Science In Short Chapters - free ebook by W. Mattieu (William Mattieu) Williams

SCIENCE IN Short Chapters.

BY W. MATTIEU WILLIAMS, F.R.A.S., F.C.S. AUTHOR OF “ The Fuel of the Sun ,” “ Through Norway with a Knapsack ,” “ A Simple Treatise on Heat ,” etc. New York : JOHN B. ALDEN, Publisher . 1883....

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PREFACE.

I am not aware that this reprint of some of my scattered notes and essays demands any apology. The practice of making such collections and selections by the author himself has now become very general, and is much better done thus than by friends after his death. Besides this, it supplies a growing want of these busy times, when so many of us are prevented by the struggles of business from sitting down to the consecutive systematic study of a formal treatise. I have kept this demand steadily in v

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THE FUEL OF THE SUN.

I offer the following sketch of the main argument which is worked out more fully in the essay I published in January, 1870, under the above title, hoping that many who hesitate to plunge into a presumptuous speculative work of more than 200 octavo pages may read this article, and reflect upon the subject. The book has been handled in a most courteous and indulgent spirit by all the reviewers who have noticed it, but none have ventured to grapple with the argument it contains, although every poss

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DR SIEMENS’ THEORY OF THE SUN.

A paper was read on March 2, 1882, by Dr. C. W. Siemens at the Royal Society, and he published an article on “A New Theory of the Sun” in the April number of the Nineteenth Century . All who have read my essay on “The Fuel of the Sun” are surprised at the statement with which the magazine article opens, viz.: that this “may be termed a first attempt to open for the sun a debtor and creditor account, inasmuch as he has hitherto been regarded only as a great almoner pouring forth incessantly his b

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ANOTHER WORLD DOWN HERE.

What a horrible place must this world appear when regarded according to our ideas from an insect’s point of view! The air infested with huge flying hungry dragons, whose gaping and snapping mouths are ever intent upon swallowing the innocent creatures for whom, according to the insect, if he were like us, a properly constructed world ought to be exclusively adapted. The solid earth continually shaken by the approaching tread of hideous giants—moving mountains—that crush out precious lives at eve

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THE ORIGIN OF LUNAR VOLCANOES.

Many theoretical efforts, some of considerable violence, have been made to reconcile the supposed physical contradiction presented by the great magnitude and area of former volcanic activity of the Moon, and the present absence of water on its surface. So long as we accept the generally received belief that water is a necessary agent in the evolution of volcanic forces, the difficulties presented by the lunar surface are rather increased than diminished by further examination and speculation. We

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NOTE ON THE DIRECT EFFECT OF SUN-SPOTS ON TERRESTRIAL CLIMATES.

Professor Langley determines quantitatively the effects respectively produced by the radiations from the solar spots, penumbra, and photosphere upon the face of a thermopile, and infers that these effects measure their relative influence on terrestrial climate. In thus assuming that the heat communicated to the thermopile measures the solar contribution to terrestrial climate, Professor Langley omits an important factor, viz., the amount of heat absorbed in traversing the earth’s atmosphere; and

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THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE RADIOMETER AND ITS COSMICAL REVELATIONS.

So much speculation, and not a little extravagant speculation, has been devoted to the dynamics of the radiometer, that I feel some compunction in adding another stone to the heap, my only apology and justification for so doing being that I propose to regard the subject from a very unsophisticated point of view, and with somewhat heretical directness of vision— i.e. , quite irrespective of atoms, molecules, or ether, or any other specific preconceptions concerning the essential kinetics of radia

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ON THE SOCIAL BENEFITS OF PARAFFIN.

To the inhabitants of Jupiter, who have always one, two, or three of their four moons in active and efficient radiation, or of Saturn displaying the broad luminous oceans of his mighty rings in addition to the minor lamps of his eight ever-changeful satellites, the relative merits of rushlights, candles, lamps, and gaslights may be a question of indifference; but to us, the residents of a planet which has but one small moon that only displays her nearly full face during a few nights of each mont

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THE SOLIDITY OF THE EARTH.

In his opening address to the Mathematical and Physical Section of the British Association, Sir William Thomson affirmed, “with almost perfect certainty, that, whatever may be the relative densities of rock, solid and melted, or at about the temperature of liquefaction, it is, I think, quite certain that cold solid rock is denser than hot melted rock; and no possible degree of rigidity in the crust could prevent it from breaking in pieces and sinking wholly below the liquid lava,” and that “this

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A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

As the subject of lighting by electricity is occupying so much public attention, and the merits of various inventors and inventions are so keenly discussed, the following facts may have some historical interest in connection with it. In October, 1845, I was consulted by some American gentlemen concerning the construction of a large voltaic battery for experimenting upon an invention, afterwards described and published in the specification of “King’s Patent Electric Light” (Letters Patent granted

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THE FORMATION OF COAL.

In the course of a pedestrian excursion made in the summer of 1855 I came upon the Aachensee, one of the lakes of North Tyrol, rarely visited by tourists. It is situated about 30 miles N.E. of Innispruck, and fills the basin of a deep valley, the upper slopes of which are steep and richly wooded. The water of this lake is remarkably transparent and colorless. With one exception, that of the Fountain of Cyane—a deep pool forming the source of the little Syracusan river—it is the most transparent

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The First Telegrams.

This time we may fairly expect some approach to a solution of the riddle of the corona, as the one essential which neither scientific skill nor Government liberality could secure to the eclipse observers, has been afforded, viz., fine weather. The telegraph has already informed us of this, and also that good use has been made of the good weather. From one station we are told: “Thin mist; spectroscope satisfactory; reversion of lines entirely confirmed; six good photographs.” From another: “Weath

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Further Details by Post.

Although the formal official reports of the Eclipse Expedition are not yet published, and may not be for some weeks or months, we are able from the letters of Lockyer, Jannsen, Respighi, Maclear, etc., to form some idea of the general results. We may already regard two or three important questions as fairly answered. The reversal of the dark solar lines of the spectrum which was first announced by the great Roman observer, Father Secchi, and seen by him without an eclipse, may now be considered

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METEORIC ASTRONOMY.

The number of the Quarterly Journal of Science for May, 1872, contains some articles of considerable interest. The first is by the indefatigable Mr. Proctor, on “Meteoric Astronomy,” in which he embodies a clear and popular summary of the researches which have earned for Signor Schiaparelli this year’s gold medal of the Astronomical Society. Like all who venture upon a broad, bold effort of scientific thought, extending at all into the regions of philosophical theory, Schiaparelli has had to wai

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THE “GREAT ICE AGE” AND THE ORIGIN OF THE “TILL.”

The growth of science is becoming so overwhelming that the old subdivisions of human knowledge are no longer sufficient for the purpose of dividing the labor of experts. It is scarcely possible now for any man to become a naturalist, a chemist, or a physicist in the full sense of either term; he must, if he aims at thoroughness, be satisfied with a general knowledge of the great body of science, and a special and a full acquaintance with only one or two of its minor subdivisions. Thus geology, t

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On Winds and Currents, from the Admiralty Physical Atlas.

In the Northern Hemisphere the effect of the veering of the wind on the barometer is according to the following law: With East, South-east, and South winds, the barometer falls. With South-west winds, the barometer ceases to fall and begins to rise. With West, North-west, and North winds, the barometer rises. With North-east winds, the barometer ceases to rise and begins to fall. In the Northern Hemisphere the thermometer rises with East, South-east, and South winds; with a South-west wind it ce

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THE CHEMISTRY OF BOG RECLAMATION.

The mode of proceeding for the reclamation of bog-land at Kylemore is first to remove the excess of water by “the big drain and the secondary drains,” which must be cut deep enough to go right down to the gravel below. These are supplemented by the “sheep drains,” or surface-drains, which are about twenty inches wide at top, and narrow downwards to six inches at bottom. They run parallel to each other, with a space of about ten yards between, and cost one penny per six yards. This first step hav

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The Anglo-American Arctic Expedition.

Commander Cheyne has gone to America to seek the modest equipment that his own countrymen are unable to supply. He proposes now that his expedition shall be “Anglo-American.” I have been asked to join an arctic council, to coöperate on this side, and have refused on anti-patriotic grounds. As a member of the former arctic committee, I was so much disgusted with the parsimony of our millionaires and the anti-geographical conduct of the Savile Row Mutual Admiration Society, that I heartily wish th

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Mr. Walter Powell.

Scientific aerostation has lost its most promising expert by the untimely death of Walter Powell. He was not a mere sensational ballooner, nor one of those dreamers who imagine they can invent flying machines, or steer balloons against the wind by mysterious electrical devices or by mechanical paddles, fan-wheels, or rudders. He perfectly understood that a balloon is at the mercy of atmospheric currents and must drift with them, but nevertheless he regarded it as a most promising instrument for

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THE LIMITS OF OUR COAL SUPPLY

Estimating the actual consumption of coal for home use in Great Britain at 110 millions of tons per annum, a rise of eight shillings per ton to consumers is equivalent to a tax of 44 millions per annum. These are the figures taken by Sir William Armstrong in his address at Newcastle last February. As the recent abnormal rise in the value of coal has amounted to more than this, consumers have been paying at some periods above a million per week as premium on fuel, even after making fair deduction

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“THE ENGLISHMAN’S FIRESIDE.”

During the investment of Paris, the Comptes Rendus of the Acadamy of Sciences were mainly filled with papers on the construction and guidance of balloons; with the results of ingenious researches on methods of making milk and butter without the aid of cows; on the extraction of nutritious food from old boots, saddles, and other organic refuse; and other devices for rendering the general famine more endurable. In like manner, our present coal famine is directing an important amount of scientific,

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TO THE EDITOR OF THE Times.

Sir ,—The curious breaking up of the thin annular rim of the sun which is uncovered just before and just after totality, or which surrounds the moon during an annular eclipse, has been but occasionally observed, and some scepticism as to the accuracy of Baily’s observations has lately arisen. Having attempted an explanation of the “beads,” I have looked with much interest for the reports of the eclipse of 1870, for, if I am right, they ought to have been well seen on this occasion. This has been

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THE COLORING OF GREEN TEA.

The following is a copy of my report to the Grocer on a sample of the ingredients actually used by the Chinese for coloring of tea, which sample was sent to the Grocer office by a reliable correspondent at Shanghai (November, 1873). I reprint it because the subject has a general interest and is commonly misunderstood: I have examined the blue and the yellowish-white powders received from the office, and find that the blue is not indigo, as your Shanghai correspondent very naturally supposes, but

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“IRON FILINGS” IN TEA.

I have watched the progress of the tea controversy and the other public performances of the public analysts with considerable interest; it might have been with amusement, but for the melancholy degradation of chemical science which they involve. Among the absurdities and exaggerations which for some years past have been so industriously trumpeted forth by the pseudo-chemists who trade upon the adulteration panic and consequent demand for chemical certificates of purity, the continually repeated

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CONCERT-ROOM ACOUSTICS.

The acoustics of public buildings are now occupying considerable attention in London. The vast audiences which any kind of sensational performance in the huge metropolis is capable of attracting, is forcing the subject upon all who cater for public amusement or instruction. There was probably no building in London, or anywhere else, more utterly unfit for musical performances than the Crystal Palace in its original condition; but, nevertheless, the Handel Festival of last week was a great succes

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SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM.

A rather startling paper in the current number of the “Quarterly Journal of Science,” from the pen of William Crookes, F.R.S. (who is well known in the scientific world by his discovery of the metal thallium, his investigations of its properties and those of its compounds, besides many other important researches, and also as the able and spirited editor of the Chemical News ), is now the subject of much scientific gossip and discussion. Mr. Crookes has for some time past been engaged in investig

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(British Association, 1871.)

The President’s inaugural address, which was going through the press in London while being spoken in Edinburgh, has already been subject to an unusual amount of sharp criticism. For my own part I cannot help regarding it as one of the least satisfactory of all the inaugural addresses that have yet been delivered at these annual meetings. They have been of two types, the historical and the controversial; the former prevailing. In the historical addresses the President has usually made a comprehen

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WORLD-SMASHING.

Sir W. Thomson’s moss-grown fragment of a shattered world is not yet forgotten. In the current number of the Cornhill Magazine (January, 1872) it is very severely handled; the more severely, because the writer, though treating the subject quite popularly, shows the fallacy of the hypothesis, even when regarded from the point of view of Sir W. Thomson’s own special department of study. That an eminent mathematician should make a great slip when he ventures upon geological or physiological ground

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THE DYING TREES IN KENSINGTON GARDENS.

A great many trees have lately been cut down in Kensington Gardens, and the subject was brought before the House of Commons at the latter part of its last session. In reply to Mr. Ritchie’s question, Mr. Adam, the then First Commissioner of Works, made explanations which, so far as they go, are satisfactory—but the distance is very small. He states that all who have watched the trees must have seen that their decay “has become rapid and decided in the last two years,” that when the vote for the

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THE OLEAGINOUS PRODUCTS OF THAMES MUD: WHERE THEY COME FROM AND WHERE THEY GO.

Once upon a time—and not a very long time since—a French chemist left the land of superexcellence, and crossed to the shores of foggy Albion. He proceeded to Yorkshire, his object being to make his fortune. He was so presumptuous as to believe that he might do this by picking up something which Yorkshiremen threw away. That something was soapsuds. His chemistry taught him that soap is a compound of fat and alkali, and that if a stronger acid than that belonging to the fat is added to soapsuds, t

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LUMINOUS PAINT.

The sun is evidently going out of fashion, and is more and more excluded from “good society” as our modern substitute for civilization advances. “Serve him right!” many will say, for behaving so badly during the last two summers. The old saw, which says something about “early to bed and early to rise” is forgotten: we take “luncheon” at dinner-time, dine at supper-time, make “morning” calls and go to “morning” concerts, etc., late in the afternoon, say “Good morning” until 6 or 7 P.M. ; and thus

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THE ORIGIN AND PROBABLE DURATION OF PETROLEUM.

In spite of the enormous quantities of mineral oil that are continuously drawn from the earth, and the many places from which it may thus be drawn, geologists are still puzzled to account for it. If it were commonly associated with coal the problem of its origin would be solved at once. We should then be satisfied that natural mineral oil is produced in the same manner as the artificial product, i.e. , by the heating and consequent distillation of certain kinds of coal or of bituminous shales; b

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THE ORIGIN OF SOAP.

A history of soap would be very interesting. Who invented it? When and where did it first come into common use? How did our remote ancestors wash themselves before soap was invented? These are historical questions that naturally arise at first contemplation of the subject; but, as far as we are aware, historians have failed to answer them. We read a great deal in ancient histories about anointing with oil and the use of various cosmetics for the skin, but nothing about soap. These ancients must

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OILING THE WAVES.

The recent gales have shown that if “Britannia rules the waves” her subjects are very turbulent and costly. Our shipping interests are now of enormous magnitude, and they are growing year by year. We are, in fact, becoming the world’s carriers on the ocean, and are thus ruling the waves in a far better sense than in the old one. Our present mercantile rule adds to the wealth of our neighbors instead of destroying it, as under the old warlike rule. Everything concerning these waves is thus of gre

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ON THE SO-CALLED “CRATER NECKS” AND “VOLCANIC BOMBS” OF IRELAND. A Paper Read at the Geologists’ Association, December 6, 1878.

Mr. Hull, “Physical Geography and Geology of Ireland,” p. 68, under the head of “Volcanic Necks and Basaltic Dykes,” says that “although the actual craters and cones of eruption have been swept from the surface of the country by the ruthless hand of time, yet the old “necks” by which the volcanic mouths were connected with the sources of eruption can occasionally be recognized; they sometimes appear as masses of hard trap, columnar or otherwise, projecting in knolls or hills above the upper surf

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TRAVERTINE.

The old exclamation about Augustus finding Rome of brick and leaving it of marble, deceives many. Ancient Rome was by no means a marble city, although the quarries of Massa and Carrara are not far distant. The staple-building materials of the Imperial City, even in its palmiest days, were brick and travertine. The brick, however, was very different from the porous cakes of crudely burnt clay of which the modern metropolis of the world is built. I have examined on the spot a great many specimens,

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THE ACTION OF FROST IN WATER-PIPES AND ON BUILDING MATERIALS.

Popular science has penetrated too deeply now to render necessary any refutation of the old popular fallacy which attributed the bursting of water-pipes to the thaw following a frost; everybody now understands that the thaw merely renders the work of the previous freezing so disastrously evident. Nevertheless, the general subject of the action of freezing water upon our dwellings is not so fully understood by all concerned as it should be. Builders and house-owners should understand it thoroughl

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THE CORROSION OF BUILDING STONES.

About fifty years ago two eminent French chemists visited London, and rather “astonished the natives” by a curious feature of their dress. They wore on their hats large patches of colored paper. Coming, as they did, from Paris, many supposed that this was one of the latest Paris fashions, and the dandies of the period narrowly escaped the compulsion to follow it. They probably would have done so had the Frenchmen shown any attempt at decorative shaping of the paper. They neglected this because i

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FIRE-CLAY AND ANTHRACITE.

For household fire-places, whether open or closed, these may be regarded as the material and the fuel of the future, and should be more generally and better understood than they are. The merits of fire-clay were fully appreciated and described nearly a hundred years ago by that very remarkable man, Benjamin Thompson, Count of Rumford. Any sound scientific exposition of the relative value of fire-clay and iron as fire-place materials can be little more or less than a repetition of what he struggl

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COUNT RUMFORD’S COOKING-STOVES.

In the preceding chapter I described Count Rumford’s modification of the English open firegrate which eighty years ago was offered to the British nation without any patent or other restrictions. Its non-adoption I believe to be mainly due to this—it was nobody’s monopoly, nobody’s business to advertise it, and, therefore, nobody took any further notice of it; especially as it cannot be made and sold as a separate portable article. An ironmonger or stove-maker who should go to the expense of exhi

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THE “CONSUMPTION OF SMOKE.”

A great deal has been spoken and written on this subject, but practically nothing has been done . At one time I shared the general belief in its possibility, and accordingly examined a multitude of devices for smoke-consuming, and tried several of the most promising, chiefly in furnaces for metallurgical work, for steam boilers and stills. None of them proved satisfactory, and I was driven to the conclusion that smoke-consumption is a delusion, and further, that economical consumption of smoke i

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THE AIR OF STOVE-HEATED ROOMS.

Whatever opinions may be formed of the merits of the exhibits at South Kensington, one result is unquestionable—the exhibition itself has done much in directing public attention to the very important subject of economizing fuel and the diminution of smoke. We sorely need some lessons. Our national progress in this direction has been simply contemptible, so far as domestic fireplaces are concerned. To prove this we need only turn back to the essays of Benjamin Thompson, Count of Rumford, publishe

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VENTILATION BY OPEN FIREPLACES.

The most stubborn of all errors are those which have been acquired by a sort of inheritance, which have passed dogmatically from father to son, or, still worse, from mother to daughter. They may become superstitions without any theological character. The idea that the weather changes with the moon, that wind “keeps off the rain,” are physical superstitions in all cases where they are blindly accepted and promulgated without any examination of evidence. The idea that our open fireplaces are neces

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DOMESTIC VENTILATION. A Lesson from the Coal-Pits.

We require in our houses an artificial temperate climate which shall be uniform throughout, and at the same time we need a gentle movement of air that shall supply the requirements of respiration without any gusts, or draughts, or alternations of temperature. Everybody will admit that these are fundamental desiderata , but whoever does so becomes thereby a denouncer of open-grate fireplaces, and of every system of heating which is dependent on any kind of stoves with fuel burning in the rooms th

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The Discussion which followed the reading of the preceding paper at the Society of Arts.

A member asked if Mr. Williams had observed the effect of wind and rain on this material? Mr. W. P. B. Shepheard said he was interested in a large square in London, and he had hoped to hear something about the cultivation of flowers in such places. Last year, they tried the experiment with several varieties of flower seeds, and they came up and bloomed well in the open ground without any protection whatever. In most London squares, the difficulty was to find anyone bold enough to try the experim

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SOLIDS, LIQUIDS, AND GASES.

The growth of accurate knowledge is continually narrowing, and often obliterating, the broad lines of distinction that have been drawn between different classes of things. I well remember when our best naturalists regarded their “species” of plants and animals as fundamental and inviolable institutions, separated by well-defined boundaries that could not be crossed. Darwin has upset all this, and now we cannot even draw a clear, sharp line between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. The chemist i

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MURCHISON AND BABBAGE.

The curious contrast of character presented by these two eminent men, and the very different course of their lives, conveys a striking lesson to all those superficial thinkers and unthinking talkers who make sweeping generalizations concerning human character; who assume as a matter of course that any man who writes poetry must be merely a dreamer of day-dreams, incapable of transacting any practical daily business, and not at all reliable in money matters; whose eyes are always “in a fine frenz

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ATMOSPHERE versus ETHER.

One of the most remarkable meteors of which we have a reliable record appeared on February 6, 1818. Several accounts of it were published, the fullest being that in The Gentleman’s Magazine of the time. (I may here add, parenthetically, that one reason why I have especial pleasure in writing these notes is that they contribute something towards the restoration of the ancient status of this magazine, which was at one time the only English serial that ventured upon any notable degree of exposition

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A NEGLECTED DISINFECTANT.

When the household of our grandmothers was threatened with infection, the common practice was to sprinkle brimstone on a hot shovel or on hot coals on a shovel, and carry the burning result through the house. But now this simple method of disinfecting has gone out of fashion without any good and sufficient reason. The principal reason is neither good nor sufficient, viz., that nobody can patent it and sell it in shilling and half-crown bottles. On September 18th last, M. d’Abbadie read a paper a

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ANOTHER DISINFECTANT.

The above-named disinfectants are objectionable on account of their own odors and their corrosive action. Both sulphurous acid and hypochlorous acid (the active principle of the so-called “chloride of lime”) have a disagreeable habit of rusting iron and suggesting antique green bronzes by their action on brass ornaments. Under serious conditions this should be endured, but in many cases where the danger is not already developed, the desired end may be attained without these annoyances. Sulphate

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ENSILAGE.

This subject has been largely expounded and discussed lately in the Times and other newspapers. As most of my readers are doubtless aware, it is simply a substitute for haymaking, by digging pits, paving and building them round with stone or concrete, then placing the green fodder therein and covering it over with sufficient earth to exclude the air. We are told that very inferior material (such as coarse maize grass mixed with chaff) when thus preserved gives better feeding and milking results

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THE FRACTURE OF COMETS.

The view of the constitution of comets expounded in one of my notes of April last, viz., that they are meteoric systems consisting of a central mass, or masses, round which a multitude of minor bodies are revolving like satellites around their primary, is strongly confirmed by the curious proceedings of the present comet, which proceedings also justify my last note of last month pointing out the omission of our astronomers, who have neglected the positive and irregular repulsive action of the su

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THE ORIGIN OF COMETS.

We read in story-books of uncomfortable people who have cherished a guilty secret in their bosoms, that it has “gnawed their vitals,” until at last they have carried it to the grave. I have such a secret that does the gnawing business whenever I write or speak of comets, concerning the origin of which I am guilty of an hypothesis that has hitherto been cherished as aforesaid from the very shame of adding another to an already exaggerated heap of speculations on celestial physics. It assumes, in

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