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3JIII. A curfory View offome late Difcoverics and Lr.provementt 

 in different Branches cf Science. Extracled chiefly from De 

 LA Metherie's Introduction to the Journal de Phyfique 

 for 1798. 



Mathematics. 



JL H I S fublime part of knowledge, though carried in all 

 appearance to its utmoft extent, ftill continues to make 

 fome progrefs. Lagrange has finifhed a very important 

 work, which he began feveral years ago, entitled, The Theory 

 of the Analytical Funilions, Zsfc. in which he fhews that 

 every thing hitherto called the differential calculus, whe- 

 ther one follows the method of Leibnitz or that of Newton, 

 may be reduced to the ordinary calculation of finite quan- 

 tities. 



Astronomy. Llerfchel, who has paid great attention ta 

 the fpots of the fun, confiders that luminary as fimilar to the 

 planets, and not a flaming body. It contains mountains, 

 fome of which he fuppofes to be 200 leagues in height. Its 

 atmofphere is compofed of different elaftic fluids, fome of 

 which are luminous or phofphoric, and others only tranf- 

 parent. The former make the fun appear like a mafs of 

 light or fire ; but the parts of that atmofphere which are 

 only tranfparent, fuffer his body to be feen. Thefe are the 

 fpots. He believes the fun to be inhabited like the other 

 planets. 



Lalande, on the other hand, thinks that the fun is really 

 a' folid body, but that his furface and part of his mafs are 

 compofed of an incandefcent fluid. This fluid, by any move- 

 ment, leaves uncovered fometimes a portion of the body of 

 the fun or his mountains, and thefe are the fpots. Wilfon 

 confiders the fpots of the fun as eruptions or volcanoes. 



Shroeter has fhown that in Venus there are very high 

 mountains, as is the cafe on the earth and in the moon. 

 The greater part of thefe mountains in Venus, like thofe of 



the 



