HOW THE WORLD WILL END.

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 122, 15 February 1873, Page 2

HOW THE WORLD WILL END.

Pr,\>hTS are continually integrating diffused niaten.ils winch they encounter in their progress through spnce, and i«- has been estimated that the earth adds to itsell ne.nly one hundred and fifty billions of such nicteonc particks every year. Secondly, it has beeu proved that e\ cry planet « must be slowly losing a part of its molar motion of gra\ i-t tation. Tlie eflect of tidal waves, which are caused by the gravitation of liquid towards other planetary bodies, m to retard diurnal rotation ; and, in fact, the terrestrial day is lengthened by 1 eason of the f ) iction of the tides, and is drstined in the remote future to give about 480 hours between sunrise and sunset. The earth is also losing nioleculer motion by radiation. That some terrestrial neat is lust without compensation— and very slowly of course — ■ can hardly be doubted, and for the state of things thui untimely to be produced, we may find a parallel in the present condition of the moon. That appears to afford 01 the universal death whn.li in an inconceivable dwtunt fatuie awaits the entire solar sjstem. If, alone with the dissipation of the molar and moleculer motions, the planets aie also losiug an angular velocity, this loss of motion ■will ultimately result in their integration with the minj* Of two facts Avhich bear upon the subject (one* familiar to all students of science) is the observed retardation of Encke's comet by the resistance of the medium through which it mOAes. The other, which so far as I know has not hitherto been mentioned, is that all the plnnets are nearer the sun than they ought to be, uccording to Bode's law, the variation being most conspicuous, as might be expected, in the case of Neptune. It is at lenst worthy of notice, that the discrepancy is such as might hm c been caused by a slow diminution of the angular Acloeitiess of the planet ». Another fact that the intcr-planotarj spaces are filled with matter, and that consequently, nil planetnn bodies rushing through them must meet with resistance and lo^e momemtum, proves that immense momentum will bo eaten up by the resisting force. This loss of tangent ml, momentum must bring all the planets into ll.e tun A* the planet slowly draws near the sun its lost tangential nioineuitiim is replaced, and somewhat more than replaced, by the added a eloeity due to the increased grauUtivc force exerted by the sun at the shorter distance. At the last the planet must strike the sun with tremendous force. The heat generated b\ the earth and sun alone m such a collision would siiflice to produce a ttinperature of nc.nh^ 5,000,000 degrees centigrade. Of course disintegrat ion w ould imineduitel} follow, and the nc\t 6tnge is the dihbipntion of the whole into a nebula. — Extracts J) om a lecture deli voted hi/ Professor John Fi\ke, of Harvard University, btforv the Americun Geographical /Society,

An admirable plan for facilitating discussion at tlio meetings of local boards luw boon introduced b) one of the. members of the AValliwy local board. Mr Cownn appeared in the board room with a parcel under his arm The cimim^ stance caused no apprehension, but when the minutes ol thfl previous meeting had been read, to the dismay of all present, Mr Cowan unpacked the pureel and produced a pair of t'} m bills, on which lio began playing, stating that as lie could not lnnc lm waj with regard to a resolution he had wished to introduce, ho would tako caro that no other member of the board obtained a hearing. He then commenced phnmg on the instruments, occasionally pausing for a few moment ? to delner t>ome iorcible remark' bearing on tho question at isbue Tho board at last, instead of being moied b\ " n ncic numbers and pervasive bound," called m the pJlice, Til.o remo\cd lota the onoio^s tnd f»ie ixcfonuw.