Fuel of the Sun

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1890 - 222 pages
 

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Page 94 - These appearances, which have been termed ' faculae,' are the most brilliant parts of the Sun. Where, near the limb, the spots become invisible, undulated shining ridges still indicate their place — being more remarkable thereabout than elsewhere on the limb, though everywhere traceable in good observing weather.
Page 36 - In this case, it is obvious that the plane of the circle of illumination would be perpendicular to a line drawn from the centre of the sun to the centre of the earth...
Page 86 - ... water. The exceedingly definite shape of these objects ; their exact similarity one to another ; and the way in which they lie across and athwart each other (except where they form a sort of bridge across a spot, in which case they seem to affect a common direction, that, namely, of the bridge itself), all these characters seem quite repugnant to the notion of their being of a vaporous, a cloudy, or of a fluid nature. Nothing remains but to consider them as separate and independent sheets, flakes,...
Page 198 - It would be a vain task to attempt to count the stars in one of these globular clusters. They are not to be reckoned by hundreds; and on a"\ rough calculation, grounded on the apparent intervals between them at the borders...
Page 197 - These lines plainly appeared when viewed simultaneously with the spectrum of the sky, which at the time of observation reflected the light of the setting sun. One strong band corresponds with some terrestrial atmospheric lines, and probably indicates the presence of vapours similar to those which float about the earth. Another band has no counterpart amongst the lines of absorption of our atmosphere, and tells us of some gas or vapour which does not exist in the earth's...
Page 125 - Lyrse is the type. The iron of Lenarto has no doubt come from such an atmosphere, in which hydrogen greatly prevailed. This meteorite may be looked upon as holding imprisoned within it, and bearing to us, the hydrogen of the stars.
Page 5 - ... and it may be deserving of consideration, whether, in any instance, a deficiency of such matter can be proved, and whether, from this source, any conclusive argument can be drawn in favour of ultimate atoms in general.
Page 87 - There is nothing which represents so faithfully this appearance as the slow subsidence of some flocculent chemical precipitates in a transparent fluid, when viewed perpendicularly from above: so faithfully, indeed, that it is hardly possible not to be impressed with the idea of a luminous medium intermixed, but not confounded, with a transparent and non-luminous atmosphere, either floating as clouds in our air, or pervading it in vast sheets and columns like flame, or the streamers of our northern...
Page 30 - Let us now suppose a modification of these conditions, viz., that the vessel containing the dissociated gases at the temperature of dissociation shall be surrounded with bodies cooler than itself, ie, capable of receiving more heat from it than they radiate towards it ; there would then take place just so much combustion as would set free the amount of heat required to maintain the temperature of the vessel at the...
Page 68 - The great mystery, however, is to conceive how so enormous a conflagration (if such it be) can be kept up. Every discovery in chemical science here leaves us completely at a loss, or rather, seems to remove farther the prospect of probable explanation.

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