EA DORE 
601 
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1902. 
THE END OF THE WORLD. 
Der Untergang der Erde und die kosmischen Katas- 
trophen. Von Dr. M. W. Meyer. Pop. vili + 38) 
(Berlin: Allgemeiner Verein fiir deutsche Litteratur, 
1902.) 
ae various times and by authorities of very varied 
reputation, but at tolerably frequent intervals, we 
are invited to consider the problems that are connected 
with the origin or the decay of the cosmos. It is doubtful 
in which category the present volume should be placed ; 
the author, indeed, writes decay on his cover, but his 
pages have more to do with formation and development. 
The main thought running through the book is to declare 
the existence of a cycle of events, which may be accom- 
panied with catastrophes of greater or less severity, but 
tending always to recovery and restoration. Thisis no new 
thought, and until some epoch-making discovery such as 
that of the spectroscope or the principle of the conserva - 
tion of force widens and directs the issues of scientific 
investigation, it is difficult to understand how anything 
new can be written on the cosmogony as a whole. Dr. 
Meyer presumably thinks differently, and, with the pen 
of a ready writer, he is willing to rearrange, in a very 
pleasant manner, the few facts that have been collected, 
and to repeat the views of the original thinkers and 
workers on this fascinating subject. Occasionally, Dr. 
Meyer wanders slightly from recognised lines, and is 
then, as we think, neither so accurate nor so interesting 
as when he keeps on the well-trodden paths that his pre - 
decessors have followed. If, however, this rearrangement 
had been nicely managed, we could have forgiven 
the author much. If he had unfolded before us a 
panoramic view, in which the development of the cosmos 
could be traced continuously and uniformly, or had 
pictured for us the gradual cessation of the phenomena 
with which we are familiar, we could have welcomed his 
book as a contribution to popular scientific literature. 
But in this respect we do not think Dr. Meyer has done 
himself justice. The successive chapters of his book 
have too much resemblance to articles in a popular 
magazine, and may possibly have done duty in that 
capacity. Each chapter may read pleasantly enough, but 
the author has not nicely welded his material and dove- 
tailed his story together. As evidence of the traces of 
magazine writing, we may quote the following passage 
(p. 201) :— 
“  . . brennt nicht die Wohnstatten der Manner nieder, 
die fiir die Freiheit ihres Landes kampfen, das sie mit 
schwieliger Hand der Wildnis abgetrotzt haben, drangt 
anderen nicht euer Christentum auf, bevor ihr es nicht 
iibt an euren eigenen Briidern. .. .” 
Such interpolations have very little to do with the out- 
burst of the new star in Perseus, in the description of 
which this occurs, but the passage is reminiscent of a 
style which we will hope has passed. It certainly would 
have been in better taste to have omitted it from a scien- 
tific treatise. 
It is a little uncertain how far we may regard this 
book as the reflection of German thought and the ex- 
NO. 1720, VOL. 66] 
pression of views currently held in astronomical circles 
in that country. Dr. Meyer has, however, filled positions 
of some scientific importance, and may to that extent be 
regarded as an authority. It should therefore have some 
interest to compare in detail the views he holds on the 
construction of the universe with those that obtain in 
this country, more especially on points which we are 
inclined to regard as having passed beyond controversy 
and to be generally accepted. Obviously, however, only 
a few such points can be selected, and the history of the 
moon is the most conspicuous instance, because it has 
been made the subject of an elaborate inquiry, in which 
it has been shown that the obliquity of the ecliptic, the 
eccentricity and inclination of the lunar orbit, the period 
of revolution of the moon and the rotation of the earth 
are coordinated together on the hypothesis that the moon 
originally existed near the present surface of the earth, 
and with small differential motion with respect to it. 
Further, that the discussion of the moment of momentum 
amongst the several planetary systems shows that the 
condition, obtaining on the terrestrial, differs widely 
from that of other planets, pointing to the necessity of 
unique treatment. But the references to Prof. G. H. 
Darwin’s work are so scanty that we should doubt if Dr. 
Meyer has read it, or whether any popular account of the 
investigation exists in Germany. 
To explain the origin of the planets and satellites, the 
author starts with a collision, and finds the materials for 
the construction of a new universe in the débris of pre- 
viously existing, but now shattered, suns. This material 
will consist of gas, molten particles of every conceivable 
size, and solid fragments. These particles, in the form 
of dust, meteors, even gleaming suns, are originally 
gifted with rectilinear motion, but by a process the author 
does not fully explain, this motion is converted into spiral 
movement and finally becomes elliptic, characterised by 
considerable eccentricity, which diminishes with time until 
an approximately circular form is reached. At least, this 
process is followed by the more solid portions which 
are destined to become suns and planets ; some portions 
have their velocities increased by collision, and are 
carried away to form wandering suns. The actual 
formation of a sun or planet by the process of con- 
glomeration—a feature common to all cosmogonies—is 
very difficult of explanation, and the author can follow 
what train of reasoning he pleases without much fear of 
hostile criticism, though the necessity of passing through 
the stage of a double nebula is not very apparent. 
With his centres of condensation and space charged 
with dust and meteors, Dr. Meyer apparently follows the 
suggestions of the late M. Faye, and assumes that many 
meteors moving in eccentric orbits strike against the 
nucleus and are absorbed by it, maintaining an elevated 
temperature in the central body by impact. Our moon 
and the satellites of other planets seem to have come 
into being simultaneously with the primaries, being 
formed from secondary rings, the separate existence and 
stability of which are not explained. But as condensation 
proceeds on the secondary rings, the bodies so formed 
necessarily cool more quickly than the larger planetary 
masses, and the precipitated meteoric matter, which is 
absorbed by the glowing and fluid planets without any 
difficulty, leaves holes in the thin crust of the satellite, 
(ee 
