United States or Latvia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
If anything is to be inferred, either from the Nebular Hypothesis, or from the analogies supplied by the planets, it must be concluded that the outermost part of the solar atmosphere consists of what are called permanent gases gases that are not condensible into fluid even at low temperatures.
And assume that continuous radiation has brought the internal mass of metallic gases down to the critical point of the most condensible.
By this means nearly all the volatile matters pass over in the form of condensible vapours, and the crude oils are at once formed, from whence are obtained at different temperatures various volatile ethers, benzene, and artificial turpentine oil or petroleum spirit.
Steam is condensible into water, and when you lower the temperature of steam, you convert it back into fluid water; but I have lowered the temperature of the gas which I have collected in this jar, by passing it through water after it has traversed the iron barrel, and still it does not change back into water. I will take another test and apply to this gas. That tells you that it is not steam.
Assume a spheroid of such size as will form one of the inferior planets, and consisting externally of a voluminous, cloudy atmosphere composed of the less condensible elements, and internally of metallic gases: such internal gases being kept by convection-currents at temperatures not very widely differing.
That is, if a mass of them really touched each other, that mass would not be condensible by any force. But atoms of matter do not touch. It is thinkable, but not demonstrable, that condensation might go on till there were no discernible substance left, only force. Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas.
It is water produced from the candle by the action of the air upon its hydrogen. But, besides that, something is going out at the top: it is not moisture it is not water it is not condensible; and yet, after all, it has very singular properties.
Word Of The Day