This is a collection of articles written by W. Mattieu Williams on different subjects, that in his opinion "are likely to be interesting to all readers who are sufficiently intelligent to prefer sober fact to sensational fiction, but who, at the same time, do not profess to be scientific specialists." This book offers and intriguing glimpse into the scientific ideas of late 19th century. Though nowadays these essays should not be seen as wholly scientifically accurate, they are still entertaining and in many basic aspects remain truthful.
By : W. Mattieu Williams (1820 - 1892)
01 - The Fuel of the Sun, Part I
02 - The Fuel of the Sun, Part II
03 - The Fuel of the Sun, Part III
04 - Dr. Siemens’ Theory of the Sun
05 - Another World Down Here
06 - The Origin of Lunar Volcanoes
07 - Note on the Direct Effect of Sun-Spots on Terrestrial Climates
08 - The Philosophy of the Radiometer and its Cosmical Revelations
09 - On the Social Benefits of Paraffin
10 - The Solidity of the Earth
11 - A Contribution to the History of Electric Lighting
12 - The Formation of Coal
13 - The Solar Eclipse of 1871
14 - Meteoric Astronomy
15 - The “Great Ice Age” and the Origin of the “Till”, Part I
16 - The “Great Ice Age” and the Origin of the “Till”, Part II
17 - The Barometer and the Weather, Part I
18 - The Barometer and the Weather, Part II
19 - The Chemistry of Bog Reclamation
20 - Aerial Exploration of the Arctic Regions, Part I
21 - Aerial Exploration of the Arctic Regions, Part II
22 - The Limits of our Coal Supply, Part I
23 - The Limits of our Coal Supply, Part II
24 - “The Englishman’s Fireside”
25 - “Baily’s Beads”
26 - The Coloring of Green Tea
27 - “Iron Filings” in Tea
28 - Concert-Room Acoustics
29 - Science and Spiritualism
30 - Mathematical Fictions
31 - World-Smashing
32 - The Dying Trees in Kensington Gardens
33 - The Oleaginous Products of Thames Mud: Where they Come from and Where they Go
34 - Luminous Paint
35 - The Origin and Probable Duration of Petroleum
36 - The Origin of Soap
37 - Oiling the Waves
38 - On the so-called “Crater Necks” and “Volcanic Bombs” of Ireland
39 - Travertine
40 - The Action of Frost in Water-Pipes and on Building Materials
41 - The Corrosion of Building Stones
42 - Fire-Clay and Anthracite
43 - Count Rumford’s Cooking-Stoves
44 - The “Consumption of Smoke”
45 - The Air of Stove-Heated Rooms
46 - Ventilation by Open Fireplaces
47 - Domestic Ventilation
48 - Home Gardens for Smoky Towns, Part I
49 - Home Gardens for Smoky Towns, Part II
50 - Solids, Liquids, and Gases, Part I
51 - Solids, Liquids, and Gases, Part II
52 - Murchison and Babbage
53 - Atmosphere versus Ether
54 - A Neglected Disinfectant
55 - Another Disinfectant
56 - Ensilage
57 - The Fracture of Comets
58 - The Origin of Comets
I am not aware that this reprint of some of my scattered notes and essays demands any apology.
The practice of making such collections and selections by the author himself has now become very general, and is much better done thus than by friends after his death.
Besides this, it supplies a growing want of these busy times, when so many of us are prevented by the struggles of business from sitting down to the consecutive systematic study of a formal treatise.
I have kept this demand steadily in view throughout, by selecting subjects which are likely to be interesting to all readers who are sufficiently intelligent to prefer sober fact to sensational fiction, but who, at the same time, do not profess to be scientific specialists.
In the writing of these papers my highest literary ambition has always been to combine clearness and simplicity with some attempt at philosophy.
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