566 NATURE [March 31, 1870 
Taswe I. PHYSICS 
Corp AREA. Mechanical Theory of Heat 
WE translate the following passages from a paper by Dr. Meyer, 
5 87. ; 1 1 A r.52| 0 ‘ 1 
Bais | Shae fete: eee ses Seely alco eee lop Fieloronaee 
s eos 2 5| =| Beglies 8 Ry is AE) eae It has been inferred from the meteorite theory, which supposes 
a ae “(ag eg g5o 23] 8 | A jas as the sun to derive its heat from the impact of planeto-kosmic 
n pec (OS masses, that the entire machine of creation must eventually come 
. Soe | fess] ie q fths.| ° J to a standstill. I gladly seize the opportunity which now offers 
; ; ©) 49°7 | 52°2 y : itself, to state that I do not share this yiew. The doctrine ofthe _ 
aa ue |] 5°] 455} 48% Bs S ae re development of heat by the collision of spatially separate 
| roo] 45°0 | 47°3 | 68 | 75| 52's | 44’0 | masses, has but just arisen, has therefore advanced but little, and 
53'0 | 48°6 6x |114| 50°4| 45° | cannot yet serve as an appropriate foundation for so compre- 
Meera ey pent Se ee Bae 49.6 ihe hensive a consequence. I will briefly state what may be said, 
eae AB De) PREIeh eee ae 22 ne from my own point of view, as to the ‘stability of the universe. 
|200] 396] 456 Its final cessation will occur, when all the ponderable matter it 
52°5 | 47°7 : contains is combined in a single mass; whereupon, as we may 7 
250| 34°3 | 38°4 
readily perceive, the whole of its existing ws viva would be 
63 |317| 490 | 30:3 | uniformly distributed in the form of heat throughaut the mass, 
65 |345| 52.0 | 20.9 | which would thus attain an eternal equilibrium, 
act |Rcelly wate eseeul recto Ves 5 ae ee aa But how could such a combination happen ? ive years have 
FON azaleas ollasionl | seal teweall aanie passed since Brayley, of London (and Reuschle just recently in 
4oo| 46'x goo] 3170} .. | 861445] 53°6| 30° | a number of the German quarterly journal), stated, that if z 
fe 445) 53:2 45°6 450] 306 | .. Alice lise eek masses of the magnitude of our sun, or only half as great, were 
a ape 33 é fon oe ae ce to come into collision, so enormous would be the effect, that all 
500] 45°r | } soo] 301] .. | x. |s00] 5r0| 308 | cohesion would be at an end, and the molecules would fly off into 
| VI. | 530] 52°5 | 44°8 58 |540| 51’5 | 30°8 | infinite space. Now we have every reason to suppose that, in 
| 47 ee ae ie Bel ae vat ae Be 2 the ceaseless course of time, and in an unlimited expanse, this 
5 3 i ee $80| 52:7 | 29°7 | kind of destruction or partial ruin of worlds has taken place, and 
600] 43°0 600} 29°99] .. is actually in progress. We havea striking proof of it in the 
jX¥il) 620) 520 | 43°5 55 |605| 52°6 | 29°8 | obseryation of meteorites with a hyperbolic path. On this point 
REE SENS BEA | a 57 |632| 520) 3°°5 | J would refer to the important memoir of Prof. Heis, of Miinster, 
700 ere . “The large fire-ball which was seen on the evening of March 4, 
_ | 88 | 705] 53°5 | 42°7 1863, in Holland, Germany, Belgium, and England (Halle, 
ZSTANTADAS 1863).” The true heliocentric motion of this meteorite amounted 
to 9.145 geographical miles per second, A body lying between 
TABLE II. the earth’s orbit and the sun, and owing its motion solely to the 
attraction of the latter, cannot have a greater rate than 5°S 
Sertat SounpINnGs | Bottom Sounnines. | geographical miles ; so that the fire-ball above referred to must 
ea On aaselon melas Sipaaeae 4 have entered the sphere of attraction of, our sun with an initial 
Ss Slee 8) Sg RlFe sola] BS 8g g 8 velocity of 7 geographical miles per second. Now, whence could 
PsulPbe/ESu/Se/e5 e\|s| 8 |§e5/3e4 | it have derived such a motion? ; $ : 
A BS 8 ale wa) oa)! & A lag ae In order to throw light on this question, we might imagine a 
Lei — peculiar progressive movement of the whole solar system in 
fths.|  ° : a 2 8 : faths.| ° ; space, or have recourse to a movement round a so-called central 
e| 57°3 569 | 548) 555 | 562] 64'0 realleras sun. But we cannot suppose any such accumulation exists 
Sala 27 3 Bo pe sufficiently large to confer an appreciable velocity on our sun at 
|"6| go] 5470 | so'0 the distance of the fixed stars. Moreover, if our earth possessed 
Pay |35| 96] ©3°4 | 5t’3 | a distant motion towards space in addition to its centripetal 
gS ie Le oe ie af ae jos | motion towards the cun, the light which reaches it from the fixed 
150 50°9 !7| x59] 532 | soy | Stars would present phenomena of aberration different from those 
'14| 173] 532] 496 | actually observed. Were this proved, meteors with a hyperbolic 
eles ea hea = 183 2a aoe path would be so many fiery couriers, living witnesses of a conilict 
zsc| .. | so2| 48's | 480 | 48:5 | 48:3 | so's || 4| 252| 53°s | 49s | SOmewhere and sometime happening in strength sufficient to 
300] 478 | 496 explode and scatter the molecules in every direction, If wealso _ 
350] +. | 497 | 2) 37°} 540] 49'°0 | consider that the radiating power of the sun’s body, as of all the 
Bee be she ra 15| 422| 522 | 470 | fixed stars, is connected with the consumption of collided masses, 
Aer) ell) Aa 145] 458| 60°7 | 481 | yet that consumption has not therefore ceased, since through- 
500] 45°8 | 47°4 | 46'7 | 46°7 | 46'9 | 47's | 47°8 f out the disturbance, large masses of debris continually reach 
Seana eee 40] 517] 6341 477 | our world. : : , Ne 
Seal petra les 4x] 584] 63°4 | 46:5 All the phenomena of terrestrial motion, except volcanic action 
630] 43°4 and the ebb and flow of the tides, are eventually derived from | 
G50] «. | 44°3 the sun. One of these, which we are about to consider more . 
700). 436 |I2| 670} 52°2 | 42°6 
particularly, is an electric current on the surface of the earth, 
36| 725| 63°99 | 439 | That it actually exists is evident from the direction of the magnetic 
750) 42°5 | 42°0 | 41°2 | 41'6 | 4274] 4r°3 needle, as also from the immediate observations of Lamont. But 
800]. 42'0 Piltacal eee very as there can be no action without corresponding cause, it follows 
Haat one Wena '16| 816] 53:0 | 39's | that this remarkable expenditure of electric effort must be attended 
goo} ° 44| 865] 6r°2 | 394 | with as large a compensation. We have, then, to consider our 
000]. +» | 38°8 | 38'5 | 38°8 | 38°5 | 38°3 || : earth as being, in this respect, a huge and permanently efficient 
Seely e Ae el entt /43|7207| 67 | 377 | electric machine. I do not here refer to the local phenomenon 
al 5 128|aors| 57-7 | 37°x | of thunderstorms. 
37°7 | 37°9 | 37°7 || 17| 1230] 53°2 | 37'8 For a constant source of the constant disturbance of electrical 
. 29/1264) 599 | 369 | equilibrium in the earth’s body, we can only have recourse to the 
SH unceasing flow of air between the tropics, known under the name 
370 321320] 55°9 | 37°4 | of the trade-winds. The lowest layer of the trade-wind assumes, 
4 30/1380] 56° | 37° | by friction on the surface of the sea, an opposite electrical condi- 
See) e ie ie s 369 aye tion. This air, however, heated by the sun, and dislodged by 
1750] .. ae aes Fi be - | 367 {I the colder current setting beneath it, rises and directs its course to 
e298te og pois as +» | 363 | 37/2435! 65°6 | 36'5 | the poles, where its high electric tension originates the beautiful 
