Temperature of the Terrestriai Globe, §c. 57 
Art. Il—Memoir upon the nsec A of gris solid party of 
the Globe, of the Atmosphere, and of those ons of space 
traversed by the Earth; by M. Porsson. Gecadinieated to 
the Academy of Sciences, of Paris, at the Session of that body, 
held on the 30th of January, 1837. 
Translated from the French, for this Journal, by R. W. Hasxivs,* of Buffalo, N. ¥, 
I propose to offer, in this memoir, an epitome of the principal 
results which are found in my work, entitled “ Théorie mathé- 
matique de la Chaleur ;” (1) to add thereto some new remarks, 
and to recapitulate the principles upon which these results are 
founded. 
Near the surface of the globe the temperature, at every point, 
varies with the different hours of the day, and with the different 
days of the year. In considering these variations, Fourier, sup- 
posing the temperature of the surface given, has confined himself 
to deduce from this the temperature of a given depth; thus leav- 
ing unknown the relations that should exist between the exteriour 
and interiour temperatures. 'T’o determine these relations Laplace 
has assumed, for the exteriour temperature, that which is indi- 
cated by a thermometer exposed to the air, in the shade, and 
which depends, in an unknown manner, upon the heat of the air 
in contact with the instrument, upon the radiant heat of the sun, 
and upon that of the atmosphere. I have exhibited this problem 
RENE, 
* To Pror. Siruiman.—Dear Sir: In the number of your Journal for April 
Heat; and of which work the author has given a condensed outline in a paper 
that appears in Comptes Rendus hebdomadaires des Séances de U Académie des 
Sciences, No. for 30th of January last. 
Of the merits of either of these theories I assume not to judge ; but as it nid be 
wi 
of it is devoted pm demonstration, which I ul 
hardly interest the general reader, while those who wish = demonstration will, 
of course, seek it i at lensth, in the author’s work, referre 
‘Respectfully yous, 
Buffalo, Nev. ay 1897. R. W. Haskrys. 
(1) 4to. Paris, Bachelier, 1835. 
Vou. XXXIV.—No. 1. 8 
