Chapter V: The New Science of Meteorology

Biot's investigations of meteors--The observations of Brandes and
Benzenberg on the velocity of falling stars--Professor Olmstead's
observations on the meteoric shower of 1833--Confirmation of Chladni's
hypothesis of 1794--The aurora borealis--Franklin's suggestion that
it is of electrical origin--Its close association with terrestrial
magnetism--Evaporation, cloud-formation, and dew--Dalton's demonstration
that water exists in the air as an independent gas--Hutton's theory of
rain--Luke Howard's paper on clouds--Observations on dew, by Professor
Wilson and Mr. Six--Dr. Wells's essay on dew--His observations
on several appearances connected with dew--Isotherms and ocean
currents--Humboldt and the-science of comparative climatology--His
studies of ocean currents--Maury's theory that gravity is the cause
of ocean currents--Dr. Croll on Climate and Time--Cyclones and
anti-cyclones,--Dove's studies in climatology--Professor Ferrel's
mathematical law of the deflection of winds--Tyndall's estimate of
the amount of heat given off by the liberation of a pound of
vapor--Meteorological observations and weather predictions.

CHAPTER VI. MODERN THEORIES OF HEAT AND LIGHT

Josiah Wedgwood and the clay pyrometer--Count Rumford and the vibratory
theory of heat--His experiments with boring cannon to determine the
nature of heat--Causing water to boil by the friction of the borer--His
final determination that heat is a form of motion--Thomas Young and the
wave theory of light--His paper on the theory of light and colors--His
exposition of the colors of thin plates--Of the colors of thick
plates, and of striated surfaces,--Arago and Fresnel champion the wave
theory--opposition to the theory by Biot--The French Academy's 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 electricity--The construction of
the voltaic pile--Nicholson's and Carlisle's discovery that the galvanic
current decomposes water--Decomposition of various substances by Sir
Humphry Davy--His construction of an arc-light--The deflection of the
magnetic needle by electricity demonstrated by Oersted--Effect of
this important discovery--Ampere creates the science of
electro-dynamics--Joseph Henry's studies of electromagnets--Michael
Faraday begins his studies of electromagnetic induction--His famous
paper before the Royal Society, in 1831, in which he demonstrates
electro-magnetic induction--His explanation of Arago's
rotating disk--The search for a satisfactory method of storing
electricity--Roentgen rays, or X-rays.

CHAPTER VIII. THE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

Faraday narrowly misses the discovery of the doctrine of
conservation--Carnot's belief that a definite quantity of work can be
transformed into a definite quantity of heat--The work of James Prescott
Joule--Investigations begun by Dr. Mayer--Mayer's paper of 1842--His
statement of the law of the conservation of energy--Mayer and
Helmholtz--Joule's paper of 1843--Joule or Mayer--Lord Kelvin and the
dissipation of energy-The final unification.

CHAPTER IX. THE ETHER AND PONDERABLE MATTER

James Clerk-Maxwell's conception of ether--Thomas Young and
"Luminiferous ether,"--Young's and Fresnel's conception of transverse
luminiferous undulations--Faraday's experiments pointing to the
existence of ether--Professor Lodge's suggestion of two ethers--Lord
Kelvin's calculation of the probable density of ether--The vortex theory
of atoms--Helmholtz's calculations in vortex motions--Professor
Tait's apparatus for creating vortex rings in the air---The ultimate
constitution of matter as conceived by Boscovich--Davy's speculations
as to the changes that occur in the substance of matter at different
temperatures--Clausius's and Maxwell's investigations of the
kinetic theory of gases--Lord Kelvin's estimate of the size of the
molecule--Studies of the potential energy of molecules--Action of gases
at low temperatures.

APPENDIX

A HISTORY OF SCIENCE