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Show NEW THEORY OF SUN AND STARS Worked Out by Mathematical Methods by Prof. Sec, U. S. N. tatav HE AMroiiomlscho Nnch- rlchten contnlns n new theory of the sun and stars by Prof. T. J. J. See. U. S. N., the astronomer formerly former-ly in charge or the large telescope of tho Nnval Observatory lu Washington. The new theory Is worked out by ninth-cmntlilcal ninth-cmntlilcal methods, and Is revolutionary revolution-ary In more ways than one. Dr. See stnrts out by showing thnt tho matter or the sun Is reduced to single atoms by the enormous heat to which It Is subjected, and thnt no possible pos-sible chemical combinations can take place lu tho sun. Even hydrogen, oxygen ox-ygen nud nitrogen, whlc.i make up our air lu the form of molecules composed of united atoms, are split apart by the sun's heat. This Is called by Dr. Sec .ne monotomlc thcorr. It was first touched upon by the American astronomer. 1 nre, In 1800. Prof. See has revised aud extended Lane's neglected work, nnd given the whole theory of the sun a mathematical mathemati-cal form. Some of the principal points In Dr. See's theoiy aro ns follows: fol-lows: I. The sun Is mndc up of slnt'e atoms, nud Die central density Is exactly ex-actly six times the mean density. This Is described ns a new law discovered by Dr. See- nnd verified with great labor. It applies to nil the fired stars as well as the sun, and Is thus n general gen-eral law or nature. Tables aro riven, and nlso curves sliowlug what the density Is nt every point or the sun's radius. While the density nt the centre exceeds ex-ceeds thnt of Iron and turns out to be Identical with thnt of German tllvcr, near the surface It becomes exceedingly exceeding-ly small. One-tenth or the way down to the ccntro the density Is only 153 times thnt or air, nnd nt the surface tho density lls between ouc-tcnth aud one-hundredth or thnt of air. I!. It Is shown that the temperature rises with enormous rapidity as the sun's mnss is penetrated, becoming nt tho centre 50,000,000 degrees centigrade. centi-grade. The heat Just below thq photosphere pho-tosphere Is shown to be nearly half a million degrees so Intense that the light and heat arc driven, through the outlying gas like light through the earth's atmosphere. In this way Dr. See explains the sun's surface radiation without tho use or convection currents, assumed by previous writers. They hnve uniform ly held that hot currents come from tho depths of the sun, while cold currents cur-rents sink after their heat li radiated away. Dr. Sec docs away with nil this complex theory. II. The pressure Is shown to Increase downward in the sun at a tremendous rate, becoming mora than fourteen billion ntmosplicrcs at tho centre. Imagine Im-agine a column of mercury erected from the earth one-sixth of the way to the sun and pressing throughout ns n column of quicksilver does hero nt the earth's surface, n.iul you have nn Idea of the pressure or the sun's centre. In nddltlon to this pressure It has n temperature of 50,000,000 degrees centigrade. cen-tigrade. Tho mean velocities or molecules nrc shown to be Mo I miles n second. Even near the surface the pressure Is great, and therefore circulation of surface matter making up the prominences must be quite shallow. At one-tenth or the wny to tho centre tho pressure Is two nud one-half timer thnt at tho centre or tho earth, nud the mnttcr therefore inucn more rigid than the armor plates of battleship, though only 15a times ns dense ns air. I. Prof. See calculates the total amount of heat stored up In the sun, and shows that when a atar or sun Is made up of single atoms only one-half of' the heat developed In condensation Is radiated away, whllo the rest is stored up. Hence It, follows thnt one-halt one-halt of nil the heat produced by the sun since eternity Is still stored up for future radiation. This leads (o the conclusion thnt the future duration of the sun will be nt least three times that or the past, Some scientists have supposed that the sun's light and heat arc beginning to .'all, but Dr. Seo shows by calculation calcu-lation that tho suu's activity Is still rising ris-ing nud that we have a yet by no means read ed the zenith or glory In tho lire or tho solar system. This conclusion con-clusion Is' verified ami applied to the stars of the Milky Way, .nd he shows Hint their brilliant light :s due to this accumulation' or heat within their llarnlng globes. When we look upon the stars at night, therefore, we aro to remember thnt a llttlo m ore thr.n llffy per cont. of their light and heat from eternity Is Mill stored up for future radiation. Ilcnco the future duration or tho universe uni-verse will bo Immense and the stars are by no menus dying out as somu have supposed. 5. The contraction .heory ptnpound-iil ptnpound-iil by Helmholtz lu 1S.1I Is extended by Dr. . ee. who show that the annual an-nual shrinkage In the suu's radius ' about twlcu What Ilelniholt. originally calculated, being sevsnty-ouo metres per annum, lu place of thirty-live' metres me-tres given by Iielmholtz. Prof. Soo gives an eqiu.tlou ror the suu's diameter which ho s' ys will hold for .1 iiillllnu years. In thnt time the sun will shrink one-tenth if Its diameter, diam-eter, which coulu Just be perceived by the "iked eye. |
