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A HISTORY OF SCIENCE BYHENRY SMITH WILLIAMS, M.D., LL.D.
ASSISTED BYEDWARD H. WILLIAMS, M.D.
IN FIVE VOLUMESVOLUME III.
MODERN DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES CONTENTS BOOK IIICHAPTER I. THE SUCCESSORS OF NEWTON IN ASTRONOMY
The work of Johannes HeveliusâHalley and HeveliusâHalleyâs observation of the transit of Mercury, and his method of determining the parallax of the planetsâHalleyâs observation of meteorsâHis inability to explain these bodiesâThe important work of James BradleyâLacailleâs measurement of the arc of the meridianâThe determination of the question as to the exact shape of the earthâDâAlembert and his influence upon science-
-Delambreâs History of AstronomyâThe astronomical work of Euler.
CHAPTER II. THE PROGRESS OF MODERN ASTRONOMY
The work of William HerschelâHis discovery of UranusâHis discovery that the stars are sunsâHis conception of the universeâHis deduction that gravitation has caused the grouping of the heavenly bodiesâThe nebula, hypothesis, âImmanuel Kantâs conception of the formation of the worldâDefects in Kantâs conceptionâLaplaceâs final solution of the problemâHis explanation in detailâChange in the mental attitude of the world since BrunoâAsteroids and satellitesâDiscoveries of Olbers1âThe mathematical calculations of Adams and LeverrierâThe discovery of the inner ring of SaturnâClerk Maxwellâs paper on the stability of Saturnâs ringsâHelmholtzâs conception of the action of tidal frictionâProfessor G. H. Darwinâs estimate of the consequences of tidal actionâComets and meteorsâBredichinâs cometary theoryâThe final solution of the structure of cometsâNewcombâs estimate of the amount of cometary dust swept up daily by the earthâThe fixed starsâJohn Herschelâs studies of double starsâFraunhoferâs perfection of the refracting telescopeâBesselâs measurement of the parallax of a star,âHendersonâs measurementsâKirchhoff and Bunsenâs perfection of the spectroscopeâWonderful revelations of the spectroscopeâLord Kelvinâs estimate of the time that will be required for the earth to become completely cooledâ
Alvan Clarkâs discovery of the companion star of Siriusâ
The advent of the photographic film in astronomyâDr.
Hugginsâs studies of nebulaeâSir Norman Lockyerâs âcosmogonic guess,ââCrollâs pre-nebular theory.
CHAPTER III. THE NEW SCIENCE OF PALEONTOLOGY
William Smith and fossil shellsâHis discovery that fossil rocks are arranged in regular systemsâSmithâs inquiries taken up by CuvierâHis Ossements Fossiles containing the first description of hairy elephantâHis contention that fossils represent extinct species onlyâDr. Bucklandâs studies of English fossil-bedsâCharles Lyell combats catastrophism, âElaboration of his ideas with reference to the rotation of speciesâThe establishment of the doctrine of uniformitarianism, âDarwinâs Origin of SpeciesâFossil manâDr. Falconerâs visit to the fossil-beds in the valley of the SommeâInvestigations of Prestwich and Sir John EvansâDiscovery of the Neanderthal skull, âCuvierâs rejection of human fossilsâThe finding of prehistoric carving on ivoryâThe fossil-beds of AmericaâProfessor Marshâs paper on the fossil horses in AmericaâThe Warren mastodon, âThe Java fossil, Pithecanthropus Erectus.
CHAPTER IV. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN GEOLOGY
James Hutton and the study of the rocksâHis theory of the earthâHis belief in volcanic cataclysms in raising and forming the continentsâHis famous paper before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1781âHis conclusions that all strata of the earth have their origin at the bottom of the seaâHis deduction that heated and expanded matter caused the elevation of land above the sea-levelâIndifference at first shown this remarkable paperâNeptunists versus Plutonistsâ
Scropeâs classical work on volcanoesâFinal acceptance of Huttonâs explanation of the origin of granitesâLyell and uniformitarianismâObservations on the gradual elevation of the coast-lines of Sweden and PatagoniaâObservations on the enormous amount of land erosion constantly taking place, âAgassiz and the glacial theoryâPerraudin the chamois-hunter, and his explanation of perched bowldersâDe Charpentierâs acceptance of Perraudinâs explanationâAgassizâs paper on his Alpine studiesâHis conclusion that the Alps were once covered with an ice-sheetâFinal acceptance of the glacial theoryâThe geological agesâThe work of Murchison and SedgwickâFormation of the American continentsâPast, present, and future.
CHAPTER V. THE NEW SCIENCE OF METEOROLOGY
Biotâs investigations of meteorsâThe observations of Brandes and Benzenberg on the velocity of falling starsâ
Professor Olmsteadâs observations on the meteoric shower of 1833-
-Confirmation of Chladniâs hypothesis of 1794âThe aurora borealisâFranklinâs suggestion that it is of electrical originâIts close association with terrestrial magnetismâEvaporation, cloud-formation, and dewâDaltonâs demonstration that water exists in the air as an independent gasâHuttonâs theory of rainâLuke Howardâs paper on cloudsâObservations on dew, by Professor Wilson and Mr. SixâDr. Wellsâs essay on dewâHis observations on several appearances connected with dewâIsotherms and ocean currentsâHumboldt and the-science of comparative climatologyâHis studies of ocean currentsâ
Mauryâs theory that gravity is the cause of ocean currentsâ
Dr. Croll on Climate and TimeâCyclones and anti-cyclones, âDoveâs studies in climatologyâProfessor Ferrelâs mathematical law of the deflection of windsâTyndallâs estimate of the amount of heat given off by the liberation of a pound of vaporâMeteorological observations and weather predictions.
CHAPTER VI. MODERN THEORIES OF HEAT AND LIGHT
Josiah Wedgwood and the clay pyrometerâCount Rumford and the vibratory theory of heatâHis experiments with boring cannon to determine the nature of heatâCausing water to boil by the friction of the borerâHis final determination that heat is a form of motionâThomas Young and the wave theory of lightâHis paper on the theory of light and colorsâHis exposition of the colors of thin platesâOf the colors of thick plates, and of striated surfaces, âArago and Fresnel champion the wave theoryâopposition to the theory by BiotâThe French Academyâs tacit acceptance of the correctness of the theory by its admission of Fresnel as a member.
CHAPTER VII. THE MODERN DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM
Galvani and the beginning of modern electricityâThe construction of the voltaic pileâNicholsonâs and Carlisleâs discovery that the galvanic current decomposes waterâDecomposition of various substances by Sir Humphry DavyâHis construction of an arc-lightâThe deflection of the magnetic needle by electricity demonstrated by OerstedâEffect of this important discoveryâAmpere creates the science of electrodynamicsâJoseph Henryâs studies of electromagnetsâMichael Faraday begins his studies of electromagnetic inductionâHis famous paper before the Royal Society, in 1831, in which he demonstrates electromagnetic inductionâHis explanation of Aragoâs rotating diskâThe search for a satisfactory method of storing electricityâ
Roentgen rays, or X-rays.
CHAPTER VIII. THE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
Faraday narrowly misses the discovery of the doctrine of conservationâCarnotâs belief that a definite quantity of work can be transformed into a definite quantity of heatâThe work of James Prescott JouleâInvestigations begun by Dr.
MayerâMayerâs paper of 1842âHis statement of the law of the conservation of energyâMayer and HelmholtzâJouleâs paper of 1843âJoule or MayerâLord Kelvin and the dissipation of energy-The final unification.
CHAPTER IX. THE ETHER AND PONDERABLE MATTER
James Clerk-Maxwellâs conception of etherâThomas Young and âLuminiferous ether,ââYoungâs and Fresnelâs conception of transverse luminiferous undulationsâFaradayâs experiments pointing to the existence of etherâProfessor Lodgeâs suggestion of two ethersâLord Kelvinâs calculation of the probable density of etherâThe vortex theory of atomsâHelmholtzâs calculations in vortex motions âProfessor Taitâs apparatus for creating vortex rings in the airâThe ultimate constitution of matter as conceived by BoscovichâDavyâs speculations as to the changes that occur in the substance of matter at different temperaturesâClausiusâs and Maxwellâs investigations of the kinetic theory of gasesâLord Kelvinâs estimate of the size of the moleculeâ
Studies of the potential energy of moleculesâAction of gases at low temperatures.
APPENDIX A HISTORY OF SCIENCEWith the present book we enter the field of the distinctively modern. There is no precise date at which we take up each of the successive stories, but the main sweep of development has to do in each case with the nineteenth century. We shall see at once that this is a time both of rapid progress and of great differentiation. We have heard almost nothing hitherto of such sciences as paleontology, geology, and meteorology, each of which now demands full attention.
Meantime, astronomy and what the workers of the elder day called natural philosophy become wonderfully diversified and present numerous phases that would have been startling enough to the star-gazers and philosophers of the earlier epoch.
Thus, for example, in the field of astronomy, Herschel is able, thanks to his perfected telescope, to discover a new planet and then to reach out into the depths of space and gain such knowledge of stars and nebulae as hitherto no one had more than dreamed of.
Then, in rapid sequence, a whole coterie of hitherto unsuspected minor planets is discovered, stellar distances are measured, some members of the starry galaxy are timed in their flight, the direction of movement of the solar system itself is investigated, the spectroscope reveals the chemical composition even of suns that are unthinkably distant, and a tangible theory is grasped of the universal cycle which includes the birth and death of worlds.
Similarly the new studies of the earthâs surface reveal secrets of planetary formation hitherto quite inscrutable.
It becomes known that the strata of the earthâs surface have been forming throughout untold ages, and that successive populations differing utterly from one another have peopled the earth in different geological epochs. The entire point of view of thoughtful men becomes changed in contemplating the history of the world in which we liveâalbeit the newest thought harks back to some extent to those days when the inspired thinkers of early Greece dreamed out the wonderful theories with which our earlier chapters have made our readers familiar.
In the region of natural philosophy progress is no less pronounced and no less striking. It suffices here, however, by way of anticipation, simply to name the greatest generalization of the century in physical scienceâthe doctrine of the conservation of energy.
ITHE SUCCESSORS OF NEWTON IN ASTRONOMY
HEVELIUS AND HALLEYSTRANGELY enough, the decade immediately following Newton was one of comparative barrenness in scientific progress, the early years of the eighteenth century not being as productive of great astronomers as the later years of the seventeenth, or, for that matter, as the later years of the eighteenth century itself. Several of the prominent astronomers of the later seventeenth century lived on into the opening years of the following century, however, and the younger generation soon developed a coterie of astronomers, among whom Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, and Herschel, as we shall see, were to accomplish great things in this field before the century closed.
One of the great seventeenth-century astronomers, who died just before the close of the century, was Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), of Dantzig, who advanced astronomy by his accurate description of the face and the spots of the moon. But he is remembered also for having retarded progress by his influence in refusing to use telescopic sights in his observations, preferring until his death the plain sights long before discarded by most other astronomers. The advantages of these telescope sights have been discussed under the article treating of Robert Hooke, but no such advantages were ever recognized by Hevelius.
So great was Heveliusâs reputation as an astronomer that his refusal to recognize the advantage of the telescope sights caused many astronomers to hesitate before accepting them as superior to the plain; and even the famous Halley, of whom we shall speak further in a moment, was sufficiently in doubt over the matter to pay the aged astronomer a visit to test his skill in using the old-style sights. Side by side, Hevelius and Halley made their observations, Hevelius with his old instrument and Halley with the new. The results showed slightly in the younger manâs favor, but not enough to make it an entirely convincing demonstration.
The explanation of this, however, did not lie in the lack of superiority of the telescopic instrument, but rather in the marvellous skill of the aged Hevelius, whose dexterity almost compensated for the defect of his instrument. What he might have accomplished could he have been induced to adopt the telescope can
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