The Washington times., 1919-08-17
The Recent Disastrous Eruptions
IN Java, japan and Central
America, Traced by Science to
By Dr.. w. H. BaIIou.

and volcanic eruptions on earth has
long been noted by vulcanologists and as
tronomers. While for years it has been
hinted that some connection must exist
between these two phenomena, it is only
now that science is able to say definitely
that such connection does exist and to
hazard explanation Of how solar cyclones
millions of miles away from US can touch
OF our own volcanoes.
. There is at present on our sun the most
gigantic spot ever noted. This disturbance
revolves around the northern limb Of the
sun and is estimated to be from $4,000 to
100000 miles long It has Just been &C
companied by a second and smaller spot
simultaneously with the appearance OF
the first spot there began various disas-
trous eruptions in volcanic regions through
the world, and these are still continuing
The explanation now put forth is this:
These unthinkably huge sun cyclones are
in effect unthinkably gigantic dynamos
They cast out into space, sometimes for a
million miles, flames Of gas and semi
solid matter. But they also release tre-
mendous floods Of particles Of electricity
and cataracts of that peculiar energy we
call magnetism. The earth itself has been
compared by F1ammarion, the famous
French astronomer, to an enormous mag
net spinning in space. When it becomes
supereharged from the sun various
strange things happen.
One Of the usual things is the aurora
borealis All the beauties of the aurora
and all its phenomena can be counter
feited in the laboratory by passing mag
netic currents through certain rare gases
found in the higher strata of our atmos-
phere. The aurora is apparently the effect
Of this tremendous storm of electrified
particles striking our earth and passing
on its way to both northern and southern
magnetic poles the layers Of these gases
high in our air Sometimes these storms
from the sun are so great as to put the
entire telephone and telegraph system of
entire countries out Of business.
But how do they set OF the volcanoes?
Volcanoes are vents-chimneys, in fact
leading up from portions of the earth in,
matter. These chimneys sometimes be-
come stopped up and then the volcanoes
become what we call inactive. They are
like gigantic bottles, firmly corked, but in
which a ferment is stirring. Invariably
these pockets and masses Of incandescent
matter have above them great chambers
in the rock which are filled with high ex-
plosive gases. These gases press continu-
ally against the cork of the crater.
It is now asserted from experiments re-
Gently made upon similar gases through
which have passed. magnetic currents Of
varying degrees, that the magnetic waves
sent forth by the sunspots penetrate to
these chambers and enormously expand
these. gases. These, expanding, thrust
themselves against the core of matter in
the shaft of the volcano, forcing it out
The pressure then being relieved, the in
candescent matter has nothing to hold it
back, and we have our volcanic eruption.
The present sun spot more particularly
affected the volcano KalnUt Of Java which,
the last official reports state, killed some
thing like over 5000 people residing around
its base. 1t hit next hardest the volcano
Izalco, in San Salvador, Central Amer
lea, nearly destroying for the second
time the city Of San Salvador. After that it
affected most severely a volcano of Japan,
the explosions of which burst a great
reservoir, flooding a considerable terri
tory and drowning the inhabitants.
It was also the cause Of lesser, but very
damaging outbursts elsewhere in the eQua-
toFial region. almost entirely around the
globe. The question that puzzles vulcan
Ologists is, why the volcanoes of the
equatorial region we're affected rather
than the volcanoes of Alaska and other
regions. This question is a big one, since
other sun spots have likewise affected
different regions at different times, but
never all of TIE worlds volcanoes at one
time.
1t can only be presumed that the posi-
tion Of the sun spot on the sun, which
is seldom the same, has everything to do
with the position of the volcanoes on the
earth which will respond in kind. 1t
may be that the molten mass within the
earth is Of changeable position, and that,
at the time Of the OutbUrst of the present
sun spot, the eaTth's molten mass was then
located beneath the equator, or at least
was most ready for an eruption at that
position. This view would imply that our
OWE interior molten mass forms at diff
ferent times at different places, and that
those places respond with eruptions at
the point Of the greatest intensity of the
prepared molten mass.