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Exploring the Variety of Random
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 We must await further developments before we can regard the
supposed subatomic origin of this radiation as other than speculative; we
mention it here only as a possible opening for progress. It will be of great
interest if we can reach by this means a more direct acquaintance with the
processes which we assume to be the source of stellar energy; and the
messages borne to us by the cosmic rays which purport to relate to these
processes deserve the closest attention. Our views of stellar energy are
likely to be affected on one crucial point. Hitherto we have usually
supposed that the very high temperature in the interior of a star is one of
the essential conditions for liberation of subatomic energy, and that a
reasonably high density is also important. Theoretically it would seem
almost incredible that the building up of higher elements or the annihilation
of protons and electrons could proceed with any degree of vigour in
regions where encounters are rare and there is no high temperature or
intense radiation to wake the atoms from apathy; but the more we face the
difficulties of all theories of the release of subatomic energy the less
inclined we are to condemn any evidence as incredible. The presence of
sodium and calcium in the cosmical cloud, of helium and nebulium in the
diffuse nebulae, of titanium and zirconium in large quantities in the
atmospheres of the youngest stars, bears witness that the evolution of the
elements is already far advanced during the diffuse prestellar stage—
unless indeed our universe is built from the debris of a former creation.
From this point of view it is fitting that we should discern symptoms of
subatomic activity in open space. But the physicist may well shake his
head over the problem. How are four protons and two electrons to gather
together to form a helium nucleus in a medium so rare that the free path
lasts for days? The only comfort is that the mode of this occurrence is
(according to present knowledge) so inconceivable under any conditions of
density and temperature that we may postulate it in the nebulae—on the
principle that we may as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.
 Evolution of the Stars
Twenty years ago stellar evolution seemed to be very simple. The stars
begin by being very hot and gradually cool down until they go out.
On this view the temperature of a star indicated the stage of evolution
that it had reached. The outline of the sequence was sufficiently indicated
by the crude observation of colour—white-hot, yellow-hot, red-hot; a more
detailed order of temperature was ascertained by examining the light with a
spectroscope. The red stars naturally came last in the sequence; they were
the oldest stars on the verge of extinction. Sir Norman Lockyer strongly
opposed this scheme and to a considerable extent anticipated the more
modern view; but most astronomers pinned their faith to it up to about
1913.
Ten years ago more knowledge had been gained of the densities of
stars. It seemed likely that density would be a more direct criterion of
evolutionary development than temperature. Granted that a star
condenses out of nebulous material, it must in the youngest stage be very
diffuse; from that stage it will contract and steadily increase in density.
But this necessitates an entire rearrangement of the scheme of
evolution, because the order according to density is by no means the same
as the order according to surface temperature. On the former view all the
cool red stars were old and dying. But a large number of them are now
found to be extremely diffuse—stars like Betelgeuse, for instance. These
must be set down as the very youngest of the stars; after all it is not
unnatural that a star just beginning to condense out of nebulous material
should start at the lowest stage of temperature. Not all the red stars are
diffuse; there are many like Krueger 60 which have high density, and these
we leave undisturbed as representing the last stage of evolution. Both the
first and last periods of a star’s life are characterized by low temperature; in
between whiles the temperature must have risen to a maximum and fallen
again.
The ‘giant and dwarf theory’ proposed by Hertzsprung and Russell
brought these conclusions into excellent order. It recognized a series of
giant stars, comparatively diffuse stars with temperature rising, and a
series of dwarf or dense stars with temperature falling. The two series
merged at the highest temperatures. An individual star during its lifetime
went up the giant series to its highest temperature and then down the
dwarf series. The brightness remained fairly steady throughout the giant
stage because the continually increasing temperature counterbalanced the
reduction of the surface area of the star; in the dwarf stage the decreasing
temperature and the contraction of the surface caused a rapid decrease of
brightness as the star progressed down the series. This was in accordance
with observation. The theory has dominated most recent astrophysical
research and has been instrumental in bringing to light many important
facts. One example must suffice. Although we may have a giant and a
dwarf star with the same surface temperature, and therefore showing very
similar spectra, nevertheless a close examination of the spectrum reveals
tell-tale differences; and it is now quite easy to ascertain from the spectrum
whether the star is a diffuse giant or a dense dwarf.
The attractive feature of the giant and dwarf theory was the simple
explanation given for the up-and-down progress of the temperature. The
passing over from the giant to the dwarf series was supposed to occur
when the density had reached such a value (about one-quarter the density
of water) that the deviation of the material from a perfect gas began to be
serious. It was shown by Lane fifty years ago that a globe of perfect gas
must rise in temperature as it contracts, his method of finding the internal
temperature being that considered on p. 12; thus the rising temperature in
the giant stage is predicted. But the rise depends essentially on the easy
compressibility of the gas; and when the compressibility is lost at high
density the rising temperature may be expected to give place to falling
temperature so that the star cools as a solid or liquid would do. That was
believed to account for the dwarf stage.
I have been trying to recall ideas of twenty and ten years ago, and you
must not suppose that from the standpoint of present-day knowledge I can
endorse everything here stated. I have intentionally been vague as to
whether by the hotness of a star I mean the internal or the surface
temperature since ideas were formerly very loose on this point; I have
made no reference to white dwarfs, which are now thought to be the
densest and presumably the oldest stars of all. But it is the last paragraph
especially which conflicts with our latest conclusions, for we no longer
admit that stellar material will cease to behave as a perfect gas at one-
quarter the density of water. Our result that the material in the dense dwarf
stars is still perfect gas (p. 38) strikes a fatal blow at this part of the giant
and dwarf theory.
 It would be difficult to say what is the accepted theory of stellar
evolution to-day. The theory is in the melting-pot and we are still waiting for
something satisfactory to emerge. The whole subject is in doubt and we
are prepared to reconsider almost anything. Provisionally, however, I shall
assume that the former theory was right in assuming that the sequence of
evolution is from the most diffuse to the densest stars. Although I make this
assumption I do not feel sure that it is allowable. The former theory had
strong reasons for making it which no longer apply. So long as contraction
was supposed to be the source of a star’s heat, contraction and increasing
density were essential throughout its whole career; with the acceptance of
subatomic energy contraction ceases to play this fundamental role.
I propose to confine attention to the dwarf stars[35] because it is among
them that the upset has occurred. They form a well-defined series
stretching from high surface-temperature to low surface-temperature, high
luminosity to low luminosity, and the density increases steadily along the
series. We now call this the Main Series. It comprises the great majority of
the stars. To fix ideas let us take three typical stars along the series—Algol
near the top, the Sun near the middle, and Krueger 60 near the bottom.
The relevant information about them is summarized below:
Mean Central
Mass Surface
density temperature Luminosity
Star. (Sun temperature Colour.
(Water (million (Sun = 1).
= 1). (deg.).
=1) deg.).
Algol 4·3 0·15 40 12,000 white 150
Sun 1 1·4 40 6,000 yellow 1
Krueger 0·27 9·1 35 3,000 red 0·01
60
The idea of evolution is that these represent the stages passed through
in the life-history of an individual star.[36] The increasing density in the third
column should be noticed; according to our accepted criterion it indicates
that the order of development is Algol→Sun→Krueger 60. A confusion
between internal temperature and surface temperature is responsible for
some of the mistakes of the older theories. To outward view the star cools
from 12,000° to 3,000° in passing down the series, but there is no such
change in its internal heat. The central temperature remains surprisingly
steady. (No special reliance can be placed on the slight falling off
apparently shown by Krueger 60.) It is very remarkable that all stars of the
main series have a central temperature of about 40 million degrees as
nearly as we can calculate. It is difficult to resist the impression that there is
some unusual property associated with this temperature, although all our
physical instincts warn us that the idea is absurd.
But the vital point is the decrease of mass shown in the second column.
If an individual star is to progress any part of the way down the main series
it must lose mass. We can put the same inference in a more general way.
Now that it has been found that luminosity depends mainly on mass, there
can be no important evolution of faint stars from bright stars unless the
stars lose a considerable part of their mass.
It is this result which has caused the hypothesis of annihilation of matter
to be seriously discussed. All progress in the theory of stellar evolution is
held up pending a decision on this hypothesis. If it is accepted it provides
an easy key to these changes. The star may (after passing through the
giant stage) reach the stage of Algol, and then by the gradual annihilation
of the matter in it pass down the main series until when only one-sixteenth
of the original mass remains it will be a faint red star like Krueger 60. But if
there is no annihilation of matter, the star when once it has reached the
dwarf stage seems to be immovable; it has to stay at the point of the series
corresponding to its constant mass.
Let it be clearly understood what is the point at issue. The stars lose
mass by their radiation; there is no question about that. The sun is losing
120 billion tons annually whether its radiation comes from annihilation of
matter or any other internal source. The question is, How long can this loss
continue? Unless there is annihilation of matter, all the mass that can
escape as radiation will have escaped in a comparatively short time; the
sun will then be extinct and there is an end to the loss and to the evolution.
But if there is annihilation of matter the life of the sun and the loss of mass
continue far longer, and an extended track of evolution lies open before the
sun; when it has got rid of three-quarters of its present mass it will have
become a faint star like Krueger 60.
Our choice between the possible theories of subatomic energy only
affects stellar evolution in one point—but it is the vital point. Unless we
choose annihilation of matter, we cut the life of a star so short that there is
no time for any significant evolution at all.
I feel the same objection that every one must feel to building
extensively on a hypothetical process without any direct evidence that the
laws of Nature permit of its occurrence. But the alternative is to leave the
stars in sleepy uniformity with no prospect of development or change until
their lives come to an end. Something is needed to galvanize the scene
into that activity, whether of progress or decay, in which we have so long
believed. Rather desperately we seize on the one visible chance. The
petrified system wakes. The ultimate particles one by one yield up their
energy and pass out of existence. Their sacrifice is the life-force of the
stars which now progress on their high adventure:

Atoms or systems into ruin hurl’d,

And now a bubble burst, and now a world.
 Radiation of Mass
Our first evidence of the extent of the time-scale of stellar evolution was
afforded by the steadiness of condition of δ Cephei. This was
supplemented by evidence of the great extension of geological time on the
earth. We could not do more than set an upper limit to the rate of progress
of evolution and a lower limit to the age of the stars. But this limit was
sufficient to rule out the contraction hypothesis and drive us to consider the
store of subatomic energy.
We now make a new attack, which depends on the belief that the rate
of evolution is determined by the rate at which a star can get rid of its
mass. We are here considering only the evolution of faint stars from bright
stars, and there will remain scope for a certain amount of development in
the giant stage to which our arguments will not directly apply. But to
abandon all lines of evolution between bright stars and faint stars would
mean admitting that one star differs from another star in brightness
because it was different originally. This may be true; but we ought not to
surrender the main field of stellar evolution without making a fight for it.
By the new line of attack we reach a definite determination of the time-
scale and not merely a lower limit. We know the rate at which stars in each
stage are losing mass by radiation; therefore we can find the time taken to
lose a given mass and thereby pass on to a stage of smaller mass.
Evolution from Algol to the Sun requires five billion years; evolution from
the Sun to Krueger 60 requires 500 billion years. It is interesting to note
that stars in the stage between the Sun and Krueger 60 are much more
abundant than those between Algol and the Sun—a fact somewhat
confirmatory of the calculated duration of the two stages. The abundance
of faint stars does not, however, increase so rapidly as the calculated
duration; perhaps the stellar universe has not existed long enough for the
old stars to be fully represented.
A star of greater mass than Algol squanders its mass very rapidly, so
that we do not increase the age of the Sun appreciably by supposing it to
have started with greater mass than Algol. The upper limit to the present
age of the Sun is 5·2 billion years however great its initial mass.
 But, it may be asked, cannot a star accelerate its progress by getting rid
of matter in some other way than by radiation? Cannot atoms escape from
its surface? If so the loss of mass and consequent evolution will be
speeded up, and the time required may perhaps even be brought within
range of the alternative theory of transmutation of the elements. But it is
fairly certain that the mass escaping in the form of material atoms is
negligible compared with that which imperceptibly glides away in the form
of radiation. You will perhaps be in doubt as to whether the 120 billion tons
per annum lost by the sun in radiation is (astronomically regarded) a large
quantity or a small quantity. From certain aspects it is a large quantity. It is
more than 100,000 times the mass of the calcium chromosphere. The sun
would have to blow off its chromosphere and form an entirely fresh one
every five minutes in order to get rid of as much mass in this way as it
loses by radiation. It is obvious from solar observation that there is no such
outrush of material. To put it another way—in order to halve the time-scale
of evolution stated above it would be necessary that a billion atoms should
escape each second through each square centimetre of the sun’s surface.
I think we may conclude that there is no short cut to smaller mass and that
radiation is responsible for practically the whole loss.
We noticed earlier (p. 25) that Nature builds stars which are much alike
in mass, but allows herself some deviation from her pattern amounting
sometimes to a mistake of one 0. I think we may have done her an
injustice, and that she is more careful over her work than we supposed. We
ought to have examined coins fresh from her mint; it was not fair to take
coins promiscuously, including many that had been in circulation for some
hundreds of billions of years and had worn rather thin. Taking the newly
formed stars, i. e. the diffuse stars, we find that 90 per cent. of them are
between 2½ and 5½ times the mass of the sun—showing that initially the
stars are made nearly as closely to pattern as human beings are. In this
range radiation pressure increases from 17 to 35 per cent, of the whole
pressure; I think this would be expected to be the crucial stage in its rise to
importance. Our idea is that the stellar masses initially have this rather
close uniformity (which does not exclude a small proportion of exceptional
stars outside the above limits); the smaller masses are evolved from these
in course of time by the radiation of mass.
For the time being the sun is comfortably settled in its present state, the
amount of energy radiated being just balanced by the subatomic energy
liberated inside it. Ultimately, however, it must move on. The moving on, or
evolution, is continuous, but for convenience of explanation we shall speak
of it as though it occurred in steps. Two possible motives for change can be
imagined, (1) the supply of subatomic energy might fall off by exhaustion
and no longer balance the radiation, and (2) the sun is slowly becoming a
star of smaller mass. In former theories the first motive has generally been
assumed, and we may still regard it as effective during the giant stage of
the stars; but it is clear that the motive to move down the main series must
be loss of mass.[37] Apparently the distinction between giant and dwarf
stars, replacing the old distinction of perfect and imperfect gas, is that the
prolific and soon exhausted supplies of subatomic energy in the giant
stage disappear and leave a much steadier supply in the dwarf stage.
When the sun has become a star of smaller mass it will need to resettle
its internal conditions. Suppose that at first it tries to retain its present
density. As explained on p. 12, we can calculate the internal temperature,
and we find that the reduced mass coupled with constant density involves
lower temperature. This will slightly turn off the tap of subatomic energy,
because there can be little doubt that the release of subatomic energy is
more rapid at higher temperature. The reduced supply will no longer be
sufficient to balance the radiation; accordingly the star will contract just as it
was supposed to do on the old contraction hypothesis which corresponds
to the tap of subatomic energy being turned off altogether. The motive is
loss of mass; the first consequence is an increase of density which is
another characteristic of progress down the main series.
Tracing the consequences a little farther, the increasing density causes
a rising temperature which in turn reopens the tap of subatomic energy. As
soon as the tap is opened enough to balance the rate of radiation of the
star, the contraction stops and the star remains settled in equilibrium at the
smaller mass and higher density.
You will see that the laws of release of subatomic energy must be
invoked if we are to explain quantitatively why a particular density
corresponds to a particular mass in the progress down the main series.
The contraction has to proceed so far as to bring the internal conditions to
a state in which the release of energy is at the exact rate required to
balance the radiation.
I am afraid this all sounds very complicated, but my purpose is to show
that the adjustment of the star after an alteration of mass is automatic.
After a change of mass the star has to re-solve the problem of the internal
conditions necessary for its equilibrium. So far as mechanical conditions
are concerned (supporting the weight of the upper layers) it can choose
any one of a series of states of different density provided it has the internal
temperature appropriate to that density. But such equilibrium is only
temporary, and the star will not really settle down until the tap of subatomic
energy is opened to the right extent to balance the rate of radiation which,
as we have already seen, is practically fixed by the mass. The star fiddles
about with the tap until it secures this balance.
One important conclusion has been pointed out by Professor Russell.
When the star is adjusting the tap it does not do so intelligently; one trial
must automatically lead to the next trial, and it is all-important that the next
trial should automatically be nearer to and not farther from the right rate.
The condition that it shall be nearer to the right rate is that the liberation of
subatomic energy shall increase with temperature or density.[38] If it
decreases, or even if it is unaltered, the trials will be successively farther
and farther from the required rate, so that although a steady balance is
possible the star will never be able to find it. It is therefore essential to
admit as one of the laws of liberation of subatomic energy that the rate
increases with temperature or with density or with both; otherwise
subatomic energy will not fulfil the purpose for which it was introduced, viz.
to keep the star steady for a very long time.
The strange thing is that the condition of balance is reached when the
central temperature is near 40 million degrees—the same whether the star
is at the top, middle, or bottom of the main series. Stars at the top release
from each gramme of material 700 ergs of energy per second; the sun
releases 1 ergs per second; Krueger 60 releases 0·08 ergs per second. It
seems extraordinary that stars requiring such different supplies should all
have to ascend to the same temperature to procure them. It looks as
though at temperatures below this standard not even 0·08 ergs per second
is available, but on reaching the standard the supply is practically
unlimited. We can scarcely believe that there is a kind of boiling-point
(independent of pressure) at which matter boils off into energy. The whole
phenomenon is most perplexing.
I may add that the giant stars have temperatures considerably below 40
million degrees. It would appear that they are tapping special supplies of
subatomic energy released at lower temperatures. After using up these
supplies the star passes on to the main series, and proceeds to tap the
main supply. It seems necessary to suppose further that the main supply
does not last indefinitely, so that ultimately the star (or what is left of it)
leaves the main series and passes on to the white dwarf stage.
 We are now in a position to deal with a question which you may have
wished to ask earlier. Why does δ Cephei pulsate? One possible answer is
that the oscillation was started off by some accident. So far as we can
calculate an oscillation, if once started, would continue for something like
10,000 years before becoming damped down. But 10,000 years is now
deemed to be an insignificant period in the life of a star, and, having regard
to the abundance of Cepheids, the explanation seems inadequate even if
we could envisage the kind of accident supposed. It is much more likely
that the pulsation arises spontaneously. Enormous supplies of heat energy
are being released in the star—far more than enough to start and maintain
the pulsation—and there are at least two alternative ways in which this
heat can be supposed to operate a mechanism of pulsation.
Here is one alternative. Suppose first that there is a very small
pulsation. When compressed the star has higher temperature and density
than usual and the tap of subatomic energy is opened more fully. The star
gains heat, and the expansive force of the extra heat assists the rebound
from compression. At greatest expansion the tap is turned off a little and
the loss of heat diminishes the resistance to the ensuing compression.
Thus the successive expansions and compressions become more and
more vigorous and a large pulsation grows out of an infinitesimal
beginning. It will be seen that the star works the tap of subatomic energy
just as an engine works the valve admitting heat into its cylinder; so that
the pulsations of a star are started up like the pulsations of an engine.
The only objection that I can find to this explanation is that it is too
successful. It shows why a star may be expected to pulsate; but the trouble
is that stars in general do not pulsate—it is only the rare exceptions that
behave in this way. It is now so easy to account for the Cepheids that we
have to turn back and face the more difficult problem of accounting for the
normal steady stars. Whether the pulsation will start up or not depends on
whether the engine of pulsation is sufficiently powerful to overcome the
forces tending to damp out and dissipate pulsations. We cannot predict the
occurrence or non-occurrence from any settled theory; we have rather to
seek to frame the laws of release of subatomic energy so as to conform to
our knowledge that the majority of the stars remain steady, but certain
conditions of mass and density give the pulsatory forces the upper hand.
Cepheid pulsation is a kind of distemper which happens to stars at a
certain youthful period; after passing through it they burn steadily. There
may be another attack of disease later in life when the star is subject to
those catastrophic outbursts which occasion the appearance of ‘new stars’
or novae. But very little is known as to the conditions for this, and it is not
certain whether the outbreak is spontaneous or provoked from outside.
So long as we stick to generalities the theory of subatomic energy and
especially the theory of annihilation of matter makes a fairly promising
opening. It is when we come to technical details that doubts and
perplexities arise. Difficulties appear in the simultaneous presence of giant
and dwarf stars in coeval clusters, notwithstanding their widely different
rates of evolution. There are difficulties in devising laws of release of
subatomic energy which will safeguard the stability of the stars without
setting every star into pulsation. Difficulties arise from the fact that as a rule
in the giant stage the lower the temperature and density the more rapid the
release of energy; and although we account for this in a general way by
considering the exhaustibility of the more prolific sources of energy, the
facts are not all straightened out by such a scheme. Finally grave
difficulties arise in reconciling the laws of release inferred from
astronomical observation with any theoretical picture we can form of the
process of annihilation of matter by the interplay of atoms, electrons, and
radiation.
The subject is highly important, but we cannot very well pursue it further
in this lecture. When the guidance of theory is clear interest centres round
the broad principles; when the theory is rudimentary, interest centres round
technical details which are anxiously scrutinized as they appear to favour
now one view now another. I have dealt mainly with two salient points—the
problem of the source of a star’s energy and the change of mass which
must occur if there is any evolution of faint stars from bright stars. I have
shown how these appear to meet in the hypothesis of annihilation of
matter. I do not hold this as a secure conclusion. I hesitate even to
advocate it as probable, because there are many details which seem to me
to throw considerable doubt on it, and I have formed a strong impression
that there must be some essential point which has not yet been grasped. I
simply tell it you as the clue which at the moment we are trying to follow up
—not knowing whether it is false scent or true.
I should have liked to have closed these lectures by leading up to some
great climax. But perhaps it is more in accordance with the true conditions
of scientific progress that they should fizzle out with a glimpse of the
obscurity which marks the frontiers of present knowledge. I do not
apologize for the lameness of the conclusion, for it is not a conclusion. I
wish I could feel confident that it is even a beginning.
 FOOTNOTES:
[1] Fig. 1 is from a photograph taken by Mr. Evershed at Kodaikanal
Observatory, Madras. Fig. 2 is from the Mount Wilson Observatory,
California.
[2] I am indebted to Professor C. T. R. Wilson for Figs. Fig. 3-Fig. 6.
[3] Primarily it is the electric charge and not the high speed of particles
which determines their appearance in these photographs. But a high-
speed particle leaves behind it a trail of electrically charged particles—
the victims of its furious driving—so that it is shown indirectly by its line
of victims.
[4] Other substitutions for silver do not as a rule cause greater change,
and the differences are likely to be toned down by mixture of many
elements. Excluding hydrogen, the most extreme change is from 48
particles for silver to 81 particles for an equal mass of helium. But for
hydrogen the change is from 48 to 216, so that hydrogen gives widely
different results from other elements.
[5] The mean density of Capella is nearly the same as the density of the
air.
[6] Unless otherwise indicated ‘gaseous’ is intended to mean
‘composed of perfect gas’.
[7] For this prediction it is unnecessary to know the chemical
composition of the stars, provided that extreme cases (e. g. an
excessive proportion of hydrogen) are excluded. For example, consider
the hypotheses that Capella is made respectively of (a) iron, (b) gold.
According to theory the opacity of a star made of the heavier element
would be 2½ times the opacity of a star made of iron. This by itself
would make the golden star a magnitude (= 2½ times) fainter. But the
temperature is raised by the substitution; and although, as explained on
p. 23, the change is not very great, it increases the outflow of heat
approximately 2½ times. The resultant effect on the brightness is
practically no change. Whilst this independence of chemical constitution
is satisfactory in regard to definiteness of the results, it makes the
discrepant factor 10 particularly difficult to explain.
[8] Observation shows that the sun is about 4 magnitudes fainter than
the average diffuse star of the same spectral class, and Krueger 60 is
10 magnitudes fainter than diffuse stars of its class. The whole drop
was generally assumed to be due to deviation from a perfect gas; but
this made no allowance for a possible difference of mass. The
comparison with the curve enables the dense star to be compared with
a gaseous star of its own mass, and we see that the difference then
disappears. So that (if there has been no mistake) the dense star is a
gaseous star, and the differences above mentioned were due wholly to
differences of mass.
[9] Rougher estimates were made much earlier.
[10] The observed period of Algol is the period of revolution, not of
rotation. But the two components are very close together, and there can
be no doubt that owing to the large tidal forces they keep the same
faces turned towards each other; that is to say, the periods of rotation
and of revolution are equal.
[11] It may be of interest to add that although the proper light of Algol B
is inappreciable, we can observe a reflection (or re-radiation) of the light
of Algol A by it. This reflected light changes like moonlight according as
Algol B is ‘new’ or ‘full’.
[11] The mass-luminosity relation was not suspected at the time of
which I am speaking.
[13] My references to ‘perfect gas of the density of platinum’ and
‘material 2,000 times denser than platinum’ have often been run
together by reporters into ‘perfect gas 2,000 times denser than
platinum’. It is scarcely possible to calculate what is the condition of the
material in the Companion of Sirius, but I do not expect it to be a perfect
gas.
[14] Photographed by Dr. W. H. Wright at the Lick Observatory,
California.
[15] Nos. 43, 61, 75 are recent discoveries and may require
confirmation. There now remain only two gaps (85 and 87) apart from
possible elements beyond uranium.
[16] It does not give both temperature and pressure, but it gives one if
the other is known. This is valuable information which may be pieced
together with other knowledge of the conditions at the surface of the
stars.
[17] Hydrogen (being element No. 1) has only one planet electron.
[18] Fig. 9 is a photograph of the ‘flash spectrum’ of the sun’s
chromosphere taken by Mr. Davidson in Sumatra at the eclipse of 14
January 1926.
[19] The helium line in the Ring Nebula on which we have already
commented is not a member of the Pickering Series, but it has had the
same history. It was first supposed to be due to hydrogen, later (in
1912) reproduced by Fowler terrestrially in a mixture of helium and
hydrogen, and finally discovered by Bohr to belong to helium.
[20] This, of course, is found from the other lines of the spectrum which
genuinely belong to the star and shift to and fro as it describes its orbit.
[21] As the word temperature is sometimes used with new-fangled
meanings, I may add that 15,000° is the temperature corresponding to
the individual speeds of the atoms and electrons—the old-fashioned
gas-temperature.
[22] Photograph taken by E. T. Cottingham and the author in Principe at
the total eclipse of 29 May 1919.
[23] We refer to calcium as it occurs in the chromosphere, i. e. with one
electron missing.
[24] There is an awkwardness in applying the term ‘apparent’ to
something too small to be seen; but, remembering that we have armed
ourselves with an imaginary telescope capable of showing the disk, the
meaning will be clear.
[25] Densities below that of air have been found for some of the Algol
variables by an entirely different kind of investigation, and also for some
of the Cepheid variables by still another method. There are also many
other examples of stars of bulk comparable with that of Betelgeuse.
[26] From a photograph taken at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good
Hope.
[27] For comparison, the nearest fixed star is distant 4 light years. Apart
from clusters we rarely deal with distances above 2,000 light years.
[28] One cannot always be sure that what is true of the cluster stars will
be true of stars in general; and our knowledge of the nearer stars,
though lagging behind that of the stars in clusters, does not entirely
agree with this association of colour and brightness.
[29] The term nebula covers a variety of objects, and it is only the
nebulae classed as spirals that are likely to be outside our stellar
system.
[30] This can be checked because uranium lead has a different atomic
weight from lead not so derived. Ordinary lead is a mixture of several
kinds of atoms (isotopes).
[31] You may wonder why, having said that the sun contains 2,000
quadrillion tons of energy at the most, I now assume that it contains just
this amount. It is really only a verbal point depending on the scientific
definition of energy. All mass is mass of something, and we now call
that something ‘energy’ whether it is one of the familiar forms of energy
or not. You will see in the next sentence that we do not assume that the
energy is convertible into known forms, so that it is a terminology which
commits us to nothing.
[32] Aston in his latest researches has been able to detect that the
oxygen atom is just appreciably lighter than the four helium atoms.
[33] A measurement of the heat observed to flow from a continuous
fountain of heat is a measurement of the output of the fountain, unless
there is a storing of energy between the output and the outflow. The
breakdown of the Kelvin time-scale indicates that the storing in the stars
(positive or negative) and consequent expansion or contraction is
negligible compared to the output or outflow.
[34] The stars all put together cover an area of the sky much less than
the apparent disk of the sun, so that unless their surface-layers are
generating this radiation very much more abundantly than the sun does,
they cannot be responsible for it.
[35] The term ‘dwarf stars’ is not meant to include white dwarfs.
[36] We can scarcely suppose that all stars after reaching the main
series pass through precisely the same stages. For example, Algol,
when it has become reduced to the mass of the Sun, may have slightly
different density and temperature. But the observational evidence
indicates that these individual differences are small. The main series is
nearly a linear sequence; it must have some ‘breadth’ as well as
‘length’, but at present the scatter of the individual stars away from the
central line of the sequence seems to be due chiefly to the probable
errors of the observational data and the true breadth has not been
determined.
[37] Exhaustion of supply without change of mass would cause the star
to contract to higher density; it would thus have a combination of
density and mass which (according to observation) is not found in any
actual stars.
[38] This increase was assumed in our detailed description of the
automatic adjustment of the star, and it will be seen that it was essential
to assume it.
APPENDIX
Further Remarks on the Companion of
Sirius
I HAVE preferred not to complicate the Story of the Companion of
Sirius with details of a technical kind; some further information may,
therefore, be welcome to those readers who are curious to learn as
much as possible about this remarkable star. I am also able to add a
further instalment of the ‘detective story’ which has just come to
hand, the sleuth this time being Mr. R. H. Fowler.
The star is between the eighth and ninth magnitude, so that it is
not an excessively faint object. The difficulty in detecting it arises
entirely from the overpowering light of its neighbour. At favourable
epochs it has been seen easily with an 8-inch telescope. The period
of revolution is 49 years.
The Companion is separated from Sirius by a distance nearly
equal to the distance of Uranus from the Sun—or twenty times the
earth’s distance from the sun. It has been suggested that the light
might be reflected light from Sirius. This would account for its
whiteness, but would not directly account for its spectrum, which
differs appreciably from that of Sirius. To reflect ¹⁄₁₀₀₀₀th of the light
of Sirius (its actual brightness) the Companion would have to be 74
million miles in diameter. The apparent diameter of its disk would be
0"·3, which, one would think, could scarcely escape notice in spite of
unfavourable conditions of observation. But the strongest objection
to this hypothesis of reflected light is that it applies only to this one
star. The other two recognized white dwarfs have no brilliant star in
their neighbourhood, so that they cannot be shining by reflected
light. It is scarcely worth while to invent an elaborate explanation for
one of these strange objects which does not cover the other two.
The Einstein effect, which is appealed to for confirmation of the
high density, is a lengthening of the wave-length and corresponding
decrease of the frequency of the light due to the intense gravitational
field through which the rays have to pass. Consequently the dark
lines in the spectrum appear at longer wave-lengths, i.e. displaced
towards the red as compared with the corresponding terrestrial lines.
The effect can be deduced either from the relativity theory of
gravitation or from the quantum theory; for those who have some
acquaintance with the quantum theory the following reasoning is
probably the simplest. The stellar atom emits the same quantum of
energy hν as a terrestrial atom, but this quantum has to use up some
of its energy in order to escape from the attraction of the star; the
energy of escape is equal to the mass hν/c2 multiplied by the
gravitational potential Φ at the surface of the star. Accordingly the
reduced energy after escape is hν(1 - Φ/c2); and since this must still
form a quantum hν', the frequency has to change to a value ν' = ν(1 -
Φ/c2). Thus the displacement ν' - ν is proportional to Φ, i.e. to the
mass divided by the radius of the star.
The effect on the spectrum resembles the Doppler effect of a
velocity of recession, and can therefore only be discriminated if we
know already the line-of-sight velocity. In the case of a double star
the velocity is known from observation of the other component of the
system, so that the part of the displacement attributable to Doppler
effect is known. Owing to orbital motion there is a difference of
velocity between Sirius and its Companion amounting at present to
43 km. per sec. and this has been duly taken into account; the
observed difference in position of the spectral lines of Sirius and its
Companion corresponds to a velocity of 23 km. per sec. of which 4
km. per sec. is attributable to orbital motion, and the remaining 19
km. per sec. must be interpreted as Einstein effect. The result rests
mainly on measurements of one spectral line Hβ. The other
favourable lines are in the bluer part of the spectrum, and since
atmospheric scattering increases with blueness, the scattered light of
Sirius interferes. However, they afford some useful confirmatory
evidence.
Of the other white dwarfs ο2 Eridani is a double star, its
companion being a red dwarf fainter than itself. The red shift of the
spectrum will be smaller than in the Companion of Sirius and it will
not be so easy to separate it from various possible sources of error.
Nevertheless the prospect is not hopeless. The other recognized
white dwarf is an unnamed star discovered by Van Maanen; it is a
solitary star, and consequently there is no means of distinguishing
between Einstein shift and Doppler shift. Various other stars have
been suspected of being in this condition, including the Companions
of Procyon, 85 Pegasi, and Mira Ceti.
If the Companion of Sirius were a perfect gas its central
temperature would be about 1,000,000,000°, and the central part of
the star would be a million times as dense as water. It is, however,
unlikely that the condition of a perfect gas continues to hold. It
should be understood that in any case the density will fall off towards
the outside of the star, and the regions which we observe are entirely
normal. The dense material is tucked away under high pressure in
the interior.
Perhaps the most puzzling feature that remains is the
extraordinary difference of development between Sirius and its
Companion, which must both have originated at the same time.
Owing to the radiation of mass the age of Sirius must be less than a
billion years; an initial mass, however large, would radiate itself down
to less than the present mass of Sirius within a billion years. But
such a period is insignificant in the evolution of a small star which
radiates more slowly, and it is difficult to see why the Companion
should have already left the main series and gone on to this
(presumably) later stage. This is akin to other difficulties in the
problem of stellar evolution, and I feel convinced that there is
something of fundamental importance that remains undiscovered.
Until recently I have felt that there was a serious (or, if you like, a
comic) difficulty about the ultimate fate of the white dwarfs. Their
high density is only possible because of the smashing of the atoms,
which in turn depends on the high temperature. It does not seem
permissible to suppose that the matter can remain in this
compressed state if the temperature falls. We may look forward to a
time when the supply of subatomic energy fails and there is nothing
to maintain the high temperature; then on cooling down, the material
will return to the normal density of terrestrial solids. The star must,
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