filings, and you will now see that on placing filings, and place it near the positive end of these ends near to each other, the forces in the other. these ends of the magnets repel and expand. And here, you now see the forces attract and contract. B. That is true. How beautiful and how perfect the illustration! A. Sir, did you ever see a magnetized disc? B. Well, that is a fact, there is an impulsion, or projectile force which expands. A. I will now dip the opposite, or nega first adjust and then remove the connecting copper wires, and raise it from the pole. 1 will now lay it on the table-place a sheet of white paper over it, and strew the paper tive end of one of these magnets in iron with iron filings, as you see. B. That is astonishing! what makes the iron filings work into lines? A. They are magnetized by the disc with two poles, and the forces form the pole in the space in the centre of it; repel one end of each iron filing and attract the other, and consequently compel them to lie in a line with the forces which radiate from the centre. B. What makes that halo, or light circle, around the pole in the centre of the disc? A. It is produced by the violent action of the forces upon the matter which surrounds it. B. Is not that possibly the way in which the sun lights up its atmosphere. A. To answer that question in the affirm ative, it is only necessary to admit a power in the forces from the sun, proportioned to what we obtain with the magnetic battery; for by bringing the poles in contact with each other, in our atmosphere, they produce the most intense light and heat, and the direction of the attractive force from the surface, and of the repulsive force from the centre of the sun, bring them (as can be shown) in contact in his atmosphere. B. I see four circular spots in the circumference of this disc, where some of the iron filings stand up on end, and others are turned half round. What does that mean? A. They are the offsprings of the large pole in the centre. It has made four poles and pushed them into the circumference of the disc, and it is the action of the forces from the small poles that makes some of the iron filings stand on their ends, and others turn around them. B. Well, the sun, it has been said, may have formed the earth and planets by its action upon matter in space, and you have here, it appears, a miniature solar system, produced by the action of these forces, and showing at least, a possibility of their production in that manner. A. There are other and more important facts in confirmation of that supposition in the correspondence of these two innate to show that the sun S, must compel the earth E, to revolve on its axis; for the posi tive hemisphere of the sun g, would attract the negative hemisphere of the earth i, at the same time the negative hemisphere of the sun h, was attracting the positive hemisphere of the earth j; while the hemispheres of opposite denominations, gj and h i. would repel each other in the direction of the dotted lines r r. forces, with the two great divisions of mat-hemisphere of the earth. It is now only ter; for there are two great divisions of matter, one of which, as alkalies, repel and ex- acknowledged laws of the magnetic forces, necessary to apply the simple and universally pand, while the other, as acids, attract and contract. Again, it is well known that the earth is equally divided in the same order, or that the southern hemisphere is in a positive, while the nothern hemisphere is in a negative state; and moreover, that they consequently attract each other, at the same time that the southern hemisphere repels positive, and the northern negative matter. The sun and planets being constituted, and organized in the same manner as the earth, their reThe earth being a round body, and having spective hemispheres, of the same denomi- two forces thus acting upon it in opposite nation, must repel, while the hemis- directions, would necessarily revolve on its pheres of opposite denominations, must at-axis with a velocity proportioned to the intract each other, when within repelling and tensity of the forces, in the same manner as attracting distances, as seen in this figure. a ball revolves on its axis, when we pull it with one hand on one side, and push it on the opposite side with the other.* The earth like the ball, it will be seen, must revolve as it does, in the direction of the attracting or pulling forces. When the earth would be thus revolving on its axis, it would be compelled to revolve round the sun at the same time and in the same direction, for the simple reason that it would be constantly attracted on the west and repelled on the east side, and would perform a revolution in its orbit in a time proportioned to the intensity of the forces and its distance from the sun. The true cause of the motion of the earth on its axis and in its orbit, is thus shown by the action of the magnetic forces, and in a manner so plain as to make it easily understood by persons of the most common education and capacity, notwithstanding the great difficulties in which the subject has been heretofore involved. S, the sun; a, the axis of rotation; b, Newton, like the philosophers of the preequator; St, magnetic axis; c, plane of the sent day, knew nothing of the motion of the ecliptic; E, earth; d, axis of rotation; e, magnetic poles, but imputed the cause of the equator; En, magnetic axis; mm, continu-motion of the earth on its axis and in its orous lines representing the direction of the at- bit, to the immediate agency of the Supreme tractive forces; r r, dotted lines representing Being, as may be seen in his ninth proposithe direction of the repulsive forces; g, the tion, in which he says, "That as no mepositive, and h, the negative hemisphere of the sun; i, the negative, and j, the positive The forces act simultaneously on the opposite sides of bodies as is demonstrated on the magnetised ring. chanical cause can be assigned for the projectile force, none for the gravitating force, and none for the rotation of planets on their axes; so all those phenomena must be referred to the immediate agency of the Supreme Being." B. I see that the facts you have adduced are perfectly fatal to the theory that all particles of matter mutually attract each other in the direct ratio of their masses; for as you say it might be as truly said that all bodies mutually repel each other in the same ratio of their There is, however, another fact Sir Richard Philips has promulgated a masses. gaseous system of astronomy, founded on connected with the Newtonian theory that the assumption of the equal densities of may help us out of this difficulty, and as I the sun, earth and planets, and their momenta presume you do not intend or wish to demolamong one another in an elastic medium, ish the whole fabric on which this system is "A which is equally subject to the necessity of founded, I will mention it. It is this, the same marvellous interposition besides that double projectile force, balances a quadruple attractive one." of enchantment or witchcraft. Newton supposed that when God made the earth he gave it a push, and that from that impulse it would have always moved in a straight line, but for the gravitating or attracting force of the sun, which compelled the earth to change its course; but as it was in constant danger of falling into the sun by the long continued action of this force, notwithstanding the first prodigious impulse, he in his eagerness to prevent it, founded a theory of a projectile or repulsive force, for keeping the earth at a respectful distance from it, on the ridiculous assumption of a fall of the moon sixteen feet in a minute, which he applied to the earth, and in this way demonstrated most minutely in his own mind, as well as in that of most of his readers, the stability of the earth in its orbit. A. Yes, at short distances from the bodies from which the forces emanate, but as the projectile force decreases in direct proportion, and the attraction only as the cubes of the distances, they are consequently balanced at a certain distance, and also at uncertain distances, according to the density of bodies with which they come in contact, as in the case of the earth and planets. That appendage to the theory of universal gravitation cannot therefore save it from the fate of every other not founded on the laws of these forces. B. I can now see that the projectile force, which as in the case of the iron filings, expands, must necessarily lose power in some proportion, and I should be pleased to see an example, if you can conveniently give one, which shows it to be direct. Sir Richard Philips has, however, had the A. I Can readily do so, and will illuspresumption to deny the accuracy of New-trate it in this drawing of the solar system, in ton's calculations, in regard to the distance which the repulsive force is represented in the moon falls in a minute which according to lines drawn from the centre of the sun to the his theory is 128,814 feet instead of 16; and surface of the planets, and the attractive he applies it to the earth, and in this way force by lines drawn from the surface of the obtains a tremendous projectile force, and ac- sun to the planets. Now there is always a counts for the stability of the earth in its or- magnetic axis or principal magnetic meridian bit, by the assistance of this new moon story, between poles of opposite denominations, with the same minuteness that Newton did, whether they are of the same body, or poles with 16 feet fall of the moon in a minute, of different bodies, when they are within and with all the gravity and solemn empha-attracting and repelling distances, and the sis due to such a subject, notwithstanding the line drawn here from the centre of the sun, glaring absurdity of the attempt to obtain an to the centre of the earth, represents the increase of the projectile out of the gravita-principal meridian between them, and corresting force, whenever and wherever it might ponds with the principal meridian or line of be necessary to suit his theory. no variation of the earth. B. Barlow, I recollect, calculated the annual rate of motion of the magnetic poles, and of course the line of no variation at 25' and the line of revolution at about 860. A. I know he did, but his calculations were founded on assumptions which were eroneous. The sun moves on its axis from west to that the repulsive force from the sun deeast, and consequently moves the earth and creases in the same proportion.* planets on their axis, and in their orbits, by the action of his attractive force in the same direction, while the repulsive force maintains them at their respective distances from him, and at the same time moves their lines of no variation from east to west, or in a direction opposite to that in which the earth and planets are moved by the attractive force; for The time of revolution is 666 years, this economy is a necessary consequence of and this number has a very important relation the action of these forces in opposite direc- to our system; for the magnetic poles and tions. Now the distance which the line of line of no variation of the sun, earth and no variation of the earth is moved by the planets, perform a revolution around these repulsive force, in one year, or in the time bodies in 666 of their years; and it is easy to the earth performs one revolution in its orbit determine by this and their distance from the is 32',26", as is ascertained by numerous ob- sun, their annual rate of motion, but it is getservations, and this corresponds very nearly ting late, and we must defer any further conwith the mean diameter of the sun (32',03") versation upon this interesting subject to a fuas found by observations at its greatest and ture period. least distances from the earth; and as the visual angles of bodies decrease in direct proportion to distance, it necessarily follows 32',26" is the true mean diameter of the Sun, as seen from the earth-it does not vary from it one second, and astronomers will please correct their observations. |