Very curiously, notwithstanding the presence of the bottle and its
interception of the current of air, the candle will be immediately
extinguished as if there were no obstacle in the way. This phenomenon
is readily understood when we reflect that the bottle receives the
current of air on its polished surface and divides it into two, one of
which is guided to the right and the other to the left. These two
currents, after separating and driving back the surrounding air, meet
again at the very spot at which the flame is situated, and extinguish
the candle.
[Illustration: MODE OF EXTINGUISHING A CANDLE PLACED BEHIND A
BOTTLE.]
It is evident that the experiment can be reproduced by putting the
candle behind a stove pipe, a cylinder of glass or metal, a
cylindrical tin box, or any other object of the same form with a
diameter greater than that of a bottle, but not having a rough or
angular surface, since the latter would cause the current to be lost
in the surrounding air.
* * * * *
THE TRAVELS OF THE SUN.
Some recent discussions of the constitution of the sun have turned in
part upon what is known as the sun's proper motion in space. This is
one of the most surprising and interesting things that science has
ever brought to light, and yet it is something of which comparatively
few persons have any knowledge. It is customary to look upon the sun
as if it were the center of the universe, an immovable fiery globe
around which the earth and other planets revolve while it remains
fixed in one place.
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