24 SCIENCE IN SHORT CUAPTERS. 



disturbances or the solar rotation, the photosphere should 

 present all the appearances due to the movements of a fiery 

 ocean, raging and seething in the maddest conceivable fury 

 of perpetual tempest. If the surface of a river flowing 

 peacefully between its banks is perforated with conical ed- 

 dies whenever it meets with a projecting rock or obstacle, 

 or other agency which disturbs the regularity of its course, 

 what must be the magnitude of the eddies in this ocean of 

 flame and heated gases, when stirred to the lowest depths 

 of its vast profundity by the irregular reeling of the solar 

 nucleus within? Obviously, nothing less than the sun- 

 spots; those mighty maelstroms into which a world might 

 be dropped like a pea into an egg-cup. 



When the photosphere or shell of combining gases is 

 thus ripped open, the telescopic observer looks down the 

 vortex, which, if deep enough, reveals to him the inner 

 regions of dissociated gases and vapors. But these have 

 the opposite property to that which I have shown to belong 

 to flame; they are opaque to their own special radiations, 

 while the flame is transparent to the light of the inner 

 portions of itself. Thus, the dissociated interior of the 

 solar envelope, though absolutely white-hot, will be com- 

 paratively dark (direct experiment has proved that the 

 darkness of the spots is only relative). 



The sides of the vortex funnel will consist of a mixture 

 of dissociated gases, flaming gases, and combined gases, 

 and will thus present various thicknesses of flame, and 

 thereby display the various shades of the penumbra. Space 

 will not permit me here to follow up the details of this 

 subject, as I have done in the original work, where it is 

 shown that if the telescope had not yet been invented, all 

 the telescopic details of spot phenomena might have been 

 described a priori as necessary consequences of the consti- 

 tution I have above ascribed to the sun. 



Not merely the great spot phenomena, but all the minor 

 irregularities of the photosphere follow with similarly de- 

 monstrable necessity. Thus the many interfering solar 

 tides must throw up great waves, literally mountainous in 

 their magnitude, the summits and ridges of which, being 

 raised into higher regions of the absorbing vapordus atnios- 



