Popular Scientific Recreations - free ebook by Gaston Tissandier

POPULAR SCIENTIFIC RECREATIONS IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, ASTRONOMY, GEOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, ETC., ETC., ETC.

Translated and Enlarged from “Les Récréations Scientifiques” OF GASTON TISSANDIER. ( Editor of “La Nature.” ) PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. London: WARD, LOCK, AND CO., WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E.C. NEW YORK: 10, BOND STREET....

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PREFACE.

A learned mathematician of the seventeenth century, Ozanam by name, a member of the Academy of Sciences and author of several distinguished works, did not think it derogatory to his dignity to write, under the title of “Mathematical and Physical Recreations,” a book designed for the amusement of youth, in which science lends itself to every pastime, even jugglery and tricks of legerdemain. “ Jeux d’esprit ” says Ozanam, “are for all seasons and all ages; they instruct the young, they amuse the o

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CHAPTER I.—INTRODUCTORY.

SCIENCE AND RECREATION—THE BOOK OF NATURE—THE SENSES—NATURAL HISTORY—NATURAL PHILOSOPHY—MATTER—OBJECTS—PROPERTIES OF MATTER. It may at the first glance appear paradoxical to combine Science and Recreation, but we hope to show that true scientific recreation is anything but the dry bones of learning. To those who study science with us, we will point out first how easy and pleasant it is to watch the sky and the plants and Nature generally in the open air. Then we will carry our readers along with

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CHAPTER II.

SCIENCE IN THE OPEN AIR—APHIDES—EVAPORATION BY LEAVES—AN AQUARIUM—THE CATALEPTIC FOWL—NEEDLE POINTS AND THORNS—MICROSCOPIC AQUARIUM—CAPE GRISNEZ—CRYSTALS—ICE ON THE GAS LAMPS. Some years ago we were staying in Normandy, not far from the town of C——, enjoying, in the midst of most cordial hospitality, the peacefulness of country life; and my kind hosts, with me, took great pleasure in having what we called “a course of science in the open air.” The recollections of that time are some of the pleas

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CHAPTER III.

PHYSICS—THE MEANING OF PHYSICS—FORCES OF NATURE—GRAVITY—COHESION—CHEMICAL ATTRACTION—CENTRE OF GRAVITY—EXPERIMENTS—AUTOMATON TUMBLERS. Having now introduced our readers to Science which they can find for themselves in the open air, and the pursuit of which will both instruct and amuse, we will proceed to investigate the Branch of Science called Physics . Physics may be briefly described as the Branch of Natural Science which treats of such phenomena as are unaccompanied by any important changes

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CHAPTER IV.

SOME PROPERTIES OF SOLID BODIES—INERTIA—MOTION—FRICTION—THE PENDULUM—EQUILIBRIUM. Those who have followed us through the preceding pages have now, we hope, some ideas upon Gravity and the Forces of Nature. In speaking of Forces we said “Force was a cause of Motion.” Let us now consider Inertia, and Motion with its accompanying opponent, Friction. Inertia is the passiveness of Matter. This perfect indifference to either rest or motion makes the great distinction between living and lifeless matter

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CHAPTER V.

GASES AND LIQUIDS—PRESSURE OF THE AIR—EXPERIMENTS. We have more than once referred to the pressure of the air which exerts a great influence upon bodies in motion, but a few experiments will make this more obvious, and clearly demonstrate the fact. We have also told you some of the properties of Solids, such as Weight, Inertia, Friction, and Resistance, or Strength. Solids also, as we have seen, occupy space, and cannot be readily compressed, nor bent to other shapes. Now the subject of the Pres

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CHAPTER VI.

ABOUT WATER—HYDROSTATICS AND HYDRAULICS—LAW OF ARCHIMEDES—THE BRAMAH PRESS—THE SYPHON. At present we will pass from Air to Water, from Pneumatics to Hydrostatics and Hydraulics. We must remember that Hydrostatics and Hydraulics are very different. The former treats of the weight and pressure of liquids when they are at rest, the latter treats of them in motion. We will now speak of the properties of Liquids, of which Water may be taken as the most familiar example. We have already seen that Matt

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CHAPTER VII.

HEAT—WHAT IT IS—THEORY OF HEAT—THE THERMOMETER—EXPANSION BY HEAT—EBULLITION AND DISTILLATION—LATENT HEAT—SPECIFIC HEAT. What is Heat?—We will consider this question, and endeavour to explain it before we speak of its effects on water and other matter. Heat is now believed to be the effects of the rapid motion of all the particles of a body. It is quite certain that a heated body is no heavier than the same body before it was made “hot,” so the heat could not have gone into it, nor does the “heat

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CHAPTER VIII.

SPECIFIC HEAT—FUSION—LATENT HEAT—CONDUCTION AND CONVECTION OF HEAT—CALORESCENCE. We have considered the effects of heat upon water, and touched upon one or two kindred experiments. But we have some other subjects to discuss, two in particular; viz., Specific Heat , and Latent Heat . The specific heat of any substance is “the number of units of heat required to raise one pound of such substance one degree.” We can explain this farther. When heat is communicated to a body it has two or three funct

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CHAPTER IX.

LIGHT AND ITS SOURCES—WHAT IS LIGHT?—VELOCITY OF LIGHT—REFLECTION AND REFRACTION—RELATIVE VALUE OF LIGHTS. The subject of Light and the science of Optics are so interesting to all of us that some short history of light is necessary before we can enter upon the scientific portion of the subject. The nature of the agent (as we may term light) upon which our sight depends has employed man’s mind from a very early period. The ancients were of opinion that the light proceeded from the eye to the obje

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CHAPTER X.

VISION AND OPTICAL ILLUSIONS—THE EYE DESCRIBED—ACCOMMODATION OF THE EYE—CHROMATIC ABERRATION—SPINNING TOPS. The eye is an optical instrument that may be compared with those constructed by physicists themselves; the media of which it is composed have surfaces like those which enter into the construction of optical instruments. It was Kepler who at the end of the eighteenth century discovered the passage of light into the eye. Soon after the discovery of the inner chamber he found that the eye rea

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CHAPTER XI.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS—ZOLLNER’S DESIGNS—THE THAUMATROPE—PHENOKISTOSCOPE—THE ZOOTROPE—THE PRAXINOSCOPE—THE DAZZLING TOP. We shall now continue the subject by describing some illusions more curious still—those of ocular estimation . These illusions depend rather on the particular properties of the figures we examine, and the greater part of these phenomena may be placed in that category whose law we have just formulated: the differences clearly perceived appear greater than the differences equal to th

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CHAPTER XII.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS CONTINUED—EXPERIMENTS—THE TALKING HEAD—GHOST ILLUSIONS. The enumeration of optical illusions is so considerable that we have no intention of describing them all, and will merely cite a few other examples. The following facts have been communicated to us by M. Nachet:— When examining algæ under the microscope, we notice the spaces which separate the streaks ornamenting the silicious covering of these various organisms, and it is explained that they are formed by hexagons visible

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CHAPTER XIII.

VISION—THE EYE—THE STEREOSCOPE—SPECTRUM ANALYSIS—THE SPECTROSCOPE—THE TELESCOPE AND MICROSCOPE—PHOTOGRAPHY—DISSOLVING VIEWS—LUMINOUS PAINT. The eye and vision are such important subjects to all of us that we may be excused for saying something more concerning phenomena connected with them, and the instruments we use for assisting them. We do not propose to write a treatise upon the physiology of vision, for we know the image in the eye is produced physically in the same manner as the image in a

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CHAPTER XIV. SPECTRAL ILLUSIONS.

A SPECTRE VISIBLE—CURIOUS ILLUSIONS—GHOSTS. We have already given numerous examples of the effects produced by impressions on the retina by mechanical appliances. We can now in a short chapter speak of the cause of many spectral illusions, commonly supposed to be “ghosts” or “spirits.” That there are many “well-authenticated ‘ghost stories’” no one can doubt who has read the literature of the day; and we ourselves do not in any way desire to throw any doubt upon the existence of certain so-calle

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CHAPTER XV ACOUSTICS.

THE EAR, AND HEARING—PHYSIOLOGY OF HEARING AND SOUND—SOUND AS COMPARED WITH LIGHT—WHAT IS SOUND?—VELOCITY OF SOUND—CONDUCTIBILITY—THE HARMONOGRAPH. Before entering upon the science of Acoustics , a short description of the ear, and the mode in which sound is conveyed to our brain, will be no doubt acceptable to our readers. The study of the organs of hearing is not an easy one; although we can see the exterior portion, the interior and delicate membranes are hidden from us in the very hardest bo

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CHAPTER XVI. ACOUSTICS (Continued).

THE TOPOPHONE—THE MEGAPHONE—THE AUTOPHONE—THE AUDIPHONE—THE TELEPHONE—THE PHONOGRAPH—THE MICROPHONE. We propose in this chapter to give as shortly as possible a description of the various instruments lately come into use, by means of which, and electricity, sounds can be carried from place to place, and their locality identified. It is only within the last few years that these wonderful inventions have come into use, and in a measure superseded the at one time invincible electric telegraph. The

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CHAPTER XVII.

THE TUNING-FORK—THE SYREN—SOUND FIGURES—SINGING FLAMES. We cannot close the subject of Sound without some mention of the Musical Pitch, and various instruments and experiments which have from time to time been made to discover the pitch, sound, and vibrations, and even to see Sound. To understand the vibrations or “pitch” of a musical note we may study the illustration, which shows us a tuning-fork in vibration. You will perceive that each prong of the tuning-fork beats the air in an opposite di

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CHAPTER XVIII ELECTRICITY.

DERIVATION OF ELECTRICITY—SEALING-WAX EXPERIMENT—THE ELECTROPHORUS—LEYDEN JAR—POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE—THE ELECTROSCOPE—ELECTRIC MACHINES. We have now briefly and of course imperfectly reviewed the phenomena of Vibration, as exemplified in what we term Heat, Light, and Sound. We now come to a most mysterious servant of mankind, as mysterious as any Djinn of romance; viz., Electricity . The term Electricity is derived from the Greek word electron , meaning “amber”; because from amber the properties

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CHAPTER XIX.

VELOCITY OF ELECTRICITY—EXPERIMENTS—THE ELECTRIC EGG—FORCE OF THE ELECTRIC SPARK. We are now acquainted with many facts concerning electricity, and have seen that electrical phenomena can be produced by the Electric Machine and the Leyden Jar. (An insulating stool—a stool with glass legs—is a very desirable adjunct for those who wish to experiment with the machine). Glass is a great insulator, or non-conductor, as a Russian philosopher found to his cost. He had an iron lightning-conductor from h

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CHAPTER XX. GALVANISM.

GALVANI’S DISCOVERY—THE FROGS ELECTRIFIED—EXPERIMENTS—VOLTA’S PILE—THE TEST—ITS USEFULNESS—FARADAY’S “RESEARCHES.” Galvanism owes its origin to the researches of Galvani, the celebrated professor of Bologna, and we are indebted to what was a mere “accident” for our knowledge of this science. Before Galvani’s time there had been many instances adduced of animal electricity. The Rev. F. Lunn, in his article upon Electricity, 15 mentions the fact that fire streamed from the head of Servius Tullius

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CHAPTER XXI. MAGNETISM.

THE LOADSTONE—MAGNETIC CURVES—THE MAGNETIC NEEDLE—THE MARINER’S COMPASS—MAGNETO-ELECTRICITY. We have already mentioned some of the properties of the loadstone or magnet; but as we are now about to enter more fully into the considerations of its attributes and of the compass, etc., we will add some further interesting particulars. Ancient writers (Pliny, Homer, and Aristotle) mentioned the existence of the magnet, and Humboldt refers to the knowledge of it possessed by the ancients. Pliny says “t

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CHAPTER XXII.

SUNDRY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES—MR. EDISON’S INVENTIONS—THE ELECTRIC LIGHT—THE GYROSCOPE—A NEW ELECTROPHORUS—ELECTRIC TOYS. The Electro-Motograph —although perhaps even yet scarcely developed—has already proved a very useful invention. The idea of it first occurred to Mr. Edison in 1873, when he was prosecuting some researches in chemical telegraphy. “One day,” says Mr. Fox, in his account of the invention, “as he sat pondering over his work, he happened to take in hand the metallic point through w

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CHAPTER XXIII. AERONAUTICS.

PRESSURE OF AIR IN BODIES—EARLY ATTEMPTS TO FLY IN THE AIR—DISCOVERY OF HYDROGEN—THE MONTGOLFIER BALLOONS—FIRST EXPERIMENTS IN PARIS—NOTED ASCENTS. In the first part of this volume we entered into the circumstances of air pressure, and in the Chemistry section we shall be told about the atmosphere and its constituents. We know that the air around us is composed principally of two gases, oxygen and nitrogen, with aqueous vapour and some carbonic acid. An enormous quantity of carbonic acid is prod

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CHAPTER XXIV. CHEMISTRY. INTRODUCTION.

WHAT CHEMISTRY IS—THE ELEMENTS—METALLIC AND NON-METALLIC—ATOMIC WEIGHT—ACIDS—ALKALIS—BASES—SALTS—CHEMICAL COMBINATION AND STUDY. Chemistry is the science of phenomena which are attended by a change of the objects which produce them. We know that when a candle burns, or when wood is burned, or even a piece of metal becomes what we term “rusty,” that certain chemical changes take place. There is a change by what is termed chemical action. Rust on iron is not iron; it is oxide of iron. The oxygen o

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CHAPTER XXV. CHEMISTRY WITHOUT A LABORATORY.

We have already pointed out the possibility of going through a course of physics without any special apparatus, we shall now endeavour to show our readers the method of performing some experiments in chemistry without a laboratory, or at any rate with only a few simple and inexpensive appliances. The preparation of gases, such as hydrogen, carbonic acid, and oxygen, is very easily accomplished, but we shall here point out principally a series of experiments that are not so much known. We will co

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CHAPTER XXVI.

CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY—CHEMICAL COMBINATIONS—THE ATMOSPHERIC AIR. We have in the foregoing pages given some experiments, and considered several of the metals, but there are numerous very interesting subjects still remaining; indeed, the number is so great that we can only pick and choose. All people are desirous to hear something of the atmosphere, of water, and the earth; and as we proceed to speak of crystals and minerals, and so on to geology, we shall learn a good deal respecting our globe—it

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CHAPTER XXVII. NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS.

OXYGEN—SYMBOL O ; ATOMIC WEIGHT 16. Oxygen is certainly the most abundant element in nature. It exists all around us, and the animal and vegetable worlds are dependent upon it. It constitutes in combination about one-half of the crust of the earth, and composes eight-ninths of its weight of water. It is a gas without taste or colour. Oxygen was discovered by Priestley and Scheele, in 1774, independently of each other. Oxygen can be procured from the oxides of the metals, particularly from gold,

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CHAPTER XXVIII. NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS (continued).

CHLORINE—BROMINE—IODINE—FLUORINE—CARBON—SULPHUR—PHOSPHORUS—SILICON—BORON—TELLURIUM—ARSENIC. Chlorine (Cl.) is usually found with sodium in the mineral kingdom, and this chloride of sodium is our common salt. Chlorine can be obtained by heating hydrochloric acid with binoxide of manganese. (Atomic weight 35·5.) Chlorine possesses a greenish-yellow colour, hence its name “Chloros,” green. It should be handled carefully, for it is highly injurious and suffocating. It possesses a great affinity for

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CHAPTER XXIX. THE METALS.

WHAT METALS ARE—CHARACTERISTICS AND GENERAL PROPERTIES OF METALS—CLASSIFICATION—SPECIFIC GRAVITY—DESCRIPTIONS. We have learnt that the elements are divided into metalloids and metals, but the line of demarcation is very faint. It is very difficult to define what a metal is, though we can say what it is not. It is indeed impossible to give any absolute definition of a metal, except as “an element which does not unite with hydrogen, or with another metal to form a chemical compound.” This definiti

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CHAPTER XXX. ORGANIC CHEMISTRY.

RADICALS—ACIDS—BASES—NEUTRALS. In the introduction to these brief chapters upon Chemistry, we said that the science was divided into two sections, the first section consisting of the simple combinations, and the other of compound combinations. The latter being met with chiefly in animal and vegetable matter, as distinguished from dead or inert matter, was termed Organic . This distinction will be seen below. We have already placed before our readers the elements and their simple combinations, an

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CHAPTER XXXI. MINERALOGY AND CRYSTALLOGRAPHY.

THE MINERALS—CHARACTERISTICS—CRYSTALS AND THEIR FORMS—DESCRIPTIONS OF MINERALS. Minerals are constituent parts of the earth. All parts of minerals are alike. There are simple minerals and mixed. The former are the true minerals, and are generally considered under the heading Mineralogy . The others constitute a branch of Geology , as they form aggregate masses, and as such compose a large portion of the earth. We must learn to distinguish minerals and crystals as inorganic forms of nature. In th

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CHAPTER XXXII. NEW LOCOMOTIVE APPLIANCES.

THE KITE—THE AEROPHANE—ICE YACHTS—SAILING TRUCKS—WATER VELOCIPEDES. The kite, known from the earliest times, and constructed by a number of people, is a very familiar object, which we shall not describe; for we will now speak of some similar appliances of a more interesting and uncommon description. M. Penaud has invented some appliances in which twisted india-rubber is the principal agent. Fig. 475 represents a sort of kite, which rises in the air if one twists and then looses the india-rubber

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CHAPTER XXXIII. ASTRONOMY.

INTRODUCTORY—HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY—NOMENCLATURE. Astronomy is the science which treats of the heavenly bodies and the laws which govern them. The term is derived from two Greek words, astron , a star, and nomos , a law. It may be included in the study of Physics, for the motion of the planetary bodies and equilibrium, gravity, etc., all have something to say to the arrangements and positions of the stars. The space in which they are set is infinite, and known as the “Firmament,” or “Heaven.” The

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CHAPTER XXXIV. ANGLES AND MEASUREMENT OF ANGLES.

THE QUADRANT—TRANSIT INSTRUMENT—CLOCKS—STELLAR TIME—SOLAR TIME—“MEAN” TIME. We must say a few words respecting the various instruments and aids to astronomical observation before proceeding, for astronomy requires very accurate calculations; and though we do not propose to be very scientific in our descriptions, some little idea of the manner in which observations may be made is necessary. The first thing to see about is the Angle . Suppose we draw four lines on a piece of paper, ab and cd . The

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CHAPTER XXXV. THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

GRAVITATION—THE PLANETS—SIZE AND MEASUREMENT OF THE PLANETS—SATELLITES—FALLING STARS—COMETS—AEROLITES. Gravitation is the force which keeps the planets in their orbits, and this theory, perfected by Newton, was partially known to Kepler. Newton brought this idea into practical shape, and applied it mathematically. We know that every object in the world tends to attract every other object in proportion to the quantity of matter of which each consists. So the sun attracts the planets, and they inf

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CHAPTER XXXVI THE SUN.

MOTION OF THE SUN—THE SEASONS—CHARACTER OF THE SUN—SUNSPOTS—ZODIACAL LIGHT. Suppose that we rise early in the morning we shall, as the reader will say see the sun rise—that is, he appears to us to rise as the earth rotates. By the accompanying diagram (fig. 544) we can understand how Sol makes his appearance, and how he comes up again; not, it will be observed, after the manner stated by the Irishman, who declared that the sun “went down, and ran round during the night when nobody was looking.”

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CHAPTER XXXVII. THE EARTH.

FORM OF THE EARTH—MOTION OF THE GLOBE—RATE AND MANNER OF PROGRESSION—LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE—THE SEASONS. We have learnt from our books on Geography that the earth is shaped like an orange,—that is, our globe is round and flattened slightly at the “poles,” and we can easily see that the earth curves away, if we only try the experiment mentioned in a foregoing chapter—viz., how far a person standing (or lying) on the ground can see on a level. Our power of eyesight is not limited to three or four

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CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE MOON.

WHAT IS IT LIKE?—MOON SUPERSTITIONS—DESCRIPTION OF THE MOON—PHASES—TIDES—ECLIPSES. From the early days of childhood every man and woman has been familiar with the moon. This satellite of earth has been domesticated, so to speak, amongst us; and while the sun and other stars have been glorified in poetic and prose effusions, the moon has been always more tenderly addressed. The soft (reflected) light of our attendant moon is much more attractive than the brilliancy of the greater light “that rule

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CHAPTER XXXIX. THE PLANETS AND ASTEROIDS.

Mercury. Including our own globe there are eight principal planets—viz., Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The two first-named being between us and the sun, are termed interior planets; the others are exterior . Mercury, Venus, and Mars are smaller than Earth. The other four are much larger. We have already described the planets as bodies wandering through the zodiac, and reflecting the sun’s light. Their orbits are very different from the moon’s; for instance, planets

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CHAPTER XL. THE FIXED STARS.

FIXED STARS—MAGNITUDE OF THE STARS—CONSTELLATIONS—DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ZODIACAL CONSTELLATIONS—NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STAR GROUPS—DISTANCE OF STARS. We have been considering the planets so far as they are known to astronomers, but no doubt we shall find out others some day beyond Neptune in space, for it must be assumed that there are other planets wandering about in the infinite firmament. At present, however, we cannot spare time for such speculation; we have got to peep at the stars and their g

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CHAPTER XLI. THE STARS—(continued).

DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE STARS—COLOURED AND VARIABLE STARS—CLUSTERS, GROUPS, AND NEBULÆ—THE GALAXY, OR MILKY WAY—HOW TO FIND OUT THE PRINCIPAL STARS. Although not very clearly visible to the naked eye, there are in the sky some pairs of stars very close together apparently; but when these double stars are examined with a good telescope we find that though we fancy they are two stars very close, in reality an immense distance separates them. By Vega, which we have already mentioned, there is apparentl

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CHAPTER XLII. NEW ASTRONOMICAL APPLIANCES.

A CELESTIAL INDICATOR—ASTRONOMICAL OR COSMOGRAPHICAL CLOCK—A SIMPLE GLOBE—A SOLAR CHRONOMETER. Having said something concerning astronomy, we will give a few instructions respecting the instruments not already described, and make some observations, supplementing our directions in the previous chapter, for many people will be glad to learn how to read the evening skies. Here we have an apparatus which will prove useful to amateurs; it is a sort of celestial indicator by Mauperin, and will facilit

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CHAPTER XLIII. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.—I. GEOLOGY.

GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY—THE EARTH’S CRUST—ORIGIN OF THE EARTH—DENUDATION AND EXCAVATION BY WATER—ROCKS, GRAVEL, AND SAND—CLASSES OF ROCKS. When we were at school, and learnt the various countries of Europe, we had maps showing us the several divisions of one realm from another; the mountains, lakes, and other prominent features of the continent were learned and repeated, but we, maybe, seldom, perhaps never, bestowed a thought upon the formations of the mountains, and the manner in which rivers ra

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CHAPTER XLIV.

CRUST OF THE EARTH—GEOLOGICAL SYSTEMS—EOZOIC, PRIMARY, SECONDARY, TERTIARY, PREHISTORIC FORMATIONS. The crust of Great Britain has been carefully examined, and from the results of investigations at various periods, the earth has been divided into a series of strata which follow the same order of succession. Sometimes certain strata may not be present, and they may be replaced by others, but the same order of succession will be found. The order is as follows, commencing at the lowest . The illust

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CHAPTER XLV.

THE MESOZOIC SYSTEM—THE TRIASSIC, OOLITIC, AND CRETACEOUS FORMATIONS—THE EOCENE, MIOCENE, AND PLIOCENE—THE GLACIAL PERIOD—PRE-HISTORIC MAN. We trust that the general reader has gleaned from the foregoing chapter some few ideas concerning the growth of plant and animal life in the early periods of the world’s existence. From the Laurentian System we have briefly traced the conformation of the globe at the dawn of organic life through the Silurian Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous formations, in

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CHAPTER XLVI. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

IGNEOUS ROCKS—LAND AND WATER—SPRINGS, WELLS, AND GEYSERS—SNOW AND ICE—THEIR EFFECTS. In the foregoing pages we have chiefly considered the stratified rocks, but we are now approaching another branch of our subject—viz., “Physiography,” which, as distinguished from the usual so-called Physical Geography, will deal with the phenomena of the earth, air, and water, thus leading us to Meteorology as a conclusion. We have arrived at a certain knowledge concerning the Earth as a planet, her place in th

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CHAPTER XLVII. THE SEA AND THE SKY.

THE SEA—SALT WATER—WAVES AND THEIR EFFECTS—UNDER WATER—THE FLOOR OF THE OCEAN. From our childhood the sea has been the companion and playmate of thousands, the seashore their playground. Men have selected it for their professional training and livelihood. Authors write of it, poets apostrophize, scientists lecture upon it, and fathom it, bringing up from its depths many a new fact and illustration for those who cannot study it for themselves. There is nothing like it, nothing more majestic, more

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CHAPTER XLVIII. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. METEOROLOGY.

THE ATMOSPHERE—WINDS AND AIR CURRENTS—WIND PRESSURE—STORMS—RAIN-CLOUDS—WATER-SPOUTS—ATMOSPHERICAL PHENOMENA. Under this heading we shall find the atmosphere playing a very important part. The air is composed of oxygen and nitrogen with some carbonic acid gas and aqueous vapour. We have, under the Chemistry section, discussed these constituents which unite to make up the air or atmosphere in the following proportions:— It is a fact that all over the world the same chemical result is found. Whethe

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CHAPTER XLIX. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. METEOROLOGY (continued).

ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA—THUNDER AND LIGHTNING—AURORA BOREALIS—THE RAINBOW—MOCK SUNS AND MOCK-MOONS—HALOS—FATA MORGANA—REFLECTION AND REFRACTION—MIRAGE—SPECTRE OF THE BROCKEN. There are a great number of interesting, and to inhabitants of these islands uncommon,—perhaps we might say fortunately uncommon,—phenomena, which overtake the traveller in other countries. We have referred to whirlwinds and tornados, and will now mention two phenomena connected with these storms. There is the water-spout, fo

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CHAPTER L. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. CLIMATOLOGY.

WEATHER, CLIMATE, AND TEMPERATURE—ISOTHERMAL LINES—ISOBARS, WEATHER FORECASTS, AND SIGNS OF THE SKY. It is usually considered a sign of a paucity of ideas when one begins a conversation about the “weather,” but there can be no doubt that there is no more interesting question in social life at certain times as to whether it will or will not rain. Our outdoor amusements are all dependent upon weather, and a little cloud may throw a deep shadow over all our pleasure if we neglect to bring out an um

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CHAPTER LI. BIOLOGY. PART I. BOTANY.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS—STRUCTURE OF PLANTS—FLOWERING PLANTS—THE STEM—THE LEAVES—FORMS OF LEAVES. Biology is derived from the Greek word Bios , “life,” and logein , “to speak,” and constitutes the science of Organic Life . This science is divided into two branches: Botany , relating to the life of plants; Zoology , to the animals. Plants, then, are living things, and as we proceed we shall find them born, or “germinating,” growing up as young plants, maturing as adults, and finally dying, and their p

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CHAPTER LII. FLOWERING PLANTS.

ORGANS OF INCREASE AND REPRODUCTION—THE FLOWER—THE CALYX—THE COROLLA—THE STAMEN—THE PISTIL. Some of the simplest plants are propagated by spores , which are detached, and fall upon the ground to vegetate; but in the case of the higher orders the reproduction of species is a much more elaborate process, and is carried on by means of certain organs called flowers. Small buds, or ovules , are formed, which develop into seed. Plants also produce buds, which grow upon various parts of it, and are cap

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CHAPTER LIII. FLOWERING PLANTS (continued).

THE FLORAL AXIS—INFLORESCENCE—FRUIT—SEED—NUTRITION OF PLANTS—ABSORPTION OF CONSTITUENTS. There are certain arrangements and mutual relations of the various portions of the flowers which we have mentioned that it is useful to consider. The floral axis refers to the position of the verticils, and inflorescence signifies the arrangement of the flowers on the stem. Flowers which possess both stamens and pistil are hermaphrodite ; those with only stamens are male; those with the pistil female flowers

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CHAPTER LIV. ZOOLOGY.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS—VERTEBRATES AND INVERTEBRATES—PROTOZOA—HYDROZOA—ACTINOZOA. Zoology treats of life—of organized beings which are capable of voluntary motion. Plants exist, animals live and move. Both are organic beings, but the latter possess the faculty of will and spontaneous movement . The animal can leave a place and enjoy other surroundings, the plant cannot. We have already crossed the borderland which connects the plant and the animal. We have seen plants almost animals. We could

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CHAPTER LV. ECHINODERMATA—ANNULOSA—ENTOZOA—INSECTA.

SEA-URCHINS—STAR-FISHES—FEATHERY STARS—SEA-CUCUMBERS—WORMS—LEECHES—ROTIFERS—TAPE WORMS—INSECTS. The Echinodermata or spiny-skinned, are most commonly represented by the sea-urchins and star-fishes of our coasts. In some of the classes locomotion is performed by means of these spines or prickles, which serve as legs. In others, movement is carried on by suckers and tubes as in the star-fishes, these tubes being also the means whereby the animal obtains its food. They have a digestive system, and

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CHAPTER LVI. THE ANALYSIS OF CHANCE AND MATHEMATICAL GAMES.

MAGIC SQUARES—THE SIXTEEN PUZZLE—SOLITAIRE—EQUIVALENTS. We will now proceed to draw our readers’ attention to several experiments very famous at a former period, but which our own generation has completely overlooked. We refer to the Analysis of Chance, a science still known under the title of Calculation of Probabilities , formerly cultivated with so much ardour, but to-day almost fallen into oblivion. Originating in the caprice of the clever Chevalier de Méré, who in 1654 suggested the game to

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CHAPTER LVII.

THE MAGIC TOP—THE GYROSCOPE AND SCIENTIFIC GAMES We will not do our readers the injustice to suppose that they are not familiar with the ordinary top,—the delight of all school-boys and young people,—of which, therefore, we forbear giving any description; but we now desire to give some details of the construction of the wonderful magic top. It is composed of a large disc, with an axis turning on two pivots connected with a circle of iron. When in repose, this plaything exhibits nothing of a rema

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CHAPTER LVIII. SCIENTIFIC OBJECTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century there was at Lyons a very remarkable mansion built by a man named Nicholas Grollier de Servière. This house was filled with all the most remarkable curiosities and inventions of the period. The owner belonged to an ancient family. His great-uncle, Jean Grollier, had amassed a magnificent library, the best in France. His father was also a celebrated adherent of Henry IV., and M. Servière himself had inherited much scientific taste and intelligence from

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CHAPTER LIX. SCIENCE AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

All branches of applied science are capable of giving us important hints and rendering us great service in all the conditions of our daily life, and as we have at various times throughout this volume mentioned useful domestic inventions applicable for use by means of water, air, etc., we may describe some more particularly relating to the inside of the house, and the science of domestic economy. Sometimes during the winter we may feel it very difficult, if not impossible, to keep the room warm.

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CHAPTER LX. SOME CURIOUS MODES OF TRANSIT.

We have already noticed some novel means of locomotion in the water and in the air, and now a few of the means whereby locomotion is attained as a recreation or as an exhibition may be mentioned. For instance, here is a very curious vehicle, and the explanation of it we give in the words of the anonymous inventor:— “My vehicle will carry four people without counting the driver. It is strong, easy to draw, and can turn in a horse’s length. The driver completely controls the animal, and no dust is

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