File:The science-history of the universe (1909) (14771796604).jpg

Identifier: sciencehistoryofv3rolt (find matches)
Title: The science-history of the universe
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Rolt-Wheeler, Francis, 1876-1960, ed
Subjects: Science Geology Cosmology Physical sciences Life sciences Natural history Humanities
Publisher: New York : Current Literature Pub. Co.
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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light reflectedfrom hundreds of other objects in the neighborhood. Thesimple roll of paper overcomes this difficulty in exactly thesame way that the ventilating passages, the so-called tele-scopes of the pyramids, might do. A star is visible inbroad daylight when viewed through such a long, narrowpassage as were these nine-inch telescopes of the pyra-mids. A fatal defect in this telescope thesis, however, isthe fact that the earth revolves, and a star visible for afew seconds at the aperture of the passage would be lostalmost immediately. 4 PHYSICS In their astronomical observations and in their arith-metical calculations the Egyptians were inferior to theChaldeans. They were familiar with the true meridianand the length of the sidereal year. They did not knowthe signs of the zodiac, however, nor are there any inscrip-tions of Egyptian origin such as are found on the Assyrianbricks, wherein appear the square and cubic multiplicationtables and the three hundred and sixty degrees of the
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Fig. i —Great Pyramid, Showing Telescopic Passages. circle. The Egyptian zodiac of the temple at Derderahis now known to be a production comparatively modernin origin, even showing Greek influence. The Hellenic philosophers made the first definite classi-fication of elements, asserting that earth, air, fire andwater were the four indivisible substances out of whichthe whole world was made up. They knew a god of thewater, Poseidon (Neptune); a god of earth, Anteus; a AN ANALYSIS OF MATTER 5 god of fire, Pluto, while each of the four winds was adeity. However simple and clear such a division mightseem, modern science has proved that each of these sup-posed elements is divisible into several elementary sub-stances. Thus ordinary water, for instance, is known tobe compounded of oxygen and hydrogen; air is a mixtureof nitrogen, oxygen, carbonic acid gas and a number ofother elements more recently isolated, among which heliumis of especial interest; and so numerous are the componentparts

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