The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-01

LoWlHidH dFeen mas SHOWN tnat, Dy
astronomical causes, the earth has I'M
dergone a twisting, having for effect
what biologists call the Mediterranean
| depression, very marked in America
| by the subsidences around the Isthmus
of Panama, the ditch of the Antilles,
and further on by the Sahara, the
| Mediterranean, the Gulf of Bengal and
the Malay Archipelago. All these re-
| gions are doubly volcanic, being sit
uated at almost right angled intersec-
tons of the depression and the lines
| of fracture"
These things account for the dis
| trihutlon in space of the earth's volca-
noes," l said. Il understand that you
| have also the explanation of their dis
! tribution in time"
II began by looking into the period
icity of volcanic action at the end of
| my comparison of solar activity and
| terrestrial phenomena, such as tenn
perature, rainfall, vegetation, the re-
| turn of migrating birds, the price of
| grain, the appearance of polar auro-
ras and so FORTH" replied the Able
| Moreux. 1T seemed to me certain that
the eruptions regularly increased at the
end of long periods of calm in the sun
| In my book, The Solar Problem, l
nave shown how the sun spots, the gas
eous eruptions called protuberance,
the changing forms of the solar crown,
etc, all hold together as causes and
| effects.
Let us say simply that the sun is a
gaseous globe, far from being con-
densed; masses of meteoric matter sur
| round it in the form of envelopes of
changing density. Each layer of great
| density arrives at the surface of the
sun once in eleven years, and ought.
according to the mechanical theory of
heat, bring about a flaring up of the
! me NI,o ,l,+
! burn completely in certain regions of
the sun, but for this very reason-be-
cause the burning gases emit but few
| luminous radiations-it is easy to I'M
| derstand why these regions appear
darker than the rest of the apparent
surface of the sun, where there are
chemical combinations to become in
! candescent and shine"
Then the sun spots are really re-
gions still hotter than the rest of the
sun surface around them?" 1 said. 80
hot that, as in the interior of the sun,
the primitive elements are in state
of disassociation and chemical COM
binations are impossible?"
Yes; and at the same time they are
indications of great solar activity. The
sun flares up this way every eleven
years; and the earth feels the effect.
Hershel said that the state of the sun
ought to have an influence on the price
oil bread. In those days statistics were
lacking. AS l have shown in my book,
tn wheat production of the earth fol-
lows the curve of Sun-spot variations.
"All physical phenomena are but
transformations of the same energy
continued the astronomer. THE in
credible electrical currents which over
run the sun, especially violent at pc
RODS of maximum sun spots, have
their effect on the electricity of our
| HI
hat a Leyden jar is? a globe of glass
filled with water and covered outside
with leaf of tin. When the interior
of the jar is charged with positive
electricity the outside surface of tin be-
comes charged with negative electric
ity. We have there a simple condenser
of electricity. What is not so generally
known, however, is that if the outside
electric charge is gradually increased
the interior capacity of the jar in
creases at the same time and the water
\ in it seems to diminish in volume. And
the contrary effect is produced as the
outside charge of electricity is dimin-
ished."
And the crust of the earth acts in
the same way?" 1 said.
| Exactly" he replied. 1.-THE earth
may be compared to an immense Ley
den jar. Its pasty liquid interior ought
to have a practically constant electric
forms the exterior armature varies in
its electric charge, thanks to the sun.
The earth's crust is the glass ball of
| the Leyden jar. Doubtless the soil is
a good conductor; but, on the other
hand, it is far from being homogene-
Gus; and perhaps its conductability is
due only to superficial humidity, while
the calcarious material situated deep
in the crust ought to be a bad con-
| ductor.
Now you can imagine the mechan-
ism of volcanic eruptions," continued
| the astronomer. During periods of
! great activity the electrical potential
| of the earthS atmosphere undergoes
| great varia tions-its curve following
precisely that of the sun spots. AS in
the case of the Leyden jar, the earth's
| crust tends to dilate as the outside
electricity increases. The immense
| quantity of gases imprisoned in the in
! terror of the earth Immediately profits
by the lesser pressure to quit the liquid
bath into which they exist confined.
| Then period of electric calm arrives.
| AS in the case of the Leyden jar, the
earth's crust tends to contract, and the
/ gases, not being able to return this
| time to the liquid mass of the interior,
have to escape to the surface of the
, earth by lines of least resistance"
| "And, escaping, they drag with them
some of the liquid mass and we have
volcanic action?" l said.
yes; volcanoes are nothing but
safety valves, to diminish the interior
pressure. You see that the pulsations
| of the sun make themselves felt on
our earth as if our earth were truly
member Of it's body; we live of the
same life. And, without exaggeration,
these pulsations of our earth are neces-
| sary to it's life and ours. Obscure as
they may seem, when they shall cease
and, ceasing, fail to pump out, as it
were, sufficient quantities of gas to
ease our earth from time to time, the
end will comet"
1.-THE end?" 1 exclaimed
'"The end of terrestrial life," replied