The sun., 1903-02-01
SCIENCE.
NA1uRH OF rHI x.nAYs.

~
Of the equilibrium Of the ether They Fave
sought 10 evaluate the e-ienGths Of tho
X-radations and conclude that thsss radia-
tlons have wave-len gths OF the same order
Of magnitude a. light waves.
LARGE GAS RNoINxs.
Tho sire Of gas engines has muoh increased
Of late years and manufacturers are now
building machines Of $500 horse power and
arc ready TO double this eficiency. Tho
Development Of large gas engines Is closely
connected with the evolution of the fuel-sas
processes and II Ia noteworthy that the first
gas engines In England above 700 horse power
were operated with producer gas. while many
Of the large gas engines in Europe have been
August. 1907. two English firms had under
construction over flfty gas engines varying In
.ize from 200 to non horse power. A classi-
such With an aesre gate horsepower Of is2 90.
last S volume ne of T the Tnited States oen.u. re- e.
with a total capacity OF isSooo horse power.
This state Of thing. i. not likely to last ions.
% ooo h horse .po wsr M o OF large enSines most Of
them OF 2 900 and several o. 900 horse rover.
Another has recently built two 1000 horse
her.e- power sas engines. The sas ensins.
OF the larger sizes are extensively used for
generating electric light and power; but there
sizes direct a. motors Cheap fnei gas proc
esses will bring the gas engine to replace
the electric motor for very many purpcses.
and We may look for development along these
lines In the near future.
NRBuLous REGIONS OF TIE HEAVENS.
Dr. Isaac Roberts has lately published a
Photographic survey Of all the regions noted
by Sir William Herschel as affected by nebu-
losity In his paper on the Construction Of the
Heavens. written In 1871. Hersohels obser-
vations were. OF course. made visially. Using
Q 70-inoh reflector or S-inch refractor Dr.
Roberts has photographed the same regions
and It 10 remarkable that out of the nfty-two
regions noted by .Herschel only four show
ss .S@. II N r. sses you'd ssS.
nebulosity In a great telescope used vislally
but Dr. Roherts's results indicate that Her;
SisionIwers % % physioio sicsl. not physical.
realities Or. Roberts, negatives show stars
Of the 1917 maRnitude or Of the i4-is magni-
Ssy. 10! Ths four SreS really nebuious rssons are
Seautiiplly shown on his plates (Mon. Not.
VITALITY AND Low TEMPERATURES.
The remarkable results Of the experiments
Of Prof Maofadyen and others on the effects
Of low temperatures upon organic life render
II highly desirable to ascertain how long
VT Atty can he retained under such condi-
tions With liquid air how 20 available n
becomes possible to extend ths inquiry for
an indefinite number Of years, for . genera
t,on necessary. Tho fact that bacterial
or sanisms. AFTER HAVING been subjected for
six months TO temperatures far below those
at which vital activities arc supposed to Be
Vitality practically HnimpGr.d. profoundly
u o4S sf osn shsS S soHn sssS Sss
vitality can survive for a protracted period
under such circum 81 ances the conclusion
:hs, sS ipnrSn .te%: r:s In
Lord G' ReIvin's speculation that the origin
e. s ST 'ht lord ar a.n! T! e.ys been sa!s
bered: suggested tn that the nr.t E sesTs q q M iifs
body Of q meteortte from space.
DOES LIoHrNIxo EvER STRIKE TIE ocxANi
Prof. Trowbridge Of Harvard University
says that with his battery OF $4,000 cells q
voltage Of about 900 900 Is obtained. which
10 at least comparable with that Of liehtnins.
With this large battery hs y able 70 set an
electric spark shout seven fsst long. In his
experiments he found that Q spark Of this
length. instead Of striking water. Invariably
jumped 70 soms adjacent object. A spark
o. few 9ohs: " snsn w. e. .rine
{ss ssS snti Nr Of st%ospSs1ic So to
dsschsrse.. esr Therefore. are :Suntsd sHroues r R
Trowbridse thinks \ doubtful. II the testi-
ming strike. the sea Is to be accepted they
have mistaken tho reflection Of lightning In
the water for the fash itself.
CONDITIONS or GOOD sEEISo WITH TRLEscoPks
Astronomers are at all times hindered in
al delicate observing BY the disturbanc cos
arising In our own atmosphere. even 10 clear
ha ofPA 1t
ances on the telescopic image are commonly
known as boiling in oontradistinction to
GOOD, that Is. steady. seeing. Any one who
has watched the effect OF a current Of air near
a hot stove on the images Of objects seen
through them will appreciate the descriptive
accuracy Of the former term. BAD seeing
is usually caused by air currents. by moving
To make good seeing the
matter Of air In and near the telescope must
be homoseneon: a. 70 te%perature. Prof;
current: uSr % II ar Within III. tns. Of the t.ie.
scope, and he ha: tried the experiment OF
results indicate considerable advantages to
be obtained In this way. The seeing within
re s; due s.n 70 s;s part
/ terior air will still remain to vex.
THE GREAT RED SPOT ON JUPITER.
The following paragraphs relating TO Jupi-
ter are taken from the address of Prof
Housh before the American Astronomical and
Society at its Washington
meeting. In 10000 a great red spot was
seen on the planet south Of the equator
in jovicentric latitude 90. Its diameter
was about 5000 miles. The spot appeared
and vanished eight times between 1895 and
i7Oe. From i70s to 1918 1t was invisible.
Since its temperance In 1879 II has always
been visible In large telescopes. though at
times very faint. so faint that II would not
have been seen in the telescopes Of early
times II Ia now elliptical In shape. about
n 900 miles long and 1900 broad. and II We
suppose its depth 10 be equal TO it, breadth
ia volume would be about three times that
OF the earth. Its nature 10 unknown. 1t
10 not fixed on the planet In one longitude,
but moves relative TO the surface Of Jupiter,
drifting. as J. we're. both n Longitude ns and IN
time is b SIS m. 34s lin 1879 and the lar Reet
Ii isos-sa,. :. o b. IS m. H1s Previous to 1898
the spot had a rctrogra ade motion on the disk
Of the planet, and since that epoch its molten
r direct; therefore since is!s thi: object has
FOUND the planet. and ia drift in latitude
has been about 1000 miles; These figures
are here quoted a. part Of a physical de-
scription OF a permanent feature on Jupiter
that has been under observation for more
than two centuries cent what living notion nee, cnn
Among the many hundreds Of certa n things
in astronomy Il Ia worth while. now and again.
TO adduce long series OF observations as
vet uninterpreted II 10 only. in this why
that a true view Is obtained OF the state OF
the science.
rEsuLrs or ORDINATIONS ON JUPITER
l.