312 Miscellcrwotix lnt>i]'t<j< »<■> . 



Prof. Langley, of Pittsburg, has shown, by means 

 neter, that the solar actinic rays arc absorbed chiefly 



solar instead of in the terrestrial atmosphere, ar 

 ney has found, by his new photometric method, that 

 i due to hydrocarbons takes place somewhere bet\s 



solar and terrestrial at uiosphere ; in order to test this interesting 

 result still furl her, he has lately taken his apparatus to the top of 

 the Riffel with a view of diminishing thr amount of terrestrial 

 it [1 air between it and the sun, and intends to bring a 



paper on this subject before Section A. Stellar space filled with 

 such matter as hydrocarbon and aqueous vapor would establish 



between the innumerable solar systems of which the universe is 



The address of Lord Rayleigh, before the Mathematical and 



methods necessary for the best progress. With regard to the two 

 schools of physici>ts. the mathematical and experimental, he well 

 observes: "The tendency of the purely experimental school is to 

 rely almo-t exclusively 'upon direct evidence, even when it is 

 obviously imperfect, and to disregard arguments which they 

 stigmatise as theoretical. The tendency of the mathematician is 

 to overrate the solidity of his theoretical structures, and to forget 

 the narrowness of the experimental foundation upon which many 

 of them rest." 



I'rofe^or G. 1). Li vkin.;, President of the Chemical section, 



physics." In his introduction of the s 





" But how far can we say that mech; 







Nil! ■ 







text-books, even the most recent am 



I'th. 



show the predominance of this idea! 



ft 



of such books is taken up with it; 1 





same plac< 



