X-J THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID CONTRIBUTIONS TO 9 SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL PHYSICS. "In knowledge, that man only is to be contemned and despised who is not in a state of transition." " nor is there anything more adverse to accuracy than fixity of opinion. " FARADAY. " Science must grow. Its development is as necessary, and as irresistible as the motion of the tides, or the flowing of the Gulf Stream. " TYNDALL. ^ ' " The cry of science is still onward, and its goal of yesterday will ever be its starting-point to-morrow." DAWSON. %* May be procured through all booksellers. It will be sent by mail, postage free, on receipt of price, $140 cloth, 5b cts. paper. Liberal discount to the trade. Per C. K. ABEL & SON, BOOKSELLERS, Dunkirk, N. Y. NEW AND ORIGINAL THEORIES GREAT PHYSICAL FORCES. BY HENRY RAYMOND ROGERS, M.D. " Every time Serves for the matter then born in it. " SHAKSPERB. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. MDCCCLXXVIII. COPYRIGHT, 1878. BY HENRY RAYMOND ROGERS. TROW'S PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING Co., 205-213 East i2ift St. t NEW YORK. Gl/73 PREFACE. " Show me a man who makes no mistakes, and I will show you a man who has done nothing." LlEBIG. IN this little volume the author gives but his own personal opinions upon the subjects discussed, and although the sentiments are expressed with an assurance born of conviction, yet he claims not infallibility. He has ever been unable to accept the usual explanations of the great physical forces ; and the inadequacies of mooted theories have impelled him to efforts for more philosophical interpreta- tions. If in his investigations he has been forced to strange and unusual conclusions, he has been actuated only by an honest desire to promote the advancement of science. He is not insensible to the responsibility of the position which he thus voluntarily assumes, in asserting his opinions upon problems so vast and momentous. It is no enviable position to occupy, that of viii Preface. antagonism to so large a proportion of the scien- tific world and, too, upon subjects of strictly scientific import. That he does thus find himself placed in such relations at the present time, has not been a matter of his own seeking. No other con- sideration than the profoundest sense of duty and responsibility could have influenced him in the course pursued. Perhaps some apology is yet due for so boldly trespassing upon hypotheses which were very generally thought to be well established, and certainly secure from such treat- ment. The attempt, in a measure, to develop so ex- tended a field of research, in so few pages, has led to much crudeness in the presentation. For this a reasonable indulgence may be claimed. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE THE SUN 17 CHAPTER II. WHAT is PROPOSED , 20 The great problem. CHAPTER III. INTIMATE NATURE OF THE FORCES 24 Sunlight and sun-heat The great law of conserva- tion How the spheres are constructed The great earth- core and its functions The grand magnetic circuit. CHAPTER IV. SUNLIGHT, ITS SOURCE AND NATURE 29 Its limits The solar cone The sun not incandescent New hypothesis No borrowed light The sun dependent Light as a substance Velocity of Light. I* Contents. CHAPTER V. PAGE SUN-HEAT, ITS SOURCE AND LIMITS 35 Tendencies to unsettle in science Present theories True source Earth's part in the process Sun's part New philosophy Old phenomena and new interpretations Aurorae Well understood pro- cesses in confirmation The ordinary battery The Great -Sun Battery Heat without combustion Intercurrents Solution of the problem. CHAPTER VI. THE SEASONS 47 Why their varying temperature? A new philosophy. CHAPTER VII. GRAVITY 50 Its essential nature and its source. CHAPTER VIII. THE ATMOSPHERE 52 A veritable ocean How constituted The vito-mag- netic principle, its extent and character Its func- tions The air not yet comprehended Have we been mistaken ? New light Electrical induction Its mode of action and illustrations The character and virtue of the vito-magnetic element. Contents. xi CHAPTER IX. PAGE WINDS 59 Entertained theories erroneous Their true character What gives rise to the currents Purely vito- magnetic phenomena Philosophical considerations drawn from observation Whirlwinds, water- spouts, and tornadoes The Barbadoes Manu- factured wind Wind within a wind Winds may not arise from presumed causes A great cosmical system. CHAPTER X, SUN-SPOTS 70 Old theories Degrees of spot-shadow overestimated --What spots are not, and what they are They are caused by magnetic perturbations Inconsist- ency of accepted theories Figures that are decep- tive Effects of these wonderful phenomena Mis- taken conceptions May not be tabulated Unbi- assed estimate of their character and location. CHAPTER XI. SOUNDS, AND THEIR TRANSMISSION 77 Essential character and mode of progression Waves have no act or part in their conveyance. CHAPTER XII. SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THE FOREGOING THEORIES. 79 Extent and character of their influence Old chan- nels obliterated, and new ones developed Senti- xii Contents. merits changed Nebular hypothesis The sun cool, luminous, and habitable Celestial spectro- scopy Undulatory theories ignored Light instan- taneously transmitted Telephone No light nor heat wasted Extent of the atmosphere of the spheres The sun's power overestimated. CHAPTER XIII. INFLUENCE OF THE FORCES AS CAUSATION OF DIS- EASE 84 Meteorological influence Higher appreciation of the source of disease, and increased efficiency in its treatment. CHAPTER XIV. THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF LIGHT, HEAT, AND POWER, AND THEIR UTILIZATION 87 CHAPTER XV. WHY WAS NOT THIS DISCOVERY SOONER MADE ? 90 Its consummation nearly perfected by many others Its successful accomplishment plainly foretold by Faraday. APPENDIX 95 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE I. THE SOLAR CONE, OR CONE-SPACE 30 II. THE SEASONS. SUMMER , 48 III. " " WINTER 49 IV. MANUFACTURED WIND. (From DESCHANEL'S Natural Philosophy) 66 "If we suppose the sun and fixed stars to be gigantic fountains of magnetic influence, acting upon our globe and its atmosphere, and likewise upon all the other planets, the phenomena of the uni- verse would then become susceptible of the grandest and simplest interpretations." CROSSLAND. " Are not the sun and fixed stars great earths vehemently hot ? " NEWTON. " Herschel's fixed idea was that the darkness of a spot upon the sun was an indication of a cool and habitable globe." HUMBOLDT. "The sun as the main source of light and heat must be able to call forth and animat^e magnetic forces on our planet." Ibid. THE GREAT PHYSICAL FORCES. CHAPTER L INTRODUCTORY, The Sun. THE sun's position in the great field of energy is daily becoming more exalted in the estimation of philosophic minds. His labors are being revealed to us with a distinctness never before conceived. He it is that stored the coal in the bosom of the earth, and piled up the polar ice. He it is that aids the chem- ist, drives the engine, ripens the harvest,, dis- penses life and health. The study of the sun and solar physics, therefore, must be essential to the right un- derstanding of whatever we observe to take place at the earth. Sun and earth are united in indissoluble bonds. In philosophic minds 1 8 New Theories of the Great Forces, the conviction of a most perfect inter-depend- ence is rapidly gaining ground. All this has been known and appreciated to a degree, yet this great source of universal operations is shrouded in mystery. Still, our curiosity has been kindled, and men are eagerly looking for further developments. Natural Science, in all her branches, is fully awake, and is on her watch-tower of observa- tion. Ignorance of the sun, of its character, and of the methods by which its functions are performed, must be confessed ; notwithstand- ing all the more recent unfoldings and imag- inings of scientists, regarding the great orb. But yet we are very hopeful of vast increase in our solar knowledge ; not alone, or chiefly. by new observations, or discoveries, but quite as much by new interpretations of old, long observed phenomena. The ground of hope- fulness lies in the belief that a grand unity underlies, and binds together in one, all Phys- ical Forces, as well in earth and sun. While regarding the sun as all, and more than all that has ever been claimed for it, still we are impressed most strongly that the sun has social relations with his planets, which have never been duly considered by the masters in science. The sun acts, but it must Mutual Relationship of Sun and Earth. 19 also be that the earth and planets react. The sun gives and dispenses favors, but science has too much overlooked the great fact that the sun receives and sympathizes. Let our philosophy but accept the idea that the sun rouses the earth into action throiigh their mutual relationships ; that the two in- terchange good offices and essential services, rather than that the sun is wholly independ- ent, and simply gives outright, as philosophy has hitherto conceived, and we think that the dawn of a better day has come. The new philosophy, in our opinion, will teach that the sun gives in such a way that he will not be impoverished ; that though bountiful, he is not wasteful ; that though he freely gives, yet that he also as freely receives in return. The new philosophy will be true to corre- lation, and it will be true to conservation as well. CHAPTER II. WHAT IS PROPOSED. IN the following pages I shall endeavor to set forth, in a simple and orderly manner, cer- tain of my own theories of the Great Physi- cal Forces. In these theories will be comprised the identity of those forces, the intimate and es- sential nature of sunlight, sun-heat, gravity, sun-spots, winds and sounds, also the inti- mate nature of the atmosphere. In treating these subjects my opinions will not be found in accord with those which re- ceive universal assent at the present time, and I may thus unintentionally offend. I shall therefore claim exceeding indulgence. If I differ from high authority, I have not a thought of detraction. None can venerate the NESTORS in science who have enriched its annals, more than I, and though we reverse their judgments, their errors are confessedly our indispensable helps and guides. Advances in Physical Science. 21 The Great Problem. The problem of the great physical forces has engaged the profoundest attention of mankind from the earliest historic period down to the present time, yet it remains practically unsolved. Before the Christian era the opinion was entertained that all of the phenomena of nature might be reduced to one principle of explanation ; that there was more than a con- nection between the imponderable agents more than a relationship even, that there was an actual identity. No substantial progress was thereafter made in the direction of verifying this theory until along into the present century, when the development of electrical science presented a tangible basis for successful investigation. The correlation of nearly all of those for- ces is now assured, leaving little to be added besides gravity to complete the unity. Yet notwithstanding the satisfactory progress which has been made in solving the grand problem of their correlation, little has been learned of their intimate nature, and the method of their operation. This is due, in the highest degree, to certain theories which 22 New Theories of the Great Forces. were developed, and which made their way, pari passu, with the advancements of elec- trical and electro-magnetic science. These theories, specious, inconsistent, illogical, yet withal plausible, and even fascinating, served to blind the mental vision so that mankind might not appreciate the truth. 1 The hypothesis promulgated by BRUNO, KANT and LAPLACE, of the nebular origin of the spheres, and the deductions consequent thereupon, in regard to the progressive stages through which the earth in its devel- opments has passed, was pernicious in its in- fluence in diverting the minds of investigators from other and truer channels. To the blind confidence with which that hypothesis has been universally accepted and perpetuated, and to the fallacious theories thus directly and indirectly engendered, we owe our false posi- tion at the present day. The present theories of the transmission of light and sound ; of the production of winds, and sun-spots, and of the method of development and dissemination of heat, are in point of fact, unphilosophical and incom- prehensible. 1 Appendix, p. 97. Present Data Sufficient. 23 It is quite remarkable that in the present century, excelling as it does any period in the world's history in exact and reliable scien- tific knowledge, such unsatisfactory opinions should obtain. The failure is still more in- explicable when we reflect that these sub- jects are in importance the highest which can engage our attention as scientists. We have at the present time sufficient reliable data whereon to found satisfactory hypotheses. We have but to utilize the means which the true scientists of the cen- tury have so wonderfully developed, and with which they have so prodigally sur- rounded us, in order to complete the consum- mation of the great and crowning achieve- ment in physical science. CHAPTER III. THE GREAT FORCES, THEIR CHARACTER AND OPERATIONS. I NOW ask, What is the intimate and in- herent nature of those forces ? Do they, or either of them, belong to the domain of the supernatural ? Are they the products of some supreme force, or forces, heretofore unappreciated ? The reply is clear and un- questionable. The supernatural must neces- sarily be a part of the Divine Essence, and consequently intangible. Not so the sub- jects of our inquiry. They are natural pro- ducts, therefore, and the result of the opera- tion of some power commensurate with the stttpendousness of their manifestations. Sunlight and Sun-heat. In the forces, light, and heat, what immen- sity of power is represented ! Strangely enough we have ever imagined these forces to be the unaided work of the sun, as though that luminary could be capable of sending The Law of Conservation. 25 forth in undiminished exuberance, such mar- vels of force, during all the ages, and remain itself unexhausted ! The Great Law of Conservation of Force. But how speaks the law of conservation, that law most enduring, and most inexora- ble ? According to the decrees of that law, whatever is received by the earth from the sun, an equivalent for the same must again be returned from the earth to the sun, to the uttermost fraction. 2 Such being the condi- tions, how may this retro-acting process that all analogy and the profoundest scientific axiom prove to be in constant operation- how, I ask, may this retro-acting process be explained ? What equivalent may the earth give back as compensation for such enormous benefits, for such stupendous powers ? The laws of conservation may not be violated : the earth will respond. How are the Spheres constructed? The constitution of these two retro-acting spheres, and consequently of all the others of 2 Appendix, p. 98. 26 New Theories of the Great Forces. the heavenly host, 3 at this point demands our attention. How are the spheres made up ? How speaks the earth ? The earth with which we are familiar our sample is formed of a slight crust, a core, to a greater or less extent and degree incandescent, and measuring 250,000 millions of cubic miles in dimensions, also an envelope which we call the atmosphere. Now, from the presence of the vast mass of incandescent material within the enclosure of each sphere-crust, it may reasonably be in- ferred, nay the very nature of human reason compels the decision, that they are placed there for some specific purpose, and that their operations are commensurate with their im- mensity. We may not neglect to make account of so vast an element, and so vital and prepon- derating, in all globes.* We are thus compelled to answer the question, What part in the economy of na- ture is this great central core particularly fitted to perform ? What its function among the great forces ? 3 Appendix, p. 99. * The earth's core constitutes nearly -&% of its entire mass. The Function of the Earth- Core. 27 The great problem of the age, which scien- tists are intently engaged in solving, is the correlation of the leading forces already ad- verted to. Thus far light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chemical action, vital action, co- hesion, etc., have been proved to be parts of one great whole. Now, since the espe- cial characteristic of the great earth-core is heat, it comes directly into relationship with the forces mentioned. How then are its forces expended ? Through what channels do they manifest their presence ? The philo- sophical mind would most naturally associate with it the idea of stupendous magnetic power. We may well suppose such a power extending its influence through and beyond the earth-crust, reaching out towards the moon, and retro-acting with that body in pre- serving their mutual relations. Does not this mighty influence reach out toward the sun also, and act conjointly with that great central orb in producing results, which to us, have ever been great myster- ies. 4 The Grand Magnetic Circuit. In the retro-acting influence in operation 4 Appendix, p. 99. 28 New Theories of the Great Forces. between these great bodies, may be found A Grand Magnetic Circuit. In this grand magnetic circuit is found the key to the whole subject of the correlation and identity of all the forces. And now, as preparatory to using this key that we may enter in and consider the inti- mate nature of the physical forces, we would be impressed with the clear and full idea of this mighty current, which bears upon its tide, as one, all manner of forces with which we have to do. It remains for us to tell what this great current is, and what it does. To the child, to the savage, and to the civilized man alike, it comes first and pre-eminently as light. CHAPTER IV. SUNLIGHT. Its Source and Nature. SUNLIGHT is one of the products of that grand retro-action which is incessantly in operation between sun and earth, and is, in its intimate and essential nature, a vito-mag- neticyfe^jf* (or so-called magnetic). Subtle, and apparently intangible, manifesting itself rather as a presence than a real substance, it fills all the space between the sun and earth which space may, with sufficient accu- racy, be termed the solar cone or cone-space. Its Limits. Beyond the boundaries of the solar cone, no light is. * This term is employed as being most exact and comprehensive, as this fluid is now known to be the source of all life and all at- tractions. 30 New Theories of the Great Forces. SOLAR CONE. PI. I. The Sun not Incandescent. The apparent brightness of the sun is owing to ihr -aggregation of the 93,000,000 of miles of this flbi^which is present be- tween the sun and earm>e-4e- our presence in the great current of activity of the vito- magnetic force. It is therefore not due to a condition of incandescence at or near, that body. It is cool and habitable, and emits no light. The brightness of the intervening fluid intercepts the view, and thus no one may behold its body. Dark spots upon its face disclose its true character. 5 6 Appendix, p. 99. To oe attached to page 31, "J?ew and Original Theories of the G-reat (Physical forces.'' Light and Heat. BY HENRY RAYMOND ROGERS, M. D. From the Buffalo Courier. Scientists have practically ignored the existence in nature of two distinct forms of light and heat. This two-fold divi- sion is clear and demonstrable, yet in- vestigators in these fields have made too little account of it in their reckoning. The failure to recognize this fact has been the source of errors and confusion in our philosophy of these forces. The two forms while possessing certain pro- perties in common, have yet other pro- perties quite dissimilar. Different in the manner of their production and in their effects, it is a question whether they are not essentially different in their nature. The first form, that of combustion light and heat, is .dependent for its pro- duction upon the combustive destruc- tion of inflammable materials due to the action of oxygen. Examples of this form are the lights and fires of our homes. The second form we term magnetic in the production of which oxygen has no part. Examples of this form are the magneto-electric and the dynamo-elec- tric processes the latter of which is pre-eminently the topic of the day. The peculiarity of this form is that light and heat are not necessarily manifested at or near the seat of production, but exist potentially, their development as light and heat being effected wherever the proper conditions are provided. This magnetic force, while permitted to flow freely through a perfect conductor is never developed into light and heat, but is only converted into these forces as the current encounters and overcomes- resistance. The operations of these two forms are characteristically different. The for- mer are feeble in power and are trans m-issible to but short distances. They act by continuity, and speedily diminish in intensity as- the square of the distance increases. The latter are transmissible in any direction, and by any pathway, and have scarcely any terestrial limits, They are transported by wires over con- tinents and beneath oceans, and many miles of space have been traversed by them without visible means of conduc- tion. But, unlike the former, they do not pass as sensible light and heat. Their functions differ. The magnetic form of light may be employed in photo- graphy, and by it the various shades of color may be discerned in the night sea- son. In strength and brilliancy the magnetic light alone resembles that of the sun. In our studies of these forces we have been greatly impressed with :he similar ity between the operations of the mag- netic class and the productions of the sun. This similarity naturally suggests the question whether there is not good reason to suppose that sunlight and sun heat, as to their production, follow the analogy of the superior process, rather than the inferior, that its action is magnetic, rather than combustive. Thip suggestion affords immense re- lief. . If light and heat are regarded as magnetic, we are apparently eased of the^ great burden of finding adequate supplies of material to keep up, and to keep uniform, the vast conflagration sup- posed to rage at the sun. Unquestion- ably this has been a tax upon ingenuity which neither we nor our scientific fath- ers have been able to bear. If the magnetic process be admitted, the loss aii'l waste involved in the combustive process, enormous beyond computa- tion, may possibly be relieved, and the great law of conservation of force thus jeopardized, even in the house of its friends, may stiil be maintained in its in- tegrity. The demonstrations of our senses, as well as the teachings of all the ages based upon these demonstrations, lead us to attribute to the sun the possession of a most dazzling briilancy, and an unlimited amount of heat. So it cer- tainly appears ; and every hypothesis that has ever had a hold upon the scien- tific mind has been based upon that con- ception. Yet the simple fact that the earth receives its heat through the agency of the sun is not conclusive evi- dence that the sun is itself hot. On the contrary it is well known that heat rap- idly diminishes in the direction of the sun; and at the altitude of con- siderably less than two miles lies the line of perpetual frost, the temperature of space progressively lowering beyond that point. Standing as diametrically opposed to the old methods of thought is the tact that the sun is not inherently brilliant. Beyond the lower portions of the at- mospheric mass there is no dazzle. Only a short distance upwards from the earth at a point where respiration, by reason of the rarity of the atmosphere, becomes impeded, the human eye may behold that great orb undazed. Thus sun light and sun heat are shown to resemble the light and heat which \ve are able to develop through the aid of our magnetic machines. The fact of the actual production of the intensest heat yet reached, through the agency of mere motion, opens up to us a new view of these great forces. As motion applied to our dynamo-electric machines is changed or converted into light and heat, so also may sun light and sun heat be the products of mere change, of simple conversion of force instead of the products of a measureless and cease- less destruction. The element out of which they are developed passes, as we may suppose, through all space without visible form or manifestation, as electric- ity through wires, and without visible means of transportation; as for example, Prof. Loomis sent the magnetic current from kite to kite, flown from Virginia mountain-tops, twenty miles apart. Moreover, as the "carbon point" or the "platinum coil" is the necessary resist- ance, the encountering of which de- velopes the electric light out of our lit- tle electric current, so may this earth's atmosphere furnish the required resist- ance out of the encounter with which the great current of force from sun to earth, invisible while passing through vacant space, becomes manifest light and heat. The analogy, to say the least, is very striking. Science at the present time admits of four different explanations of the pro- duction of sun-light and sun-heat, viz : (1). Combustion of cosmical substan- ces falling into the sun ; (2) arrest of motion of such cosmical substances ; (3) contraction of the solar mass ; f4) dis- sociation of compound bodies in the sun's substance. It will be observed that there is no recognition here of the two f^rms of light and heat; the sun is by all of them made the manufacturing place of light and heat, as well as the distributing re- servoir, whence the whole solar system is supplied ; not with the invisible, in- sensible, potential, light and heat, to be developed where required, but with these actual forces. The first hypothesis, that of "com- bustion," is virtually given up by scien- tists on account of its insuperable diffi- culties. The fuel problem is too in- tricate for the finite mind. The second, the so-called mechanical hypothesis, is held in greatest favor by scientists to-day as best accounting for the phenomena ; or as being least vul- nerable to objections. This hypothesis pre-supposes the presence in space of an incalculable supply of ' ponderable masses, all roving loosely and by chance, until falling under the influence of the sun they are drawn thereto with such momentum that the concussion gives rise to inconceivable light and heat. We may, however, be allowed to question whether the doctrine of chance can ac- count for our exact and definite supply of light and heat without excess or de- ficiency. But such existence of ponder- able matter, away from the influence of gravity, moving about in the universe, and assumed to follow the attraction of the nearest stellar system, can hardly be credited by philosophic minds. It is incredible that such matter has ever by any agencies escaped from the power of gravity after having once been under its influence. It may reasonably be supposed that any body or substance which would be capable of floating loose in space must have its origin in some sphere. It could not otherwise have an existence; and having once formed the part of some sphere, no power could de- tach it from its surrounding and project it into space, other than through disrup- tion of the parent body. But the histo- ry of science has furnished no evidence of such disruption. The insignificant manifestations, such as aerolites, meteorites and meteors, which bring with them nothing foreign, should not be received as evidence in the establishment of a philosophy. The tame uniformity of those bodies, and the slight inclination of their pathways earthward, preclude their being classed with external forces, ^irolites of im- mense size are not unfrequently observ- ed to pass in a direction almost horizon- tal to the earth and in close proximity to it, for hundreds of miles. This fact is very damaging to the philosophy which the phenomenon is claimed to sustain. In view of all the facts which physical science presents, we are forced to the conclusion that there are no for- eign bodies or substances existing in space ; that none may be found within the range of our atmosphere, or which may come within its range, which are not of purely terrestrial origin. The supposition that old useless worlds, comets, meteors, etc., are at- . tracted to the sun to be utilized for the production of its light and heat, is con- trary to every principle of reason and sound philosophy, and is therefore un- worthy of consideration. The inevitable enlargement of the sun's dimentions which would occur from the accretions resulting from this method, would also prove fatal to this hypothe- sis. An exact knowledge of the sun for centuries has not in the slighest degree disclosed a change of radius in the earth's orbit; a necessary consequence of any change in the sun's bulk. The third hypothesis, "the contrac- tion of the solar mass," implying a pro- gressive diminution of that body, finds the same objections which lie against its progressive augmentation. The fourth, "the dissociation of com- pound bodies in the sun's substance," depends upon the process of combus- tion, (SECCHI. "Le Soleil"} and is there- fore open to the objections already named. Each of the foregoing hypotheses stands in direct opposition to the inexor- able law of conservation of force. Ac- cording to the decree of that law, what- ever is received by the earth from the sun, an equivalent for the same must again* be returned from the earth to the sun to the uttermost fraction. Each recognizes the presence of a vast flood of light, heat and magnetic force, (grav- ity) incessantly issuing from the great solar mass, and proceeding therefrom with inconceivable velocity to the earth. Yet neither makes provision for the re- tro-acting, or returning force, which un- der that law becomes indispensable. No hypothesis based upon any other foundation can stand. Each assumes the actual and indis- pensable presence of light and heat at 8 the surface of the sun, or in its envel- ope, as elements in the solar economy. But, inasmuch as heat does not come from the sun as actual heat, and we may suppose also that light does not come as actual light, then there really exists at the sun no necessity for the en- ormous production there, such as these- hypotheses demand. Again, the prodigious destruction of material claimed to be involved in the production of light and heat at the sun, and the expenditure of an inconceivable amount of force in projecting the same in all directions, and to all distances into spare, are thus shown to be uncall- ed for and therefore irrational. The analogy between jour little mag- netic batteries and the great sun batter\- has a yet deeper significance. Our mag- netic battery, in the process of develop- ing light and heat, developes also an- other force, that of attraction. Magnet- ic light, heat and attraction, are thus known to be products of one process. Analogy suggests that attraction, or gravity, in like manner is developed by the great sun-battery, and is likewise an integral constituent with sunlighfr and sun heat. These great sun forces,there- fore, may not be regarded as three dis- tinct entities, but rather as different ef- fects of one and the same action. Thus the fact that the sun and earth are gigantic fountains of magnetic influence, continually acting and re-act- ing upon each other, as is claimed by the highest authorities in physical sci- ence, gives to the phenomena now be- ing considered their clearest and fullest interpretations. Dunkirk, N. Y., August, 1879. COLD. Its Relations with the So-called Phys- ical Forces. BY HENRY RAYMOND ROGERS, M. D. That cold is simply "the absence of heat" is apparently unquestioned by the scientific world. Physical Science con- sequently gives it no position as a pos- itive force. Yet the manifestations of the power of cold are many, and plain ; taking on forms of exquisite delicacy, as well as of stupendous magnitude and power. It has, moreover, as distinctive operations, and as clearly defined laws. Cold should therefore take rank with light, heat, electricity, magnetism, grav- ity, etc. The recognition of this force must introduce great light into science in many of its branches. The powers of cold are unquestioned. The almost fabulous polar ice-fields show its might, and the delicate fern- like frost pictures upon our window- panes, attest the presence of a real force. To compare it with heat it is not less active. Heat expands, cold contracts ; heat drives the needle of the galvano- meter in one direction, cold drives it in the opposite. Cold equally affects the senses. Cold is subject to the same laws of reflection. Surely the absence of something cannot be reflected from a polished surface. Applied to water con- fined within strong vessels, cold causes the walls of the vessels' to burst asunder by the expansive force of crystalization. The marvelous power thus exercised may not be attributed simply to the ab- sence of heat, a mere negative condi- tion. The particles of water which compose the icy crystals are arranged in due order, and perform their functions through the operation of a power not less real than that of either of the great forces. Cold is generated by the solution of certain bodies, as heat is, by the solu- tion of others. The power capable of disrupting and disintegrating the earth's solid crust, and of bridging a mighty river in a single night, the power which topples down massive walls of masonry, can hardly be regarded as a slight thing, or a figment of the imagination. Heat and cold, so opposite in their effects, are, we believe, correlated as truly as are the negative and positive conditions in electricity. One may not presume to say that either is mightier, or more real, than the other. The physical changes that give rise to this phenomenon are not appreciated ; hence cold is assigned a false character. But heat is necessarily involved with it in misunderstanding. The rectification of the latter waits upon the recognition of the nature of cold. The sun is represented as an incan- descent mass, inconceivably hot, with a temperature rated at millions of degrees ; yet heat diminishes in the direction of the sun, and at a short distance from the earth the temperature becomes in- conceivably cold. Thus no particle of heat reaches the earth, from that body, as heat. In like manner sun light, which is subject to the same creative cause, and the same method of transmission as sun-heat, rapidly diminishes in the direction of the sun ; so rapidly that the sun, at the elevation of a few miles, looses its brilliancy, and may be viewed with undazed eye. The sun is therefore presumably cool and dark, not differing from the earth -in its physical conditions and in its ha- bitability. The vastly important inference there- fore. an inference that must lie at the bottom of all true physical philosophy, is, that there is some great primordial principle acting through the sun, and which is so fitted to operate upon our atmosphere as that it causes all neces- sary forms of activity in air and earth. These varied forms of activity, though we call them "the physical for- ces" as if they were really distinct and independent, and not but correlated forms, embrace certain peculiar activ- ities which we term cold, as truly as oth- ers which we call light, heat, electricity, etc. It is the constant recognition every- where, of the great primordial principle operating differently according as it is differently conditioned, that must set us into the right understanding of all phys- ical changes taking place upon the earth. The mere absence of a force (i. e. nothing) accounts for nothing. In the new interpretations of the great forces which must surely come, and at an early day, cold will be awarded a position more in accordance with its deserts, equal place among the recog- nized forces. When the immutable law of conser- vation shall be applied to the investiga- tion of those great forces, and shall be made the criterion by which to judge each one of them, its character, and mode of operation, a new era in the his- tory of science, and in the develope- ment of human knowledge will have been attained. Dunkirk, N. Y., December, 1879. Sunlight. 3 1 If, therefore, the sun be truly dark, the brightness of its satellites cannot be caused by light projected from its surface or sur- roundings. How, then, may we account for the light of the moon and planets, which do not possess a light sui generis? A new hypothesis is requisite. To frame this hypo- thesis is not difficult. The New Hypothesis. Analogy teaches us that the earth is seen from the moon and planets, even as they arp seen from the earth. Yet there is nothing upon the face of the whole earth which is capable of reflecting the slightest amount oi the sun's rays to those spheres. The fields, forests, rocks, and seas, only absorb light, they do not reflect it. In this phenomenon, therefore, there is no element of specular reflection. It consists rather of the lighting up of the static vito-magnetic fluid of our atmosphere, by the great solar current. The atmosphere, thus vivified, discloses our pres- ence to those orbs, and in like manner, their presence to the inhabitants of the earth. 32 New Theories of the Great Forces. No Borrowed Light. The light of the planets is therefore in no sense a borrowed light, since the action which generates and transmits it, is purely co-operative. Otherwise there could be no light at the earth, or planets. The Sun Dependent for His own Supply. And, indeed, the sun possesses within him- self alone no element of supply of his own needed light and heat ; and in his immensity and power is even dependent upon the cir- cling orbs, for the quantity of each which is indispensable to a condition of habitation. The bodies of the planets are in like man- ner invisible; we behold but the illumined atmosphere of each sphere. Thus the moon and planets, to be visible, must possess atmospheres. Light as a Substance. That the thunderbolt is a substance may not be questioned. That the aurora borealis, or polaris, another form of vito-magnetic Sunlight. 33 fluid, is a substance is not questioned. The so-called heat-lightning, though apparently intangible, must therefore be regarded as a substance. Yet further in the remove we find the zodiacal light. Sunlight is but the same, in form of extreme tenuity. The thun- derbolt passes from earth to cloud, and in- stantaneously changes its substantial form to one as tenuous as light ; yet, in the trans- formation, this fluid has not lost its identity. Though unseen, it continues to exist as mat- ter. Velocity of Light. While ever present, light is being inces- santly replenished ; its action being instanta- neous. The calculations of ROEMER, founded upon observations made through spaces of 382 and 568 millions of miles of distance, should not be too confidently accepted, especially as the results of such conclusions are so vitally important. When we consider that with our best telescopes directed towards the moon, less than a quarter of a million of miles dis- tant, nothing really satisfactory may be dis- cerned, what value, therefore, may be attached to statements founded upon such thoroughly unreliable data ? 2* 34 New Theories of the Great Forces. BRADLEY'S estimate of the velocity of light, founded upon his study of " the aberration of light," is even less worthy of consideration. Any effort to measure such an inconceiv- able velocity as that claimed for light, by any means or appliances which may be devised by human ingenuity, must be regarded as futile. DESCARTES says : " Light reaches us instan- taneously from the sun, and would do so, even if the intervening distance were greater than that between the earth and heaven." CHAPTER V. SUN-HEAT. Its Source and Limits. SUN-HEAT is another product of the same retro-action between the sun and earth ; con- sequently it has the same range and the same boundaries as when it is viewed as light. Tendencies to unsettle in Science. The scientists of to-day may well look after the soundness of their favorite theories of the great physical forces ; for the uncertain tenure of old theories, by reason of recent discoveries, is becoming but too manifest. New phenomena are now observed which require solutions not met by present hypoth- eses. The nebular hypothesis which has so long possessed the scientific mind has, by the discovery of the moons of Mars, become a thing of the past. According to M. MAICHE, water is found to be no longer the old-fashioned conventional oxygen and hy- 36 New Theories of the Great Forces. drogen, but essentially a new element must be considered in estimating its composition. 6 Light is ascertained to be as veritable a sub- stance as water. The sun is recognized to be dark, cool, and habitable. Messages go through the air from kite to kite ten miles apart without visible agency. Telephonic sounds leap from wire to wire through quite ten feet of space. Present theories of Supply of Sun-heat. The present theories of the production and dissemination of sun-heat, are simply accepted for want of better, and not because they ac- count satisfactorily for the phenomena. The first and most prominent is the com- bustion theory, which, though bearing the seal of ages, is obnoxious both to common and philosophic reasoning. This theory pre- supposes a consumption of material beyond all conception, and the supply of which has been no small tax upon the scientific imagi- nation. The source of this supply has been claimed to be the subsidence of useless worlds, and of asteroids, and meteors, show- 6 Appendix, p. 99. Sun- Heat, 37 ered down upon its surface. Estimates have been carefully made, and we are gravely in- formed of the probable amount of combustive material required to supply the sun's demands for given periods. It is said that the coal- fields of Pennsylvania, which would supply the world's consumption for centuries, would keep the sun's rate of emission for consid- erably less than y,-^^ part of a second. POUILLET estimated the quantity of heat emitted by the sun per hour to be equal to the supply of a layer of anthracite coal ten feet thick, spread over the whole surface of the sun. The theory advocated by HELMHOLTZ, and by many other scientists, of " the gradual contraction of the solar orb," and that of SECCHI, " the dissociation of compound bodies in the sun's substance," are attempts after a more consistent philosophy. The foregoing theories pre-suppose the sun to be a glowing fiery mass, from which, in all directions, issue radiations of heat and light into space. Of this enormous quantity of radiated heat, the earth is supposed to receive but ^