SUN, ECLIPSE OF. 



607 



tin- lii't i> ly sliding iron doors; on its opposite 

 it hits pairs of roller-wheels which work 

 '.lo-niils taM.-ih'il to the sidcsof tho ahull. 

 Tin- lift is raised and lowered by a chain of 

 strength, which moves over a pulley at 

 \> ut' tin- .-haft, and is attached to a bal- 

 ance-weight, which also works between guide- 

 rods. Tho balance-weight is a slab of cast-iron, 

 wit h an opening in the centre by which it may 

 be loaded according to the number of pas- 

 sengers in tho lift. Tho lift, which weighs 

 about 15 hundred-weight, is further connected 

 with tho balance- weight by a wire-rope at- 

 tached to the bottoms of the weight and tho 

 lift respectively, and which passes round a 

 pulley at the bottom of the shaft. A brake has 

 In vn invented by tho engineer, which is at- 

 tached to tho roof of the lift, and is applied by 

 a screw worked from the roof on the inside. 

 The desired effect of the application of the 

 brake is to stop the lift in its descent, not in- 

 stantaneously but gradually, and within a few 

 feet. On arrival at the bottom of the shaft, 

 the passengers emerge at each end to a wait- 

 ing-room of about 24 feet long by 10 feet wide, 

 with seats along the sides. From this they 

 pass into the iron omnibus, which runs up close 

 to the inner ends of the waiting-rooms. The 

 first part of the journey from each end of tho 

 subway is down an incline of about 1 in 30 to 

 the middle of the subway. The haulage up 

 the last part of the ascent at each end is by an 

 endless wire rope, worked by the steam-engine 

 on tho Surrey side. The lift is seated for 7 or 

 8, the omnibus for 14 persons. The first-class 

 passengers descend the shafts last, and the 

 omnibus is dispatched immediately on their 

 arrival at the bottom of the shaft. The om- 

 nibus is 5 feet wide inside, and has cushioned 

 seats with stuffed backs ; there is a space of 2 

 feet 2 inches between tho seats, which are 

 placed lengthways along the sides of the ve- 

 hicle. A brake, which the conductor will work 

 with his foot, is fitted at each end of the om- 

 nibus. The gauge of the rails is 2 feet 6 

 inches. 



SUN" (ECLIPSE OF). The American obser- 

 vations of the total solar eclipse of 1869 (see 

 AMERICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA for that year) 

 throw much light on the formerly dark prob- 

 lems of the sun's constitution. The same phe- 

 nomenon, which occurred December 22, 1870, 

 furnished an opportunity to confirm the knowl- 

 edge acquired in tho previous year, and to ex- 

 tend tho boundaries of discovery in the same 

 field of research. The United States Govern- 

 ment, responding to the general desire of the 

 American people, who had been much gratified 

 at the success of the observations in 1869, 

 fitted out an expedition to the scene of totality 

 of the December eclipse (in Spain, Sicily, and 

 Africa), with a liberality of expenditure and 

 care of preparation such as no other govern- 

 ment exhibited in that connection. The prin- 

 cipal astronomers, spectroscopista, and meteor- 

 ologists, in tho service of the United States, 



were detailed for tho agreeable duty. Several 

 <(' tin- leading American colleges also fitted 

 out parties of professors and assistants, at 

 tin-in own expense. The English Government 

 acted tardily in tho matter, but finally aided 

 in sending out expeditions, which were com- 

 posed of some of the most distinguished ob- 

 servers of solar phenomena in Great Britain. 

 Germany, Italy, and other European countries, 

 were also worthily represented on tho occasion. 

 Tho following are synopses of, or extracts 

 from, reports so far as received from the ob- 

 servers of the different nationalities. They 

 corroborate and supplement each other, and 

 only from a comparison of the various state- 

 ments can tho seeker for information gain a 

 clear idea of the net results of the expeditions. 

 Wo condense, or quote, mainly on those por- 

 tions that bear on the controverted questions 

 of the nature of the protuberances, or moun- 

 tains of flames, and the corona the latter 

 being tho special subject of observation and 

 theory. 



Prof. Ilarkness, United States Navy, was 

 stationed at Catania, Sicily. The eclipse com- 

 menced there at 1 l k 35 27.5'; but unfortunate- 

 ly 15 minutes before totality a dense cloud hid 

 the sun. At the moment of total obscuration, 

 l h II 1 , the cloud was sufficiently thin to allow 

 the corona to be seen, but diminished in ex- 

 tent and brilliancy, appearing scarcely more 

 than two-thirds as large as that visible at 

 Des Moines, Iowa, at the eclipse of 1869. The 

 professor reports : 



With an Arago polariscope in hand, the first ten 

 seconds were spent in observing that the sky was 

 polarized all around the corona, while the corona it- 

 Belf showed no trace of polarization. Springing to 

 the spectroscope, I saw a green line of which I found 

 the reading to be about the same with that of 1869. 

 The spectroscope, directed to many different parts of 

 the corona by my friend Captain Tupman, K. M. A., 

 showed the same preen line. During tho last few 

 seconds of the totality, the thin cloud covering the 

 sun became nearly dissipated, and the faint con- 

 tinuous spectrum of the corona became visible. I 

 could not believe that the eclipse had lasted, accord- 

 ing to the chronometer (Negus's, of New York), 115 

 seconds ; it seemed a moment only. I think that 

 our observations, though made at disadvantage by 

 the high wind and the thin cloud, prove beyond all 

 question that the corona does belong to the sun ; that 



by 



the polariscope go to prove that the light from the 

 corona is not polarized. Five minutes after the to- 

 tality was over, the sky became perfectly clear. The 

 last contact was at 2 hours 19 minutes by the chro- 

 nometer, which was, approximately, 1 hour 2 min- 

 utes 45 seconds slow of Syracuse local moon time. 



Prof. Benj. Peirce, Superintendent of the 

 United States Coast Survey, who was one of 

 the Catania party, and had general charge of 

 the American Government expedition, writes: 



But just previous to the instant of total obscuration 

 there was a break in tho olbuds, which was the more 

 remarkable because it was raining and hailing at the 

 time. This break did not extend a thousand feet 

 from the place where we observed. But it gave us a 

 superb view of the corona and the whole totality, and 



