78 Scientific Intelligence. 
5. Objections to Siemens’ New Theory of the Sun. —M. Faye 
has made a calculation of the amount of matter which would be 
added to the solar system by Dr. Siemens’ hypothesis. This 
=a would be attracted to the sun and stars and would increase 
their mass. A liter of air Bape the requisite amount of 
aqu son vapor weighs at least 1 gram at ordinary pressure. Ata 
pressure of zgy;9 which is aquired ed by Dr. Siemens, this will 
amount to 0°0005 grams, and a cubic meter ia weigh 0°0005 
kilog nsider the solar system a spbere which 
ill include the planets as far as Neptune, ‘tie weight of the 
ex ely rarefied matter added to the solar system would be in 
kilograms, Hy ppt sisted es Baby 00065 kilog.; the weight 
of the sun is $2(64000000)* x 5°6 x 324000 kilog. The first 18 
100,000 sins as great as the second. And this amount of matter 
would be added to the solar system.— Comptes Rendus, Oct. 9, 
1882, p. 612. 
M. G, A, Hten presents two objections to Siemens’ new theory 
of the sun. The first is based upon dissociation effects produced 
by the great heat of the sun. It is perhaps true as Siemens asserts 
that the compounds which are ees under his hypothesis 
by the effect of the sun in space, in return ward a center of 
force like the sun can recombine om baie tie athe energy to t the 
sun, but these elements reformed at a certain distance, 1 in falling 
to the center of the sun, would be dissociated again a 
use up the heat they gave off in becoming compounds again, and 
therefore no gain would be made by the cycle of operations. The 
second objection urged i is the following: If the solar radiation or 
the radiation of a star is employed in this work of chemical disso- 
ciation of the hypothetical matter disseminated through space, 
the intensity of the light of the star should suffer, and their light 
should diminish much more rapidly than the law of inverse squares 
-of the distances. Hirn also gives a numerical calculation to sup- 
port aye’s objections to pata hypothesis.— Comptes Ren- 
dus, Noy. 6, 1882, pp. 812-81 J. T. 
6. Compar arative sisarsitions upon telluric and atmospheric 
lines of the spectrum, for the study of absorption of the atmos- 
Aere—The atmospheric lines in the solar spectrum afford a 
means, according to Cour u, of obtaining the absorption of the 
of the sun, the relation ——~ — 
or — = oe i results. Certain groups of 
telluric pa can be pe mien, Behe are ore in Cornu’s paper. 
mptes Rendus, Nov 2, pp. 801-806. 
pee eae had arevioadiy” called attention to a method analo- 
gous ae that proposed, by Cornu, in which the study of the 
tru a was conducted by means of a tube 
which “a filled with this vapor, and a comparison was made with 
