New Outlines of Chemical Philosophy. 35 1 



Now it is evident from common observation, that the sun's rays 

 have the power of iuciea-TJng the teni}5eratiiie of bodies; henee 

 it was suppo'^ed that th.e sun was the fountain of h.eat. But 

 tiiis [lypotiicjis is now found to be erroneous, for tlie sun's rays 

 hiive no heat in tliemseives *, but they possess the power "of 

 acting upon the elements of heat and light, thermogen and 

 photogen, contained in bodies so as to hicrease their tempera- 

 ture. 



When the thermogen and photogen which lie dormant in 

 matter upon the earth's sniface, are acted upon by the sun's 

 rays, those elements attract each other, and as they have a strong 

 attraction for moisture f, a chemical union takes" place between 

 them and the water upon the surface of the earth, and two 

 new gases are formed. Photogen and water form hydrogen gas, 

 vhich ascends to the u])j)er regions of the atmosjihere, far above 

 the altitude to which any balloon can ascend. Hence the rea- 

 son that no hydrogen gas has been found in the atmosphere 

 near the earth's surface. 



The new oxygen gas, formed at the same time by the che- 

 mical union of thermogen and moisture, being much heavier 

 than the other gas, because it contains more moisture, rises to 

 a much less altitude. Hence it follows that all the moisture 

 which is carried olf from the earth's surface is converted into 

 oxygen and hydrogen gases, consequently the atmos])here con- 

 tains a much larger portion of those gases at one time than at 

 another, and therefore its weight is variable, as shown by the 

 barometer. 



VVheii a Lcyden jar is highly charged, the two elements which 

 it contains attract each otiier, and a sjjark is produced with a 

 loud report. In like manner, when the thermogen in the lower 

 regions of the atmosphere attracts the photogen from the up- 

 ])er, the same phajuomena take place, called thunder and light- 

 ning. Tlie only difference between the operations of nature to 

 restore the lost eciuilibrium. and the effects observed in our ex- 

 periments, consists in magnitude jjot in principle. 



Thunder, Lighining, and other Meteors arising from the Com' 

 position and Decomposition of the Air. 



When oxygen and hydrogen gases are mixed together, and a 

 Vnigle electric spark introduced, combustion instantly takes 

 place ; and as the portion of the gases thus mixed together in 

 the atmosphere may exten<l over a circle of some miles in dia- 

 meter, the lightning may be the aggregate of the elements of 

 combustion contained in that space. 



* riiil. Mag. vol. xiii. p. 370. f i'l'''- Wag. vol. xliii. p. 9.51. 



Water 



