436 The Fuel of the .§un. [October, 



This may appear a strong conclusion just now, but a few 

 years will be sufficient to graft it firmly into the growth of 

 scientific public opinion. 



" The Fuel of the Sun " is simply an attempt to trace 

 some of the consequences which must of necessity result 

 from the existence of an universal atmosphere, and it differs 

 from other attempts to explain the great solar mystery, by 

 making no demands whatever upon the imagination, in- 

 venting nothing, — no outside meteors, no new forces or mate- 

 rials. It supposes nothing whatever to exist but the known 

 facts of the laboratory — the familiar materials of the earth 

 and its atmosphere. It is shown that these materials and 

 the forces residing within them must of necessity produce a 

 sun, and manifest eternally all the observed solar phe- 

 nomena, provided only they are aggregated in the quantities 

 which our own central luminary presents, and are sur- 

 rounded by attendant planets such as his. Nothing is 

 assumed or taken for granted beyond the simple funda- 

 mental hypothesis that the laws of nature are uniform 

 throughout the universe. The argument thus conducted 

 leads us step by step to a natural, necessary, and connected 

 explanation of the following important phenomena : — 



1. The sources of solar and stellar heat and light. 



2. The means by which the present amount of solar heat 



and light must be maintained so long as the solar 

 system continues in existence. 



3. The origin of the general and particular phenomena of 



the sun-spots. 



4. The cause of the varying splendour of the photosphere, 



including such details as the "faculse," "mottling," 

 "granulations," &c, '&c. 



5. The forces which upheave the solar prominences. 



6. The origin of the corona and zodiacal light. 



7. The origin of the meteorites and the asteroids. 



8. The meteorological phenomena of the planets. 



9. The origin of the rings of Saturn. 



10. The origin of the special structure of -the nebulae. 



11. The source of terrestrial magnetism, and its connection 



with solar activity. 

 The first and second chapters are devoted to an examina- 

 tion of the limits of atmospheric expansibility. The experi- 

 mental investigations of Dr. Andrews, Mr. Grove, Mr. 

 Gassiot, and M. Geissler are cited to prove that the expansi- 

 bility of the atmosphere is unlimited, and other cosmical 

 evidence is adduced in support of this conclusion. 



