1894-] VEEDER — SOLAR ELECTRICAL ENERGY. 249 



extending indefinitely in every direction from the point of origin of 

 the sound. The resultant motions are in straight lines radiating from 

 that point so long as the conducting medium remains homogeneous, 

 the law of inertia not permitting any deviation from such direction 

 in the case of bodies moving under its control exclusively. If how- 

 ever the continuity of the conducting medium be interrupted, secon- 

 dary phenomena such as reflection, refraction or absorption may occur 

 at the point of interruption. In order to the conveyance of heat and 

 light in a manner altogether similar to that of sound it is only neces- 

 sary to presuppose the existence of a medium more subtle and elastic 

 than air, such as the ether is supposed to be. In this way the chief 

 peculiarities in the behavior of heat and light radiations may be satis- 

 factorily accounted for, but not the peculiarities which attend the 

 conveyance from sun to earth of the impulses which originate mag- 

 netic storms. 



It is true that light rays may have electrical effects, as for 

 example when they come in contact with selenium. This signifies 

 nothing more than that ether pulsations may produce a certain 

 amount of superficial atomic readjustment such as appears in photog- 

 raphy. If on the other hand chemical or electrical action in their 

 turn originate light rays, these have no power to transmit the very 

 force on which their origin depends. Were it otherwise, an electric 

 light would be a deadly thing. If the power of the current traversing 

 the carbons were conveyed by radiation to surrounding objects, it 

 would cause serious inconvenience if not death to any individual so 

 unfortunate as to be exposed to its rays. As a matter of fact, how- 

 ever, there is no reception or dispersion of electric force by radiation, 

 certain small vibratory motions of the ether only being conveyed by 

 this means which produce certain electrical effects rnechanically, which 

 are wholly insignificant as compared with the force of the dynamo 

 traversing the conducting wire. 



Such electrical effects as attend light rays persist uniformly and 

 continuously so long as exposure to the source from which they eman- 

 ate continues. I'hus selenium has increased electrical conductivity in 

 sun light which disappears in a darkened room just as photography 

 ceases in like manner. INIagnetic storms on the other hand are 

 strongest on the darkened side of the earth, and instead of proceeding 

 evenly and uniformly are characterized by large and fitful variations 

 from hour to hour and moment to moment. In short there is no cor- 



17, Proc. Roch. Acad. Sci., Vol. 2, July, 1894. 



