NATUIIAL riiiLosornv. 181 



icrlu Journal of Science throws out the sugffgstion, whether the ori-- 



/ / O * I . > 



inal exciting cause of solar spots may not be found in tin- circulation 

 of an elliptic ring of planetary matter, in a state of division sufficiently 

 minute to elude telescopic vi.-ion, having a major axis such as would 

 correspond to an average period of Hi- years, and an eccentricity- 

 such as would bring its perihelion within the region in question; the 

 matter of the ring being unequally distributed over its circuit with a 

 minimum and a maximum following by an interval, somewhat less 

 than its semi-circumference, liy assuming certain conditions as to 

 the constitution of such a ring, and the extent of deviation from an 

 exact quantity in the periodic times of its component elements, he 

 finds that not only the shorter period of Hi years in the recurrence 

 of spots first determined, but also the longer one of 56 years insisted 

 upon by Dr. Wolf, and various other changes, are susceptible of expla- 

 nation. 



Chemical Action of Hays proceeding from different Parts of the 

 Surfs Disc. M. Secchi having shown that the heat radiated from the 

 center of the sun is nearly double that from its borders, and that the 

 equatorial regions are somewhat hotter than the polar, and various 

 observers having noticed a great difference in luminosity between the 

 center and the edge of the disc, Mr. H. Et Koscoe now reports to the 

 Royal Society some experiments made by means of photographic paper 

 relative to the chemical action of rays from various parts of the sun's- 

 disc. From the results of one day, it appears that the chemically 

 active rays at the center have from three to five times the intensity 

 of those at the edge. This difference, being greater than the dif- 

 ference in the heat from the same portions, is accounted for by the 

 greater absorption effected by the solar atmosphere on the more refran- 

 gible rays. Is also appeared the chemical brightness of the south 

 polar regions was considerably greater than that of the north polar 

 regions, while about the equator the brightness was between that of 

 the poles. Mr. Iloscoe, in connection with Mr. Baxendell, proposes 

 to carry out, upon the same methods, a series of observations relative 

 to the amount of chemical brightness of the sun's disc, and hopes be- 

 fore long to furnish further details. 



Gold in the Sun. The observers at Kew, England, believe that 

 they have noticed the coincidence of several bright gold lines with 

 corresponding dark lines in the solar spectrum from which the pres- 

 ence of that metal may be inferred in the sun's atmosphere. If con- 

 firmed by further observations, this will be an important addition to 

 our present knowledge. 



Spectrum of Carbon. Coal, charcoal, and the diamond cannot be 

 vaporized by heat when isolated, yet M. Morrin, of Versailles, find- 

 ing the same spectrum produced by the common gas ilame, cyanogen, 

 c.irbonic oxyde, carbonic acid, ascelytene, and the hydrocarbons gen- 

 erally, he concludes this result must be due to the only element com- 

 mon to all these compounds, carbon, and in a state of vapor. It 

 follows that the theory of the candle-flame must be somewhat modified. 

 The base of the Ilame, being blue, is the vapor of carbon preserved 

 from combustion, but kept at a very high temperature by the enve- 

 lop of hydrogen, the more combustible element of the gaseous car- 

 bides from the decomposition of wax, the hydrogen alone uniting 

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