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SOLAR CHEMISTRY. 
BY ROBERT HUNT, E.R.S. 
“ HPHE fable of Prometheus is but tbe outshadowing of a 
JL pbilosopbic truth,” was the language used by Lavoisier 
to express his belief in the direct dependence of all organization 
on influences derived from the Sun. Every advance which has 
been made in the examination of this most interesting subject, 
proves that energies originating in that vast globe, determine 
the phenomena of life on this earth, and regulate nearly all the 
conditions of the inorganic world. 
Situated at the enormous distance of upwards of ninety- 
five millions of miles from us is this great orb, having a 
diameter of 882,000 miles, which forms the centre of the solar 
system. Not only is the Earth and each of the other planets 
chained to the Sun by the attractive power of its mass, but 
their motions are determined by its motion, and the physical 
forces which regulate all cosmical phenomena have their source 
within its body. The Sun, figuratively termed “ the fountain of 
Light,” is equally so, of every other Power with which science 
has made us acquainted. An infinite store of creative energies 
is amassed in the solar orb. These are diffused in obedience to 
the Creator’s word, and flow for ever throughout the universe, 
to be absorbed by the planetary spheres, producing alike, the 
crystalline arrangement of rock masses, and the development 
of vital forms. 
“ Man,” says Bacon, “ is but the minister and interpreter of 
nature, and can neither extend his power nor his knowledge 
a ham’s breadth beyond his experience and observation of the 
present order of things.” Entirely acquiescing in this, we 
feel, nevertheless, that we have scarcely yet recognised the vast 
power of the human mind. Guided aright, man can penetrate 
the arcana of space, and dive into the tomb of time. With 
telescopic eye he can reach the worlds remote in space, and 
study the chemistry at work within them, while his microscopic 
vision enables him. to detect the presence of the minutest monad, 
and watch the kindling of life’s faintest spark. Although, as 
we have said, there are more than ninety-five millions of miles 
of space between this Earth and the Sun, the human mind has 
bridged the gulf, analysed the solar matter, and shown how, in 
all probability, the physical forces are developed. To explain 
this as clearly as possible is the purpose of the present paper. 
Since the time when Newton analyzed the solar beam, the 
