Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One 1800–1846 Naturals and Naturalists
- Part Two 1846–1876 Warriors
- Part Two Introduction
- “On the Fossil Horses of America,” Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1847)
- “A Flora and Fauna Within Living Animals” (excerpt), Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge (1853)
- “Examination of the Radiations of Red-Hot Bodies. The Production of Light by Heat” (excerpt), American Journal of Science and Arts (1847)
- “Section IX: Range of the Geographical Distribution of Animals,” Essay on Classification (1857)
- “On the Origin of Species” (excerpt), American Journal of Science (1860)
- “Darwin on the Origin of Species,” Atlantic Monthly (1860)
- “Sequoia and Its History” (excerpt), American Naturalist (1872)
- “On the Origin of the Geographical Distribution of Crustacea” (excerpt), Annals and Magazine of Natural History (1856)
- “On Cephalization” (excerpt), New Englander (1863)
- “On some Results of the Earth's Contraction from cooling, including a discussion of the Origin of Mountains, and the nature of the Earth's Interior” (excerpt), American Journal of Science (1873)
- “On Comets and Meteors,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1869)
- “Linear Associative Algebra,” A Memoir read before the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, 1870 (excerpt), American Journal of Mathematics (1881)
- “The Laws of Organic Development” (excerpt), American Naturalist (1871)
- “Fossil Horses in America,” American Naturalist (1874)
- “Odontornithes, or Birds with Teeth,” American Naturalist (1875)
- “The Genesis of Species” (excerpt), North American Review (1871)
- Part Three 1876–1900 Scientists
- Bibliography
“Examination of the Radiations of Red-Hot Bodies. The Production of Light by Heat” (excerpt), American Journal of Science and Arts (1847)
from Part Two - 1846–1876 Warriors
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One 1800–1846 Naturals and Naturalists
- Part Two 1846–1876 Warriors
- Part Two Introduction
- “On the Fossil Horses of America,” Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1847)
- “A Flora and Fauna Within Living Animals” (excerpt), Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge (1853)
- “Examination of the Radiations of Red-Hot Bodies. The Production of Light by Heat” (excerpt), American Journal of Science and Arts (1847)
- “Section IX: Range of the Geographical Distribution of Animals,” Essay on Classification (1857)
- “On the Origin of Species” (excerpt), American Journal of Science (1860)
- “Darwin on the Origin of Species,” Atlantic Monthly (1860)
- “Sequoia and Its History” (excerpt), American Naturalist (1872)
- “On the Origin of the Geographical Distribution of Crustacea” (excerpt), Annals and Magazine of Natural History (1856)
- “On Cephalization” (excerpt), New Englander (1863)
- “On some Results of the Earth's Contraction from cooling, including a discussion of the Origin of Mountains, and the nature of the Earth's Interior” (excerpt), American Journal of Science (1873)
- “On Comets and Meteors,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1869)
- “Linear Associative Algebra,” A Memoir read before the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, 1870 (excerpt), American Journal of Mathematics (1881)
- “The Laws of Organic Development” (excerpt), American Naturalist (1871)
- “Fossil Horses in America,” American Naturalist (1874)
- “Odontornithes, or Birds with Teeth,” American Naturalist (1875)
- “The Genesis of Species” (excerpt), North American Review (1871)
- Part Three 1876–1900 Scientists
- Bibliography
Summary
Although the phenomenon of the production of light by all solid bodies, when their temperature is raised to a certain degree, is one of the most familiar, no person so far as I know has hitherto attempted a critical investigation of it. The difficulties environing the inquiry are so great that even among the most eminent philosophers a diversity of opinion has prevailed respecting some of the leading facts. Thus Sir Isaac Newton fixed the temperature at which bodies become self-luminous as 635°; Sir Humphrey Davy at 812°; Mr. Wedgwood at 947°; and Mr. Daniel at 980°. As respects the nature of the light emitted, there are similar contradictions. In some philosophical works of considerable repute it is stated that when a solid begins to shine it first emits red and then white rays; in others it is asserted that a mixture of blue and red light is the first that appears.
I have succeeded in escaping or overcoming many of the difficulties of this problem, and have arrived at satisfactory solutions of the main points; and as the experiments now to be described lead to some striking and perhaps unexpected analogies between light and heat, they commend themselves to our attention, as having a bearing on the question of the identity of those principles.
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- An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Science Writing , pp. 109 - 116Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2012