Evening star., 1931-12-08
SUN 4YOLK' THEORY.
OFFERED IN REPORT
View That Center Is Heavy
Mass of Gas May Solve
Puzzle of Energy.
BY THOMAS n. HENRY.

BY THOMAS H. HENRY.
The sun is something like a mon
strous egg, with yolk in its center.
This ''yolk," according to the picture
presented in the annual report of the
Smithsonian Institution issued this
week, is q heavy, concentrated mass of
white-hot gas--a star within a star
The temperature within this yolk runs
somewhere in the neighbornood Cf
2e,000,000 degrees above absolute zero
The density is about 28 times that of
water. The yolk is composed of some
of the ordinary elements found on
earth, but stripped of some of their
outer electrons by the intense heat, so
the resulting gas is very heavy. It is a
state Of matter entirely outside human
experience.
May Solve Old Problem.
This recently advanced concept of the
suns interior may provide a solution for
a problem which long has puzzled as
tronomers, according to DR.. Charles E.
st. John of the Mount Wilson Observ-
atory, who presents the recent accumu-
lation Of knowledge regarding the great
star which is the source of the earth's
heat and life.
1t is pouring into space, DR.. st. John
points out, radiant energy at a rate of
lion horsepower a second, a small
amount Of which comes to the earth.
This process has been continuous for ct
least 2000000 900 years, the minimum
age allowed for the sun on the asSump-
ton that it gave birth to the earth in
its early youth. Yet the E-eat star
doesn't seem to be getting cooler.
theoretically it is losing mass. at the
rate of about 100000 tons per second.
This would give it a lease on life, at
its present rate Of radiation, Of about
$4,000 600 900 900 years.
Source of Energy Mystery.
Nobody has been able to answer, to
everybody's satisfaction, where the
enormous energy comes from. If it
came from the burning Of the body of
the sun, like heat from coal fire, the
star long ago would have been burned
out. Some have assumed the presence
in the interior Of some unknown radio
active element heavier than uranium.
But, DR.. st. John points out, it has
been calculated by British astronomers
that conditions such as obtain within
the ''yolk" of the sun are such as would
make easily possible the transformation
of matter and the production of heat
by the atomic energy released as a
result of this process. This view was
open to serious mathematical objections
when the sun was considered as body
with light outer atmosphere gradually
increasing in heat and density toward
the center.
The long Jump from the hot "yolk'' of
the sun to the dresses and underwear
Of the modern girl is bridged in an
article in the report by DR.. ]. w.
Sturmer Of the Philadelphia College Of
Pharmacy, who discusses the effect of
the SUMS ultraviolet rays on the hu-
man organism. They may be both a
source of health and danger, he points
out.
The textiles most transparent to these
rays, DR.. Sturmer says, are the loosely
woven rayons such as now are used ex-
tensively in the clothing of women. Silk
dresses, on the other hand, shut out
much of the ultraviolet, which may
come originally from the ''yolk."
Masculine Progress Limited.
Feminine dress of today" he de-
clares," is in far closer harmony with
the newer facts pertaining to irradi-
alton as a health measure than is the
modern attire Of the male Women
have gone far since Civil War days in
so changing the fashions as to provide.
for plenty of sun irradiation. Men have
made progress merely to the extent Of
shaving of their whiskers and exposing
their chins.
Most clothing effectively intercepts
ultraviolet radiation. Animal hair is
quite Opaque to Ut. Only very white
hair transmits it to slight extent. All
woolen clothing is an effective ultra
violet filter and the modern male
promenading on the board walk receives
practically no such irradiation through
his clothing"
DR.. Sturmer provides an explanation
for the alleged debilitating effect of the
east wind. Ultraviolet rays passing
through oxygen, he points out, has the
effect Of producing ozone, a gas which
has an eXhilerating effect on the hu-
man system.
Produced in Upper Strata.
This is produced most abundantly in
the upper layers of the atmosphere,
before the short rays from the sun can
be cut of. When the wind is from the
west or the southwest more of the
ozone is brought near the surface where
1t can get into the lungs. The rare gas
In likely TO be absent in an east wind.
Artificial ultraviolet radiation pro-
duced by lamps, he warns, contains
wave lengths shorter than those in sun
light which has been filtered through
the atmosphere, and hence there Is
greater danger Of severe burns, unless
the operator knows his business. Dan
ger of burns from sunlight he said, is
lessened by having some f1uorescent ma
terial over the skin. This changes the
invisible to visible light waves. Most
Of the face paint used by girls, he said,
Is mildly fiuorescent and affords a lit
tie protection. The same is true of cold
creams and ointments especially de-
signed to prevent sunburn.