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THE POETRY OF SCIENCE;
THE POETRY OF SCIENCE;
OR, STUDIES OF THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF NATURE. BY ROBERT HUNT, AUTHOR OF “RESEARCHES ON LIGHT;” “ELEMENTARY PHYSICS;” “PANTHEA, OR THE SPIRIT OF NATURE,” ETC. PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS, METROPOLITAN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, ETC., ETC. THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. MDCCCLIV. PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS, METROPOLITAN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, ETC., ETC. THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. MDCCCLIV. From Shakespe
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
Man, a creation endued with mighty faculties, but a mystery to himself, stands in the midst of a wonderful world, and an infinite variety of phenomena arise around him in strange form and magical disposition, like the phantasma of a restless night. The solid rock obeys a power which brings its congeries of atoms into a thousand shapes, each one geometrically perfect. Its vegetable covering, in obedience to some external excitation, developes itself in a curious diversity of forms, from the exqui
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
We have, then, this certain truth,—all things visible around us are but aggregations of atoms. From particles of dust, which under the microscope could scarcely be distinguished one from the other, are all the varied forms of nature created. This grain of dust, this particle of sand, has strange properties and powers. Science has discovered some truths, but still more are hidden within this irregular molecule of matter which we now survey, than have yet been shadowed in the dreams of our philoso
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
Motion depends upon certain external disturbing and directing forces acting upon all matter; and, consequently, as every mode of action is determined by some excitement external to the body moved, motion cannot, philosophically, be regarded otherwise than as a peculiar affection of matter under determinable conditions. “We find,” says Sir Isaac Newton, “but little motion in the world, except what plainly flows from either the active principles of nature, or from the command of the willer.” [5] P
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
Amid the remoter stars, some remarkable cloud-like appearances are discovered. These nebulæ, presenting to the eye of the observer only a gleaming light, as from some phosphorescent vapour, were long regarded as indications of such a condition as that which we have just been considering. Astronomers saw, in those mysterious nebulæ, a confirmation of their views, which regarded all the orbs of the firmament as having once been thin sheets of vapour, which had gradually, from irregular bodies trav
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
In the inorganic world, where the great phenomena of life are wanting, we have constantly exhibited the working of powers of a strangely complicated kind. The symmetrical arrangement of crystals—the diversified characters of mineral formations—the systematic aggregations of particles to form masses possessing properties of a peculiar and striking nature—all prove, that agencies, which science, with all its refinements, has not yet detected, are unceasingly at work. Heat, electricity, chemical po
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
The same substances always crystallize in the same forms, unless the conditions of the crystallizing body are altered. It has been supposed that each particle of a crystalline mass has certain points or poles which possess definite properties, and that cohesion takes place only along lines which have some relation to the attracting or repelling powers of these poles. We shall have, eventually, to consider results which appear to prove that magnetism is universal in its influence, and that this p
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
It will be shown that according to the physical condition of the material substances, so are their powers regulated of absorbing and retaining the heat which falls as a radiant power upon their surfaces. Heat rays, in passing through the attenuated medium of planetary space, lose none of their power—this we know from the fact that even the less dense upper region of the earth’s atmosphere takes from the solar rays but an exceedingly small quantity of heat. Therefore, whether a solar heat ray tra
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
Huyghens, on the contrary, supposes light to be caused by the waves or vibrations of an infinitely elastic medium— Ether —diffused through all space, which waves are propagated in every direction from the luminous body. In the first theory, a luminous particle is supposed actually to come from the sun to the earth; in the other, the sun only occasions a disturbance of the ether , which extends with great rapidity, in the same manner as a wave spreads itself over the surface of a lake. Nearly all
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
The first fact recorded upon this, point was, that horn silver blackened when exposed to the light. Without doubt many anxious thoughts were given by these alchemists to that fact. Here was, as it appeared, a mixing up of light and matter, and behold the striking change! It was a step towards the realization of their dreams. Alas! poor visionaries! in pursuing an ideality they lost the reality which was within their grasp. Truths come slowly upon man, and long it is before these angel visits are
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
Diffused throughout matter, electricity is ever active; but it must be remembered that although it is evidently a necessary agent in all the operations of nature, that it is not the agent to which everything unknown is to be referred. Doubtless the influence of this force is more extensive than we have yet discovered; but that is an indolent philosophy which refers, without examination, every mysterious phenomenon to the influence of electricity. The question, what is electricity? has ever perpl
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Again we find Pliny employing the term magnetic , to express this singular power. It was known to the ancients that the magnetic power of iron, and the electric property of amber, were not of the same character, but they were both alike regarded as miraculous. The Chinese and Arabians seem to have known Magnetism at a period long before that at which Europeans became acquainted with either the natural loadstone or the artificial magnet. Previously to a.d. 121, the magnet is distinctly mentioned
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
We have already spoken of the atomic constitution of bodies. It remains now to explain the simplicity and beauty which mark every variety of combination under chemical force. As a prominent and striking example, water is a compound of two gaseous bodies, oxygen and hydrogen:— If we decompose water by means of galvanic elec tricity, or determine its composition by direct chemical analysis, we shall find it consists of two volumes of hydrogen gas, united to one volume of oxygen, or, by weight, of
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
If, instead of combining oxygen and hydrogen in the proportions in which they form water, we compel the hydrogen to combine with an additional equivalent of oxygen, we have a compound possessing many properties strikingly different from water. This—peroxide of hydrogen, as it is called—is a colourless liquid, less volatile than water, having a metallic taste. It is decomposed at a low temperature, and, at the boiling point, the oxygen escapes from it with such violence, that something like an ex
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
There are few branches of science which admit of speculation to the extent to which we find it carried in geology. The consequences of this are shown in the popular character of the science. A few observations are made over a limited area, and certain structural conditions are ascertained, and at once the mind, “fancy free,” penetrates the profound depths of the earth, and imagination, having “ample room and verge enough,” creates causes by which every effect is to be interpreted. Such students,
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
But it was something more. He, perhaps, attended not to the eloquent teaching of its pure, pale leaves: he might not have been conscious of the mysterious singing of that lowly flower: he might, perchance, have crushed it beneath his rude foot rather than quaff the draught of wisdom which it secreted in its cell; but the flower still ministered to that mere sensualist, and in its strange, tongueless manner, reproved his passions, and kept him “a wiser and a better man,“ than if it had pleased Go
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Founded upon these facts, speculations have been put forth on the gradual development of animals from the lowest up to the highest orders. Between the polype and man a continuous series has been imagined, every link of the chain being traced into connection with the one immediately succeeding it; and, through all the divisions, zoophytes, fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds, and mammalia are seen, according to this hypothesis, to be derived by gradual advancement from the preceding orders. The fir
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
We have an example, and a striking one, of the variations which may be produced in all the physical conditions of a world, in those disturbances of Uranus which led to the discovery of Neptune. For thirty years or more certain perturbations were observed in this distant planet, the discovery of Sir William Herschel, and calculation pointed to some still more remote mass of matter as the cause, which has been verified by its actual discovery. But now Uranus is at rest;—quietly that star progresse
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BOHN’S STANDARD LIBRARY.
BOHN’S STANDARD LIBRARY.
Uniform with the Standard Library , price 3s. 6d. ,...
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BOHN’S EXTRA VOLUMES.
BOHN’S EXTRA VOLUMES.
Uniform with the Standard Library , price 5s. ( excepting “Cosmos,” which is only 3s. 6d., and Mantell’s “Petrifactions,” which is 6s. ),...
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UNIFORM WITH THE STANDARD LIBRARY,
UNIFORM WITH THE STANDARD LIBRARY,
Also, uniform with the Standard Library , price 5 s. ,...
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BOHN’S SHILLING SERIES.
BOHN’S SHILLING SERIES.
Those marked *, being Double Volumes, are 1 s. 6 d. Also, uniform with the Standard Library , 5 s. ( except Thucydides, Æschylus, Virgil, Horace, and Cicero’s Offices, which are 3 s. 6 d. each ),...
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BOHN’S CLASSICAL LIBRARY.
BOHN’S CLASSICAL LIBRARY.
A Series of Literal Prose Translations of the Greek and Latin Classics, with notes. Also, uniform with the Standard Library , at 5 s. per volume ,...
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BOHN’S ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY.
BOHN’S ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY.
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BOHN’S MINIATURE LIBRARY.
BOHN’S MINIATURE LIBRARY.
Foolscap 12mo. elegantly bound in morocco cloth. Archaic, obsolete, unusual and inconsistent spellings have been maintained as in the original book. Obvious errors have been fixed as detailed below. Changes are indicated below and in the text with a mouse-over like this . The cover was developed at pgdp.net and is in the public domain. Some entries in the index were out of alphabetical order in the original book. They have been moved without noting them in the details below. The totals in the va
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