Book Description

Excerpt from Buffon's Natural History of Man, the Globe, and of Quadrupeds, Vol. 1 Orie property of water it is necessary to notice, and that is, that it will always rise to the level of its source, when conveyed in pipes, or other close channels. This proper ty is owing to the pressure of the atmosphere, which press ing equall on all parts, will force the uid from the source, through w stever channels it is to pass, till it meets with an equal resistance from the pressure of the atmosphere at the other end. This is the principle on which fountains and 'ets-d'eau are constructed. The water which is spouted out y the fountain is always conveyed in a pipe from some source which lies higher than the mouth of the fountain. When the ressure of the atmosphere is removed from the mouth 0 a pipe or tube, water will rise in it to the height of thirty-three feet above the height of its source. This is owing to the pressure of the atmosphere upon the source of the water; and on this principle the common pumps are constructed, a vacuum being created by the raising of the piston of the pump. All bodies lighter than water swim in that element; b0. Dies which are heavier are capable of displacing a bu lk oi water equal to their own, and consequently sink. Ice (which is water in a solid state) oats upon water, from its being porous. For the same reason water, in freezing. Bursts the closed vessels in which it is contained as it is more porous than water, it necessarily takes up more room. So strong is the expansive power of water in freezing, that a single cubic inch expands with a force e us] to thirteen tons. Cannon, of an inch thick, and born shells, of an inch and three uarters, have been split by this means. The dilatation 0 water, in passing to the state of ice, af fords a beautiful instance of the wisdom of Providence. Had water, like every other substance, been contracted while cooling, the first coat of ice would have sunk to the bottom, another would have been formed and precipitated in the same manner, and thus the process of freezing and sinking would have continued till the whole of the aqueous uid on the globe was rendered a solid mass. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."