202 PROF. O. REYNOLDS ON AN ELECTRICAL CORONA 



Thus a comet as it left the sun would arrive at a point 

 where it had no tail, and afterwards would commence a 

 tail towards the sun. This tail would not make much 

 show on the comet's departure ; for the evaporation con- 

 tinues to a much greater distance from the sun on the 

 departure than that at which it commenced; but if the 

 comet returned it would make its first appearance with 

 a tail towards the sun, which, as the evaporation in- 

 creased and the comet enlarged, would soon take the 

 opposite direction. 



There seem to have been some instances where comets 

 have been first seen with a tail towards the sun, which 

 they have afterwards changed ; indeed this is said to be 

 the case with Encke's comet, now visible ; so that this is 

 another instance of the remarkable way in which the actual 

 phenomena agree with those which would result from the 

 assumptions in the electrical hypothesis. 



XXIV. On an Electrical Corona resembling the Solar 

 Corona. By Professor Osborne Reynolds, M.A. 



Eead February 20th, 1872. 



The object of this paper is to point out a very remarkable 

 resemblance between a certain electrical phenomenon 

 (which may have been produced before, although I am 

 not aware that it has) and the solar corona. This resem- 

 blance seems to me to be of great importance; for the 

 striking features of these two corona? are not possessed by 

 any other halos, corona?, or glories with which bright 

 objects arc seen to be surrounded. 



