on the currents which the
sun induces IN them In virtue ~ their aIial
orbital motions. The chief interest OF
the paper lies IN us suggestion Of a recon-
citation Of current theories Of the esTth's
origin,
TIRE VARIABLE STAR 7 cYGSI.
Prof. Dunor summarizes the results Of
his Investigations on the variable star Y ,
as follows: This star Is composed
two stars Of tho same dimensions and OF
The same brlll!ancy which move about their
centre OF gravity in an elliptic orbit whose
passes through tho sun, and whose
fnaior axis Is eight times as great as the semi
% the stars. Tho period of aroma
lstic revolution is ".HF1. 1888 DAYS, tho &C.
Of tho orbit being 0.l45. On tho
TN If December. IsS,, at - hours 20 minutes
VI. T. a minimum occurred az the time
hat tho stars were passing perhe!ion ~.
line Of apsldcs Of tho orbit, which then
roincided with the line Of sight. turns in the
OF the orbit with such q velocity as TO
move through SEQ In All tropical years.
HKAr nApIATIoNs PROM STARS AND PLANETS.
Experiments have been made from time
% time since 1850 TO measure directly the
ieat rndiated from stars, In 1858. with an
,pparatus that registered n heat-radiation
one Observation-Disclosures times ns
ANAL az that of the moon. MIR. Vernon
Rows found no trace Of radiant heat from
Venus, Jupiter aud Saturn. nor from tho
bright stars Vega and ArCturus. The sub
-. - I-..Nu LaaV. .l.n a. % - a ]