The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) - A Plain Story Simply Told

J. Arthur Thomson

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• Publié par: urdya
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 17
• Langue: English
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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4), by
J. Arthur Thomson
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Title: The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)
A Plain Story Simply Told
Author: J. Arthur Thomson
Release Date: January 22, 2007 [EBook #20417]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUTLINE OF SCIENCE ***
Produced by Brian Janes, Leonard Johnson and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
THE GREAT SCARLET SOLAR PROMINENCES, WHICH ARE SUCH A
NOTABLE FEATURE OF THE SOLAR PHENOMENA, ARE IMMENSE
OUTBURSTS OF FLAMING HYDROGEN RISING SOMETIMES TO A
HEIGHT OF 500,000 MILESHEIGHT OF 500,000 MILES
THE
OUTLINE OF SCIENCE
A PLAIN STORY SIMPLY TOLD
EDITED BY
J. ARTHUR THOMSON
REGIUS PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN
WITH OVER 800 ILLUSTRATIONS
OF WHICH ABOUT 40 ARE IN COLOUR
IN FOUR VOLUMES
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker press
Copyright, 1922
by
G. P. Putnam's Sons
First Printing April, 1922
Second Printing April, 1922
Third Printing April, 1922
Fourth Printing April, 1922
Fifth Printing June, 1922
Sixth Printing June, 1922
Seventh Printing June, 1922
Eighth Printing June, 1922
Ninth Printing August, 1922
Tenth Printing September, 1922
Eleventh Printing Sept., 1922
Twelfth Printing, May, 1924
[Pg iii]Made in the United States of America
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
By Professor J. Arthur Thomson
Was it not the great philosopher and mathematician Leibnitz who said that themore knowledge advances the more it becomes possible to condense it into
little books? Now this "Outline of Science" is certainly not a little book, and yet it
illustrates part of the meaning of Leibnitz's wise saying. For here within
reasonable compass there is a library of little books—an outline of many
sciences.
It will be profitable to the student in proportion to the discrimination with which it
is used. For it is not in the least meant to be of the nature of an Encyclopædia,
giving condensed and comprehensive articles with a big full stop at the end of
each. Nor is it a collection of "primers," beginning at the very beginning of each
subject and working methodically onwards. That is not the idea.
What then is the aim of this book? It is to give the intelligent student-citizen,
otherwise called "the man in the street," a bunch of intellectual keys by which to
open doors which have been hitherto shut to him, partly because he got no
glimpse of the treasures behind the doors, and partly because the portals were
made forbidding by an unnecessary display of technicalities. Laying aside
conventional modes of treatment and seeking rather to open up the subject as
one might on a walk with a friend, the work offers the student what might be
called informal introductions to the various departments of knowledge. To put it
in another way, the articles are meant to be clues which the reader may follow
till he has left his starting point very far behind. Perhaps when he has gone far
on his own he will not be ungrateful to the simple book of "instructions to
[Pg iv]travellers" which this "Outline of Science" is intended to be. The simple
"bibliographies" appended to the various articles will be enough to indicate
"first books." Each article is meant to be an invitation to an intellectual
adventure, and the short lists of books are merely finger-posts for the beginning
of the journey.
We confess to being greatly encouraged by the reception that has been given
to the English serial issue of "The Outline of Science." It has been very hearty
—we might almost say enthusiastic. For we agree with Professor John Dewey,
that "the future of our civilisation depends upon the widening spread and
deepening hold of the scientific habit of mind." And we hope that this is what
"The Outline of Science" makes for. Information is all to the good; interesting
information is better still; but best of all is the education of the scientific habit of
mind. Another modern philosopher, Professor L. T. Hobhouse, has declared
that the evolutionist's mundane goal is "the mastery by the human mind of the
conditions, internal as well as external, of its life and growth." Under the
influence of this conviction "The Outline of Science" has been written. For life is
not for science, but science for life. And even more than science, to our way of
thinking, is the individual development of the scientific way of looking at things.
[Pg v]Science is our legacy; we must use it if it is to be our very own.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
I. THE ROMANCE OF THE HEAVENS 7
The scale of the universe—The solar system—Regions of the sun
—The surface of the sun—Measuring the speed of light—Is the sun—The surface of the sun—Measuring the speed of light—Is the sun
dying?—The planets—Venus—Is there life on Mars?—Jupiter and
Saturn—The moon—The mountains of the moon—Meteors and
comets—Millions of meteorites—A great comet—The stellar universe
—The evolution of stars—The age of stars—The nebular theory
—Spiral nebulæ—The birth and death of stars—The shape of our
universe—Astronomical instruments.
II. THE STORY OF EVOLUTION 53
The beginning of the earth—Making a home for life—The first living
creatures—The first plants—The first animals—Beginnings of bodies
—Evolution of sex—Beginning of natural death—Procession of life
through the ages—Evolution of land animals—The flying dragons
—The first known bird—Evidences of evolution—Factors in evolution.
III. ADAPTATIONS TO ENVIRONMENT 113
The shore of the sea—The open sea—The deep sea—The fresh
waters—The dry land—The air.
IV. THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 135
Animal and bird mimicry and disguise—Other kinds of elusiveness.
V. THE ASCENT OF MAN 153
Anatomical proof of man's relationship with a Simian stock
—Physiological proof—Embryological proof—Man's pedigree—Man's
[Pg vi]arboreal apprenticeship—Tentative men—Primitive men—Races of
mankind—Steps in human evolution—Factors in human progress.
VI. EVOLUTION GOING ON 183
Evolutionary prospect for man—The fountain of change; variability
—Evolution of plants—Romance of wheat—Changes in animal life
—Story of the salmon—Forming new habits—Experiments in
locomotion; new devices.
VII. THE DAWN OF MIND 205
A caution in regard to instinct—A useful law—Senses of fishes—The
mind of a minnow—The mind and senses of amphibians—The
reptilian mind—Mind in birds—Intelligence co-operating with instinct
—The mind of the mammal—Instinctive aptitudes—Power of
association—Why is there not more intelligence?—The mind of
monkeys—Activity for activity's sake—Imitation—The mind of man
—Body and mind.
VIII.FOUNDATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE 243
The world of atoms—The energy of atoms—The discovery of X-rays
—The discovery of radium—The discovery of the electron—The
electron theory—The structure of the atom—The new view of matter
—Other new views—The nature of electricity—Electric current—The
dynamo—Magnetism—Ether and waves—Light—What the blue "sky"
means—Light without heat—Forms of energy—What heat is
—Substitutes for coal—Dissipation of energy—What a uniform
temperature would mean—Matter, ether, and Einstein—The tides
—Origin of the moon—The earth slowing down—The day becoming
longer.
[Pg vii]ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
THE GREAT SCARLET SOLAR PROMINENCES, WHICH ARE SUCH A NOTABLE Coloured
FEATURE OF THE SOLAR PHENOMENA, ARE IMMENSE OUTBURSTS OF FLAMING Frontispiece
HYDROGEN RISING SOMETIMES TO A HEIGHT OF 500,000 MILES
LAPLACE 10
PROFESSOR J. C. ADAMS 10
Photo: Royal Astronomical Society.
PROFESSOR EDDINGTON OF CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY 10
Photo: Elliot & Fry, Ltd.
THE PLANETS, SHOWING THEIR RELATIVE DISTANCES AND DIMENSIONS 11
THE MILKY WAY 14
Photo: Harvard College Observatory.
THE MOON ENTERING THE SHADOW CAST BY THE EARTH 14
THE GREAT NEBULA IN ANDROMEDA, MESSIER 31 15
From a photograph taken at the Yerkes Observatory.
DIAGRAM SHOWING THE MAIN LAYERS OF THE SUN 18
SOLAR PROMINENCES SEEN AT TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE, MAY 29, 1919. 18
TAKEN AT SOBRAL, BRAZIL
Photo: Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
THE VISIBLE SURFACE OF THE SUN 19
Photo: Mount Wilson Observatory.
THE SUN PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE LIGHT OF GLOWING HYDROGEN 19
Photo: Mount Wilson Observatory.
THE AURORA BOREALIS (Coloured Illustration) 20
Reproduced from The Forces of Nature (Messrs. Macmillan)
THE GREAT SUN-SPOT OF JULY 17, 1905 22
Yerkes Observatory.
SOLAR PROMINENCES 22
From photographs taken at the Yerkes Observatory.
MARS, OCTOBER 5, 1909 23
[Pg viii] Photo: Mount Wilson Observatory.
JUPITER 23
SATURN, NOVEMBER 19, 1911 23
Photo: Professor E. E. Barnard, Yerkes Observatory.
THE SPECTROSCOPE, AN INSTRUMENT FOR ANALYSING LIGHT; IT PROV