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 Solution Manual for Advanced Macroeconomics,
5th Edition David Romer
Full version at:
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SOLUTIONS TO CHAPTER 1

Problem 1.1
(a) Since the growth rate of a variable equals the time derivative of its log, as shown by equation (1.10)
in the text, we can write
Z d ln Z(t) d ln X(t)Y(t)
(t)
(1) .
Z(t) dt dt
Since the log of the product of two variables equals the sum of their logs, we have
Z d ln X(t) ln d ln X(t) d ln Y(t)
(t) Y(t)
(2) ,
Z(t) dt dt dt
or simply
Z X Y
(t) (t) (t)
(3) .
Z(t) X(t) Y(t)

(b) Again, since the growth rate of a variable equals the time derivative of its log, we can write
Z d ln Z(t) d ln X(t) Y(t)
(t)
(4) .
Z(t) dt dt
Since the log of the ratio of two variables equals the difference in their logs, we have
Z d ln X(t) ln d ln X(t) d ln Y(t)
(t) Y(t)
(5) ,
Z(t) dt dt dt
or simply
Z X Y
(t) (t) (t)
(6) .
Z(t) X(t) Y(t)

(c) We have
 Z d ln Z(t) d ln[X(t) ]
(7) .
(t) dt dt
Z(t)

Using the fact that ln[X(t) ] = lnX(t), we have

Z d ln d ln X(t) X (t)
(8) X(t) ,
(t) dt X(t)
Z(t)
dt

where we have used the fact that is a constant.

Problem 1.2
(a) Using the information provided in the question,
the path of the growth rate of X, X X(t), is X (t)
(t) X(t)
depicted in the figure at right.

From time 0 to time t1 , the growth rate of X is

constant and equal to a > 0. At time t1 , the growth
rate of X drops to 0. From time t1 to time t2 , the a
growth rate of X rises gradually from 0 to a. Note that
we have made the assumption that X X(t) rises at
(t)

a constant rate from t1 to t2 . Finally, after time t2 , the

growth rate of X is constant and equal to a again.
0 t1 t2 time
1-2 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-2

(b) Note that the slope of lnX(t) plotted against time

is equal to the growth rate of X(t). That is, we know lnX(t)
d ln X( t ) X slope = a
dt (t)
X(t)

(See equation (1.10) in the text.) slope = a

From time 0 to time t1 the slope of lnX(t) equals

a > 0. The lnX(t) locus has an inflection point at t1 ,
when the growth rate of X(t) changes discontinuously lnX(0)
from a to 0. Between t1 and t2 , the slope of lnX(t)
rises gradually from 0 to a. After time t2 the slope of

lnX(t) is constant and equal to a > 0 again. 0 t1 t2 time

Problem 1.3
(a) The slope of the break-even investment line is
Inv/ (n + g +
given by (n + g + ) and thus a fall in the rate of )k
depreciation, , decreases the slope of the break- eff lab
even investment line. (n + g +

The actual investment curve, sf(k) is unaffected.

NEW)k

From the figure at right we can see that the balanced-

growth-path level of capital per unit of effective sf(k)
labor rises from k* to k*NEW .

k* k*NEW k

(b) Since the slope of the break-even investment

line is given by (n + g + ), a rise in the rate of Inv/ (n + gNEW +
technological progress, g, makes the break-even )k
investment line steeper. eff lab
(n + g +
The actual investment curve, sf(k), is unaffected.
)k
From the figure at right we can see that the
balanced-growth-path level of capital per unit of
effective labor falls from k* to k*NEW . sf(k)

k*NEW k* k
1-3 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-3

(c) The break-even investment line, (n + g + )k,

Inv/
is unaffected by the rise in capital's share, . eff lab

The effect of a change in on the actual investment

curve, sk , can be determined by examining the (n + g +
derivative (sk )/ . It is possible to show that
)k

sk sk
(1) sk ln k NEW
. sk

For 0 < < 1, and for positive values of k, the sign

of (sk )/ is determined by the sign of lnk. For
lnk > 0, or k > 1, 0 and so the new k* k*NEW k
sk actual

investment curve lies above the old one. For

lnk < 0 or k < 1, 0 and so the new actual investment curve lies below the old one. At k = 1,
sk

so that lnk = 0, the new actual investment curve intersects the old one.

In addition, the effect of a rise in on k* is ambiguous and depends on the relative magnitudes of s and
(n + g + ). It is possible to show that a rise in capital's share, , will cause k* to rise if s > (n + g + ).
This is the case depicted in the figure above.
(d) Suppose we modify the intensive form of the
production function to include a non-negative Inv/
constant, B, so that the actual investment curve is eff lab
(n + g +
given by sBf(k), B > 0. )k
sBNEW f(k)
Then workers exerting more effort, so that output
per unit of effective labor is higher than before, can
be modeled as an increase in B. This increase in B sBf(k)
shifts the actual investment curve up.

The break-even investment line, (n + g + )k,

is unaffected.
k* k*NEW k
From the figure at right we can see that the balanced-growth-path level of capital per unit of effective
labor rises from k* to k*NEW .

Problem 1.4
(a) At some time, call it t0 , there is a discrete upward jump in the number of workers. This reduces the
amount of capital per unit of effective labor from k* to kNEW . We can see this by simply looking at the
definition, k K/AL . An increase in L without a jump in K or A causes k to fall. Since f ' (k) > 0, this
fall in the amount of capital per unit of effective labor reduces the amount of output per unit of effective
labor as well. In the figure below, y falls from y* to yNEW .
1-4 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-4

(b) Now at this lower kNEW , actual Investment

investment per unit of effective /eff. lab.
labor exceeds break-even investment y = f(k)
per unit of effective labor. That is, y*
sf(kNEW ) > (g + )kNEW . The (g + )k
economy is now saving and
investing more than enough to offset yNEW
sf(k)
depreciation and technological
progress at this lower kNEW . Thus k
begins rising back toward k*. As
capital per unit of effective labor
begins rising, so does output per unit
of effective labor. That is, y begins
rising from yNEW back toward y*. kNEW k* k K/AL

(c) Capital per unit of effective labor will continue to rise until it eventually returns to the original level
of k*. At k*, investment per unit of effective labor is again just enough to offset technological progress
and depreciation and keep k constant. Since k returns to its original value of k* once the economy again
returns to a balanced growth path, output per unit of effective labor also returns to its original value of
y* = f(k*).

Problem 1.5
(a) The equation describing the evolution of the capital stock per unit of effective labor is given by
(1) k sf (k) (n g )k.

Substituting in for the intensive form of the Cobb-Douglas, f(k) = k , yields

(2) k sk (n g )k .

On the balanced growth path, is zero; investment per unit of effective labor is equal to break-even
k

investment per unit of effective labor and so k remains constant. Denoting the balanced-growth-path
value of k as k*, we have sk* = (n + g + )k*. Rearranging to solve for k* yields
1 (1 )
(3) k* s (n g ) .

To get the balanced-growth-path value of output per unit of effective labor, substitute equation (3) into
the intensive form of the production function, y = k :
(1 )
(4) y* s (n g ) .

Consumption per unit of effective labor on the balanced growth path is given by c* = (1 - s)y*.
Substituting equation (4) into this expression yields
(1 )
(5) c* (1 s) s (n g ) .

(b) The golden-rule level of the capital stock is that level at which consumption per unit of effective
labor is maximized. To derive this level of k, take equation (3), which expresses the balanced-growth-
path level of k, and rearrange it to solve for s:
(6) s = (n + g + )k*1- .
1-5 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-5

Now substitute equation (6) into equation (5):

(1 )
(7) c* 1 (n g )k *1 (n g (n g ) .
)k *1

After some straightforward algebraic manipulation, this simplifies to

(8) c* = k* - (n + g + )k*.
1-6 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-6

Equation (8) states that consumption per unit of effective labor is equal to output per unit of effective
labor, k* , less actual investment per unit of effective labor. On the balanced growth path, actual
investment per unit of effective labor is the same as break-even investment per unit of effective labor,
(n + g + )k*.

Now use equation (8) to maximize c* with respect to k*. The first-order condition is given by
(9) c * k * k * 1 (n g
) 0, or simply
(10) k* -1 = (n + g + ).
Note that equation (10) is just a specific form of the general condition that implicitly defines the golden-
rule level of capital per unit of effective labor, given by f ' (k*) = (n + g + ). Equation (10) has a
graphical interpretation: it defines the level of k at which the slope of the intensive form of the
production function is equal to the slope of the break-even investment line. Solving equation (10) for the
golden-rule level of k yields
1 (1 )
(11) k *GR (n g .
)

(c) To get the saving rate that yields the golden-rule level of k, substitute equation (11) into (6):
(1
(1 ))
(12) sGR (n g ) (n g ) ,

which simplifies to
(13) sGR = .
With a Cobb-Douglas production function, the saving rate required to reach the golden rule is equal to
the elasticity of output with respect to capital or capital's share in output (if capital earns its marginal
product).

Problem 1.6
(a) Since there is no technological progress, we can carry out the entire analysis in terms of capital and
output per worker rather than capital and output per unit of effective labor. With A constant, they behave
the same. Thus we can define y Y/L and k K/L.
The fall in the population growth rate makes the
break-even investment line flatter. In the
absence of technological progress, the per unit
time change in k, capital per worker, is given y*NEW f(k)
by k sf (k) ( n)k. was 0 before (n + )k
Since k

the decrease in n – the economy was on a

balanced growth path – the decrease in n causes y* (nNEW + )k

k to become positive. At k*, actual investment

per worker, sf(k*), now exceeds break-even consumption per worker – rises as
investment per worker, (nNEW + )k*. Thus y rises. This is summarized in the
k moves to a new higher balanced growth figures below.
path level. See the figure at right.

As k rises, y – output per worker – also rises.

Since a constant fraction of output is saved, c –
 1-7 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-7

sf(k)

k* k*NEW k
1-8 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-8

k y c

k* y* c*

time time time

(b) By definition, output can be written as

Y Ly. Thus the growth rate of output is lnY
Y Y L y. On the initial balanced growth
L y

path, y 0 – output per worker is constant – so

y

Y Y L n. On the final balanced growth

L

path, y 0 again – output per worker is slope = nNEW

y

constant again – and so Y L n NEW n.

Y L

In the end, output will be growing at a slope = n

permanently lower rate.
t0 time

What happens during the transition? Examine the production function Y = F(K,AL). On the initial
balanced growth path AL, K and thus Y are all growing at rate n. Then suddenly AL begins growing at
some new lower rate nNEW. Thus suddenly Y will be growing at some rate between that of K (which is
growing at n) and that of AL (which is growing at nNEW). Thus, during the transition, output grows more
rapidly than it will on the new balanced growth path, but less rapidly than it would have without the
decrease in population growth. As output growth gradually slows down during the transition, so does
capital growth until finally K, AL, and thus Y are all growing at the new lower n NEW.

Problem 1.7
The derivative of y* = f(k*) with respect to n is given by
(1) y*/ n = f '(k*)[ k*/ n].
To find k*/ n, use the equation for the evolution of the capital stock per unit of effective labor,
k sf (k) (n g )k . In addition, use the fact that on a balanced growth path, k 0, k = k*
and thus sf(k*) = (n + g + )k*. Taking the derivative of both sides of this expression with respect to n
yields
k k
(2) sf * (n g * k *,
(k*) )
n n
1-9 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-9

and rearranging yields

k* k*
(3) .
n sf (k*) (n g
)
Substituting equation (3) into equation (1) gives us
y k*
(4) * f .
(k*)
n sf (k*) (n g )
1-10 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-10

Rearranging the condition that implicitly defines k*, sf(k*) = (n + g + )k*, and solving for s yields
(5) s = (n + g + )k*/f(k*).
Substitute equation (5) into equation (4):
y* f (k*)k
(6) *
n .
[(n g )f (k*)k * /f (k*)] (n
g )
To turn this into the elasticity that we want, multiply both sides of equation (6) by n/y*:
n y* n f (k*)k * /f (k*)
(7) .
y* (n g ) [f (k*)k * /f (k*)] 1
n

Using the definition that K (k*) f '(k*)k*/f(k*) gives us

n y n K ( k*)
*
(8) .
y* (n g ) 1 K (k*)
n

Now, with K (k*) = 1/3, g = 2% and = 3%, we need to calculate the effect on y* of a fall in n from 2%
to 1%. Using the midpoint of n = 0.015 to calculate the elasticity gives us
n y* 0.015 1/
(9) 3 0.12.

y* n (0.015 0.02 0.03) 1 1/ 3

So this 50% drop in the population growth rate, from 2% to 1%, will lead to approximately a 6% increase
in the level of output per unit of effective labor, since (-0.50)(-0.12) = 0.06. This calculation illustrates
the point that observed differences in population growth rates across countries are not nearly enough to
account for differences in y that we see.

Problem 1.8
(a) A permanent increase in the fraction of output that is devoted to investment from 0.15 to 0.18
represents a 20 percent increase in the saving rate. From equation (1.28) in the text, the elasticity of
output with respect to the saving rate is
s y* K ( k*)
(1) ,

y* 1 K (k*)
s

where K (k*) is the share of income paid to capital (assuming that capital is paid its marginal product).

Substituting the assumption that K (k*) = 1/3 into equation (1) gives us
s y* K ( k*) 13 1
(2)
.

y* 1 K 1 13 2
s (k*)
1-11 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-11

Thus the elasticity of output with respect to the saving rate is 1/2. So this 20 percent increase in the
saving rate – from s = 0.15 to sNEW = 0.18 – causes output to rise relative to what it would have been by
about 10 percent. [Note that the analysis has been carried out in terms of output per unit of effective
labor. Since the paths of A and L are not affected, however, if output per unit of effective labor rises by
10 percent, output itself is also 10 percent higher than what it would have been.]

(b) Consumption rises less than output. Output ends up 10 percent higher than what it would have been.
But the fact that the saving rate is higher means that we are now consuming a smaller fraction of output.
We can calculate the elasticity of consumption with respect to the saving rate. On the balanced growth
path, consumption is given by
(3) c* = (1 - s)y*.
Taking the derivative with respect to s yields
1-12 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-12

c y*
(4) * y * (1 .
s) s
s

To turn this into an elasticity, multiply both sides of equation (4) by s/c*:
c* s y *s y s
(5) (1 * ,
s c * (1 s)y s) (1 s)y
* s *

where we have substituted c* = (1 - s)y* on the right-hand side. Simplifying gives us

c* s s y* s
(6) .
s c* (1 s (1 s)y *
s)

From part (a), the second term on the right-hand side of (6), the elasticity of output with respect to the
saving rate, equals 1/2. We can use the midpoint between s = 0.15 and sNEW = 0.18 to calculate the
elasticity:
c* s 0.165
(7) 0.5 0.30.
s c * (1 0.165)

Thus the elasticity of consumption with respect to the saving rate is approximately 0.3. So this 20%
increase in the saving rate will cause consumption to be approximately 6% above what it would have
been.

(c) The immediate effect of the rise in investment as a fraction of output is that consumption falls.
Although y* does not jump immediately – it only begins to move toward its new, higher balanced-
growth-path level – we are now saving a greater fraction, and thus consuming a smaller fraction, of this
same y*. At the moment of the rise in s by 3 percentage points – since c = (1 - s)y* and y* is unchanged
– c falls. In fact, the percentage change in c will be the percentage change in (1 - s). Now, (1 - s) falls
from 0.85 to 0.82, which is approximately a 3.5 percent drop. Thus at the moment of the rise in s,
consumption falls by about three and a half percent.

We can use some results from the text on the speed of convergence to determine the length of time it
takes for consumption to return to what it would have been without the increase in the saving rate. After
the initial rise in s, s remains constant throughout. Since c = (1 - s)y, this means that consumption will
grow at the same rate as y on the way to the new balanced growth path. In the text it is shown that the
rate of convergence of k and y, after a linear approximation, is given by = (1 - K )(n + g + ). With
(n + g + ) equal to 6 percent per year and K = 1/3, this yields a value for of about 4 percent.
This means that k and y move about 4 percent of the remaining distance toward their balanced-growth-
path
values of k* and y* each year. Since c is proportional to y, c = (1 - s)y, it also approaches its new
balanced-growth-path value at that same constant rate. That is, analogous to equation (1.31) in the text,
we could write
(8) c(t) c* e (1 K )(n g )t [c(0)
c*], or equivalently
c( t) c
(9) e t *
.
c(0) c *
The term on the right-hand side of equation (9) is the fraction of the distance to the balanced growth path
that remains to be traveled.
1-13 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-13

We know that consumption falls initially by 3.5 percent and will eventually be 6 percent higher than it
would have been. Thus it must change by 9.5 percent on the way to the balanced growth path. It will
therefore be equal to what it would have been about 36.8 percent (3.5%/9.5% 36.8%) of the way to the
new balanced growth path. Equivalently, this is when the remaining distance to the new balanced growth
1-14 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-14

path is 63.2 percent of the original distance. To determine the length of time this will take, we need to
find a t* that solves
t*
(10) e 0.632.

Taking the natural logarithm of both sides of equation (10) yields

(11) - t* = ln(0.632).
Rearranging to solve for t gives us
(12) t* = 0.459/0.04,
and thus
(13) t* 11.5 years.
It will take a long time – over a decade – for consumption to return to what it would have been in the
absence of the increase in investment as a fraction of output.

Problem 1.9
(a) Define the marginal product of labor to be w F(K,AL)/ L. Then write the production function
as
Y = ALf(k) = ALf(K/AL). Taking the partial derivative of output with respect to L yields
(1) w Y/ L = ALf ' (k)[-K/AL2 ] + Af(k) = A[(-K/AL)f ' (k) + f(k)] = A[f(k) - kf ' (k)],
as required.

(b) Define the marginal product of capital as r [ F(K,AL)/ K] - . Again, writing the production
function as Y = ALf(k) = ALf(K/AL) and now taking the partial derivative of output with respect to K
yields
(2) r [ Y/ K] - = ALf ' (k)[1/AL] - = f ' (k)
- . Substitute equations (1) and (2) into wL + rK:
(3) wL + rK = A[f(k) - kf ' (k)] L + [f ' (k) - ]K = ALf(k) - f ' (k)[K/AL]AL + f ' (k)K -
K. Simplifying gives us
(4) wL + rK = ALf(k) - f ' (k)K + f ' (k)K - K = Alf(k) - K ALF(K/AL, 1) -
K. Finally, since F is constant returns to scale, equation (4) can be rewritten as
(5) wL + rK = F(ALK/AL, AL) - K = F(K, AL) - K.

(c) As shown above, r = f '(k) - . Since is a constant and since k is constant on a balanced growth
path, so is f '(k) and thus so is r. In other words, on a balanced growth path, r r 0 . Thus the Solow
model does exhibit the property that the return to capital is constant over time.

Since capital is paid its marginal product, the share of output going to capital is rK/Y. On a balanced
growth path,
rK Y
(6) r r K Y 0 (n g) (n g) 0.
rK Y Y
K

Thus, on a balanced growth path, the share of output going to capital is constant. Since the shares of
output going to capital and labor sum to one, this implies that the share of output going to labor is also
constant on the balanced growth path.

We need to determine the growth rate of the marginal product of labor, w, on a balanced growth path. As
shown above, w = A[f(k) - kf '(k)]. Taking the time derivative of the log of this expression yields the
growth rate of the marginal product of labor:
w A f ( k) kf f ( k) k k f ( k) kf ( k) k
( k) kf ( k) k
1-15 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-15

(7) g .
g f (k) kf f (k) kf (k)
w A f (k) kf (k) (k)
1-16 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-16

On a balanced growth path k 0 and so w g . That is, on a balanced growth path, the marginal
w

product of labor rises at the rate of growth of the effectiveness of labor.

(d) As shown in part (c), the growth rate of the marginal product of labor is
w kf ( k) k
(8) g .

w f (k) kf (k)
If k < k*, then as k moves toward k*, w g . This is true because the denominator of the second term
w

on the right-hand side of equation (8) is positive because f(k) is a concave function. The numerator of
that same term is positive because k and are positive and f '' (k) is negative. Thus, as k rises toward k*,
k

the marginal product of labor grows faster than on the balanced growth path. Intuitively, the marginal
product of labor rises by the rate of growth of the effectiveness of labor on the balanced growth path. As
we move from k to k*, however, the amount of capital per unit of effective labor is also rising which also
makes labor more productive and this increases the marginal product of labor even more.

The growth rate of the marginal product of capital, r, is

r f f ( k)
(9) k
( .
f
r k) (k)
f
(k)

As k rises toward k*, this growth rate is negative since f ' (k) > 0, f '' (k) < 0 and > 0. Thus, as the
k

economy moves from k to k*, the marginal product of capital falls. That is, it grows at a rate less than on
the balanced growth path where its growth rate is 0.

Problem 1.10
(a) The growth rate of the capital-output ratio is given by
(K / Y) K Y
(1) .

(K / Y) K Y
Differentiating the pro.duction function, Y = F(K,AL), with respect to time gives us
(2) Y FK K F AL (AL) .

Dividing both sides of equatio.n (2) by Y yields

Y FK K K ALFAL (AL)
(3) .

Y Y K Y AL

Defining αK ≡ FKK/Y, which is capital’s share of income, and using the fact that the production function
exhibits constant returns to s.cale allows us to write
1-17 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-17

Y K (AL)
(4) )
(1
K K .
AL
Y K

Since A grows at rate g and L grows at rate n, this becomes

Y K
(5) (1 )(n g) .
K K
Y K

Substituting equation (5) into equation (1) yields

(K / Y) K K
K
(6) K (1 K )(n g) (1 K) (n g) .
(K / Y) K K K

Thus, the growth rate of the capital-output ratio is positive, i.e. K/Y is rising, if and only if the growth
rate of the capital stock exceeds n + g. Since k ≡ K/AL, when K is growing faster than the growth rate of
AL, which is n + g, k is rising. So, equivalently, K/Y is rising if and only if k is rising.
1-18 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-18

(b) The solution to part (a) shows us that we can examine the behavior of K/Y by looking at the behavior
of k. The equation describing the evolution of the capital stock per unit of effective labor in the standard
version of the Solow model is given by
(7) k sf (k) (n g )k .

The assumption here that capital’s share of income is saved implies that s = FKK/Y. Since FK = f′(k), this
implies s=f′(k)k/f(k). Thus, equation (7) can be written as
(8) k f (k)k (n g )k .

Dividing both sides of (8) by k gives us an expression for the growth rate of capital per unit of effective
labor,
k
(9) f (k) (n g ).
k

From equation (9), we can see that if the marginal product of capital, which equals f′(k), is strictly greater
than (n + g + δ) at time t = 0, k/k will be positive and so k will rise over time. As shown in the solution to
part (a), if k is rising so is K/Y. Thus, K/Y rises over time. But since f″(k) < 0, f′(k) falls as k rises.
Eventually f′(k) will fall to (n + g + δ), at which point k becomes constant. The solution to part (a)
implies that K/Y will also become constant at that point. In summary, K/Y gradually approaches a
constant value from below.

(c) The solution to part (b) shows that K/Y does not grow without bound. The key is that the return to
capital is decreasing in k. As capital accumulates, the return to capital falls, and so capital accumulates
more slowly. Eventually, the return to capital falls so much that capital income, and thus savings, is just
enough to offset depreciation, population growth, and growth in efficiency and so K/Y becomes constant.

(d) With a Cobb-Douglas production function, Y = Kα(AL)1-α, the marginal product of capital is given by
Y
(10) K 1 (AL)1 .
K

Thus, we can write net capital income, NCI, as

Y 1 1
(11) NCI K K[ K (AL) ] Y K.
K
Taking the ratio of net capital income to net output, NI, gives us
NCI Y K
(12) .

NI Y K
Dividing the top and bottom of the right-hand-side of equation (12) by Y yields
NCI K/Y
(13) .

NI 1 K/Y
Differentiating the ratio of net capital income to net output with respect to the capital-output ratio, K/Y,
gives us
NCI / NI [ ](1 K / Y) ( K / Y)[ ]
(14) 2
,
K/ [1 K / Y]
Y
which simplifies to
NCI / NI 2 K/Y 2 K/Y ( 1)
(15) 0.
1-19 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-19

K/ [1 K/ [1 K / Y]2
Y Y]2

Equation (15) implies that as K/Y rises over time and gradually approaches a constant level, the ratio of
net capital income to net output is falling. So the common statement that an excess of the return to capital
over the economy’s growth rate causes capital’s share to rise over time is not correct in this case.
1-20 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-20

Problem 1.11
(a) The elasticity of substitution between capital and effective labor is given by
log(K / AL) log(K / AL)
(1) .

log(FAL / FK ) log(FK / FAL )

This can be rewritten as

log(K / Y)
(2) .
log(FK )

The share of net capital income in net output is given by

NCI K(FK ) FK
(3) .

NI Y Y/K
K

To see the direction of the response of NCI/NI to changes in K, we can examine the derivative of NCI/NI
with respect to FK since we know that K 0 . We have
FK

(NCI / NI) [1](Y / K ) (FK )[ (Y / K) / FK ]

(4) .

FK 2
Y/K
Equation (4) simplifies to

(NCI / NI) 1 (FK ) (Y / K)

(5) .

FK Y/K Y/ K FK
2

From equation (2), we have

log(Y / K) (Y / K) (K / Y)
(6) .

log(FK ) FK FK

Solving for (Y / K) FK gives us

(Y / K) (Y / K)
(7)
.
FK FK
Substituting equation (7) into equation (5) yields
(NCI / NI) 1 (FK ) Y/K
(8) .

FK Y/K 2 FK
Y/K

Thus, a marginal increase in K will increase the share of net capital income in net output if this
expression is negative.
1-21 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-21

(b) We require a solution for σ such that

1 (FK ) Y/ K
(9) 0.

Y/K 2 FK
Y/K

Substituting in the parameter values that we are given yields

1 0.05 1/ 3
(10) 0,

1/ 3 0.03 1/ 3 0.03 2 0.08

or simply
1
(11) 1/ 3 0.03 1.456.
0.05 1/ 3

1/ 3 0.03 2 0.08
Thus, the elasticity of substitution must be greater than 1.456 for the share of net capital income in net
output to rise when K rises.
1-22 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-22

Problem 1.12
A balanced growth path occurs when all the variables of the model are growing at constant rates. Despite
the differences between this model and the usual Solow model, it turns out that we can again show that
the economy will converge to a balanced growth path by examining the behavior of k K/AL.

Taking the time derivative of both sides of the definition of k K/AL gives us
K (AL) K L K L A A
K A A L K A L K L

(1) k k .
AL AL L A
AL 2 AL AL

(AL)

Since factors are paid their marginal product and all income other than labor income is saved, we can
write the capital-accumulation equation in this version of the model as
(2) K FK K K,

where FK is the marginal product of capital. Substituting equation (2) and the constant growth rates of the
labor force and technology, L n and A g, into equation (1) yields
L A

FK K K
(3) k (n k (n g )k .
g)k F
K
AL
The marginal product of capital, FK, equals f '(k) and so we can rewrite equation (3) as
(4) k f (k) (n g ) k.

Capital per unit of effective labor will be constant when k 0, i.e. when [f ' (k) - (n + g + )] k = 0.
This condition holds if k = 0 (a case we will ignore) or f ' (k) - (n + g + ) = 0. Thus the balanced-
growth-path
level of the capital stock per unit of effective labor is implicitly defined by f '(k*) = (n + g + ). Since
capital per unit of effective labor, k K/AL, is constant on the balanced growth path, K must grow at the
same rate as AL, which grows at rate n + g. Since the production function has constant returns to capital
and effective labor, which both grow at rate n + g on the balanced growth path, output must also grow at
rate n + g on the balanced growth path. Thus we have found a balanced growth path where all the
variables of the model grow at constant rates.

The next step is to show that the economy converges to this balanced growth path. At k = k*,
f ' (k) = (n + g + ). If k > k*, f ' (k) < (n + g + ). This follows from the assumption that f '' (k) < 0
which means that f ' (k) falls as k rises. Thus, if k > k*, we have k 0 so that k will fall toward its
balanced-
growth-path value. If k < k*, f ' (k) > (n + g + ). Again, this follows from the assumption that f '' (k) < 0
which means that f ' (k) rises as k falls. Thus, if k < k*, we have k 0 so that k will rise toward its
balanced-growth-path value. Thus, regardless of the initial value of k (if it is not zero), the economy will
converge to a balanced growth path at k*, where all the variables in the model are growing at constant
rates.
1-23 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-23

The golden-rule level of k – the level of k that maximizes consumption per unit of effective labor – is
defined implicitly by f '(kGR) = (n +g + ). This occurs when the slope of the production function equals
the slope of the break-even investment line. Note that this is exactly the level of k that the economy
converges to in this model where all labor income is consumed and all other income is saved. Intuitively,
saving equals capital's contribution to output, which is the marginal product of capital times the amount
of capital. If that contribution exceeds break-even investment, (n + g + )k, then k rises. If it is less than
break-even investment, k falls. Thus, k settles down to a point where saving, the marginal product of
capital times k, equals break-even investment, (n + g + )k. That is, the economy settles down to a point
where f ' (k)k = (n + g + )k or equivalently f ' (k) = (n + g + ).
1-24 Solutions to Chapter 1 Solutions to Chapter 1 1-24

Problem 1.13
We know that y is determined by k but since k = g(y), where g( ) = f –1( ), we can write y y (y) .
When k = k* and thus y = y*, y =0. A first-order Taylor-series approximation y around y = y*
of therefore yields (y)

y
(1) (y y*) .
y
y y y*
Let denote y (y) y y y* . With this definition, equation (1) becomes
(2) y (t) [y(t) y*].

Equation (2) implies that in the vicinity of the balanced growth path, y moves toward y* at a speed
approximately proportional to its distance from y*. That is, the growth rate of y(t) – y* is approximately
constant and equal to - . This implies
(3) y(t) y * e t [y(0) y*],

where y(0) is the initial value of y. We now need to determine .

Taking the time derivative of both sides of the production function,

(4) y = f(k),
yields
(5) y f (k)k .

The equation of motion for capital is given by

(6) k sf (k) (n g )k .

Substituting equation (6) into equation (5) yields

(7) y f (k)[sf (k) (n g )k] .

Equation (7) expresses y in terms of k. But k = g(y) where g( ) = f –1( ). Thus we can write
y  y
(8) .
k
y y* y y*
k  
y y*
y y

Taking the derivative of y with respect to k gives us

y
(9) f (k)[sf (k) (n g )k] f (k)[sf (k) (n g )] .
k

On the balanced growth path, sf(k*) = (n + g + )k* and thus

y
(10) f (k*)[sf (k*) (n g )].
k
y y*
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Title: Rollo's Philosophy [Fire]

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROLLO'S

PHILOSOPHY [FIRE] ***
 SO HE TOOK UP A
SMALL COAL OF FIRE.—
Page 97.
ROLLO’S PHILOSOPHY.
[FIRE.]

THE ROLLO SERIES

IS COMPOSED OF FOURTEEN VOLUMES, VIZ.:

Rollo Learning to Talk.

Rollo Learning to Read.
Rollo at Work.
Rollo at Play.
Rollo at School.
Rollo’s Vacation.
Rollo’s Experiments.
Rollo’s Museum.
Rollo’s Travels.
Rollo’s Correspondence.
Rollo’s Philosophy—Water.
Rollo’s Philosophy—Air.
Rollo’s Philosophy—Fire.
Rollo’s Philosophy—Sky.

A NEW EDITION, REVISED BY THE AUTHOR.

 NEW YORK
THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO.
PUBLISHERS
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO.,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
 PREFACE.

The main design in view, in the discussions which are offered to

the juvenile world, under the title of The Rollo Philosophy, relates
rather to their effect upon the little reader’s habits of thinking,
reasoning, and observation, than to the additions they may make to
his stock of knowledge. The benefit which the author intends that
the reader shall derive from them, is an influence on the cast of his
intellectual character, which is receiving its permanent form during
the years to which these writings are adapted.
The acquisition of knowledge, however, though in this case a
secondary, is by no means an unimportant object; and the
discussion of the several topics proceeds accordingly, with regularity,
upon a certain system of classification. This classification is based
upon the more obvious external properties and relations of matter,
and less upon those, which, though they are more extensive and
general in their nature, and, therefore, more suitable, in a strictly
scientific point of view, for the foundations of a system, are less
apparent, and require higher powers of generalization and
abstraction, and are, therefore, less in accordance with the genius
and spirit of the Rollo philosophy.
As teachers have, in some cases, done the author the honor to
introduce some of the preceding works of this class into their
schools, as reading books, &c., considerable reference has been had
to this, in the form and manner of the discussion, and questions
have been added to facilitate the use of the books in cases where
parents or teachers may make the reading of them a regular
exercise of instruction.
CONTENTS.
 CHAPTER I.
Page
Slow Combustion 9

CHAPTER II.
Lamp-Lighting 21

CHAPTER III.
Burning Iron 36

CHAPTER IV.
Fire in the Pasture 54

CHAPTER V.
Theory and Practice 70

CHAPTER VI.
Gunpowder 85

CHAPTER VII.
The Alarm 102

CHAPTER VIII.
Radiation and Conduction 116

CHAPTER IX.
Radiation 130

CHAPTER X.
Condition 142

CHAPTER XI.
The Ride Home 155

CHAPTER XII.
The Conflagration 165
THE ROLLO PHILOSOPHY.

FIRE.
 CHAPTER I.
SLOW COMBUSTION.

The way in which it happened that Rollo’s father first began to

explain to him something about the nature of fire, was this: It was
one evening early in the autumn. Dorothy was going away to visit
one of her friends, and Rollo was waiting for Jonas to come out, and
see the fire-flies, or lightning-bugs, as he called them, which were
flying about the yard. But Jonas did not come as soon as Rollo had
expected, and so he went into the kitchen to see what had become
of him. He found that, as Dorothy was rather late for her visit, and
still had her kitchen fire to cover up, Jonas was just offering to cover
it up for her, so that she could go at once without any further delay.
So Rollo came in, and stood by the kitchen hearth to see Jonas
cover up the fire.
The fire had nearly burned out, but it had left quite a large bed of
embers, and a few coals among them. Jonas took the long-handled
iron shovel, which belonged to the kitchen fire, and with it he drew
forward all these coals and embers, so as to leave the back part of
the hearth bare. Then he took the tongs, and with the tongs he
gathered out from the hot ashes all the coals which he could find
among the ashes, and put them back upon the bare place which he
had made upon the hearth. He spread them evenly over it in a row
against the back of the chimney.
“What are you going to do, Jonas?” said Rollo.
“I am going to cover up a stick of wood,” replied Jonas.
So Jonas opened a small door which led to a little wood closet by
the side of the fire, and took out a short stick of wood, flat on one
side and round on the other. It was a stick which was round first, but
Jonas had split it in two. It was part of a great branch of a tree,
large enough to make a good log, only Jonas saw that it would split
easily, and so he had split it in two. The other half of it was still in
the wood closet.
“This is just the stick,” said Jonas.
“Why?” asked Rollo.
“Why, the lower side is flat,” said Jonas, “to lie upon the coals, and
the top is round, so that I can cover it all up the easier.”
So Jonas laid the stick down, with the flat side against the coals,
and the round side outwards. Then with the great shovel he began
to shovel the ashes and embers back over it. He put all the hot
embers in first, and then the ashes, and he tried to cover up the
stick entirely; but there was not quite ashes enough. One of the
ends remained out.
“There, Jonas,” said Rollo, “now come.”
“No,” said Jonas, “I must cover the stick all up.”
“O, that little end won’t do any harm,” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said Jonas, “because, when the stick burns down, that place
would make a hole, and let too much air in.”
“Don’t you want any air to get in?” said Rollo.
“Very little,” said Jonas. “I want a very slow combustion to go on
until to-morrow morning, and then there will be a good bed of coals
for Dorothy.”
“I don’t see why you take so much pains to cover up a stick of
wood,” said Rollo. “You might light a fire with your tinder-box.”
“But it takes a great deal longer to make a good fire with a tinder-
box, than when we have a good bed of coals.”
“Then take a friction match,” said Rollo. “I can light a friction
match in half a minute.”
“You can light the match, but not build a fire. It takes a long time
with a match light to get heat enough to set large sticks of wood on
fire; but, with a bed of burning coals, we can do it very soon.”
 “You might have some sticks and shavings for kindling,” said Rollo,
“and they will burn quick.”
“Yes,” said Jonas, “but it is more trouble to prepare sticks and
shavings every night, than it is to cover up a stick of wood.”
While Jonas had been saying these things, he had taken more
ashes from the ash-hole, and had covered the stick over entirely. He
then put away the shovel, and was brushing up the hearth, when
Rollo, after standing a moment, as if in thought, said,—
“Jonas, what do you mean by combustion?”
“Did I say combustion?” rejoined Jonas.
“Yes, you said you wanted slow combustion.”
“Well, I meant burning. I want the wood to burn slowly all night.”
“Then why did not you say burning,” said Rollo, “so that I could
understand you. I don’t see where you get all your learned words. I
suppose it is out of some of your books.”
“Yes,” said Jonas, “they call it combustion in the books that I read,
but I don’t know exactly why. I think there must be some difference
between combustion and burning, but I don’t know exactly what it
is.”
“I mean to ask my father,” said Rollo.
“But do you expect that that stick of wood will burn, Jonas?”
continued Rollo, after a moment’s pause.
“Yes,” said Jonas, “it will burn slowly. A little air will get through
the ashes so as just to keep it burning slowly. It is very dry.”
“Suppose that there could not any air get through at all?” said
Rollo.
“Why, then,” said Jonas, “it couldn’t burn at all. It would go out.
Sometimes I have buried up a fire so deep in ashes that it has gone
out, and then I find nothing but black coals there in the morning,
when I rake it open. That’s the way they make charcoal.”
“How?” said Rollo.
 But Jonas had no opportunity to answer this question then, for
they were just going out into the yard when Rollo asked it, and the
attention of both the boys was attracted to the fire-flies. They,
however, soon had looked at the fire-flies as much as they wished.
Rollo tried to catch one, but he could not. He would see a flash at a
little distance from him, and he would run to the place with his cap
in the air; but, by the time that he got there, the fire-fly would of
course have gone on to another place, though Rollo could not tell
where, without waiting to see him flash again. Then he had to run
again; but before he got to this second place the fire-fly would be
gone again. One of the fire-flies led him a zigzag chase, in this way,
all around the yard, and finally flashed at last just over the garden
fence, so that Rollo gave up in despair.
In the meantime, Jonas had gone to the barn; and now Rollo went
to see what had become of him. He found him shutting the doors up
for the night, and then they both came back towards the house, and
sat down upon the edge of the platform, under the piazza, and Rollo
asked Jonas to tell him how they made charcoal.
“Why, they only bury up wood, as I did my log, lightly, so that
enough air can get in, until it is burnt through; and then they cover
it up tight, so that no air can get in, and so it goes out; and when it
is all cold, they open it, and find the heap is all black coals.”
“How big a heap do they make?” asked Rollo.
“O, they make a very large heap, sometimes,” said Jonas; “as big
as this.” So Jonas rose from his seat, and marked out a circle in the
yard with a stick, which he had in his hand, in order to show Rollo
how large a heap they make, when they pile up wood for a charcoal
bed.
“And how high do they make it?” asked Rollo.
“As high as that” said Jonas; and he reached his stick up in the air
as high as he could, to show Rollo how high the heap was.
“That must take a great deal of wood,” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said Jonas, “and when it is turned into charcoal, they get a
great many loads of it.”
 “How do they get ashes enough to cover it up?” asked Rollo.
“O, they don’t cover it with ashes,” said Jonas; “they cover it with
turf.”
“With turf?” repeated Rollo.
“Yes,” said Jonas, “turf is the best thing to cover the heap with. If
they had ashes, it would be very troublesome to put it on, and then
it would be sliding down, and letting the fire break out. But they cut
square pieces of turf, and cover the heap all over with them, very
tight, and so only just air enough gets in to keep the fire slowly
burning.”
“Slow combustion?” said Rollo.
“Yes, slow combustion,” said Jonas.
“How do you set it on fire?” asked Rollo.
“I believe they leave a hole in the middle,” said Jonas, “from the
top down to the bottom, and then they put the fire down there.”
“I wonder if I couldn’t make a charcoal bed,” said Rollo.
“Yes,” replied Jonas, “you might make a little one, I suppose.”
“How should I do it?” asked Rollo.
“Why, you might take some dry wood from the shed, and wheel it
down the lane, and through the gate into the pasture. Then you
might take a spade, and cut up some turf, though that would be
rather hard work for you.”
“I wish you would cut the turf for me,” said Rollo.
“Well,” said Jonas, “perhaps I will. Then you must hollow out a
little place in the bare spot I make by taking up the turf, and make
your pile of wood there, leaving a hole in the middle.”
“How can I leave a hole?” asked Rollo.
“Why, you can take three short pieces of board, as long as you
intend the height of your pile to be, and stand them up on the
ground, so as to leave a three-cornered space between them, and
then pile your wood around the three boards.”
“So I can,” said Rollo.
 “Your wood must be small,” continued Jonas, “or else you can’t
pile it very snugly in a small pile. You had better take small round
sticks, and saw them short, and lean them up against your boards
all around, and so make a snug pile. After the pile is ready, you must
bank up a little against the bottom of your heap with the loose
earth, and then begin to put on the turf. But that will be a nice
business.”
“Why?” asked Rollo.
“Because you must fit them carefully all around; and, as the heap
will be round, and will grow smaller towards the top, square pieces
of turf will not fit. You will have to cut them into shape with a knife.
You can get an old knife to cut them with, and so fit them together.
But you must fit them together well, or the air will get in, and your
heap of wood will blaze up, and so it will be spoiled for charcoal.”
“I can make it tight,” said Rollo, “I know. I’ll shave away the sides
of every turf, till it fits its place exactly.”
“There must be some air,” said Jonas, “or else the wood will not
burn at all. You must leave a few holes around at the bottom, to let
a little air in, then you can plug some of them up, if you find the fire
burns too fast.”
“Well,” said Rollo, “I mean to make some charcoal some day. I’ll
get my cousin James to come and help me. I’ll begin to saw up
some wood for it to-morrow.
“But, then, Jonas,” he continued, after a moment’s pause, “what
good will the charcoal do me when I get it made?”
“O, I don’t know,” said Jonas; “I wasn’t thinking of your getting
any good from the charcoal. All the advantage would be, the
pleasure of making it.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do with it,” said Rollo, “when I get it
made? What is charcoal good for?”
“It makes a very hot fire. They use it when they want a great
heat. Blacksmiths use it in their forges.”
“I wish I had a little forge,” said Rollo.
 “They use it to make gunpowder, too,” said Jonas.
“How?” said Rollo.
“Why, they take some charcoal, and some sulphur, and some
saltpetre, and pound it up together, and it makes gunpowder.”
“That’s what I’ll do with my charcoal,” said Rollo, jumping up from
his seat. “I’ll make some gunpowder. I’ll ask my mother to give me
some sulphur and saltpetre, and I’ll make some gunpowder.”
 QUESTIONS.
What was the condition of the fire, on the evening when it was left to Jonas to
cover up? Describe the arrangements which he made for covering up the fire.
What was the shape of the stick of wood? Why was this form convenient for the
purpose? What plan did Rollo propose, instead of covering up the fire? What
objection did Jonas make to this plan? What term did Jonas use to designate the
process which would go forward, during the night, under the ashes? What did he
say that combustion meant? Would any air at all be necessary for the slow
combustion? How was the necessary air to get access to the wood? Why could not
Rollo catch the fire-flies? How did Jonas describe the process of making charcoal?
What did he say were the uses of charcoal? To which of these uses did Rollo
intend to put his charcoal, if he should succeed in making any?
 CHAPTER II.
LAMP-LIGHTING.

Rollo did not think to ask his father the reason why the
philosophers use such learned language, or, as he expressed it, such
hard words, for several days. Perhaps he never would have thought
of it again, if his father had not happened to use the word
combustible one evening, which reminded him of the term
combustion, which Jonas had used. The occasion on which his father
used the word was this,—
One evening, Rollo’s mother was trying to light a little lamp, to go
into her bedroom for something that she wanted. There were,
usually, in a little vase upon the mantel-piece, some lamp-lighters,
which were long, slender rolls of paper, that Rollo had rolled up for
this purpose. They were kept in this vase upon the mantel-piece in
order to be always ready for use. But the vase was now empty. The
last lamp-lighter had been used; and so Rollo’s mother folded up a
small piece of paper, and attempted to light the little lamp, which
she was going to carry into the bedroom, with that.
But the wick would not take fire, and Rollo saw that, while his
mother was continuing her efforts to make it burn, the flame of the
paper was gradually creeping up nearer and nearer to her fingers. At
last, finding that there would soon be danger of burning her fingers,
she walked across the room towards a window which was open, still
endeavoring to light the lamp. But it was all in vain. She reached the
window just in time to throw the end of the paper out, and save her
fingers from being burned.
“Why won’t it light?” said Rollo.
 Rollo’s father was sitting upon the sofa, taking his rest after the
labors of the day; and when he saw that the lamp failed of being
lighted, he said,—
“You will have to get a longer lamp-lighter, unless you have got
some spirits of turpentine to put upon the wick.”
“Spirits of turpentine?” repeated Rollo.
“Yes,” said his father. “In hotels, where they have a great many
lamps to light, they have a little bottle of spirits of turpentine with a
wire running down into it; and, when they take out the wire, a little
drop of the spirits of turpentine hangs to the end of it, and they
touch this to the wick, and then it will light very quick.”
“Why, sir?” asked Rollo.
“Because spirits of turpentine is very combustible, or rather
inflammable.”
“That means it will burn very easily, I suppose,” said Rollo.
“Yes,” replied his father.
“That makes me think of something Jonas said, which I was going
to ask you,” said Rollo. “He said that, in books, burning was always
called combustion, and I told him I meant to ask you why they
couldn’t as well call it burning.”
“I don’t think that Jonas said exactly that,” said his father.
“Yes, sir, he did,” replied Rollo; “at least, I understood him so.”
“It is true, no doubt,” added his father, “that, in philosophical
books, philosophical terms are very often used, instead of the
common language which we ordinarily employ.”
“Why are they, father?” said Rollo. “I think the common words are
a great deal easier to understand.”
“Yes,” said his father, “but they are not precise in their
signification. They are vague and ambiguous, and so philosophers,
when they wish to speak accurately, employ other terms, which have
an exact signification.”
Rollo looked perplexed. He did not understand at all what his
father meant. In the meantime, his mother had brought a fresh
bundle of lamp-lighters from the closet, and had lighted her lamp
with one of them, and was just going away. As she was going out,
however, she said to her husband,—
“Please to wait a minute, until I come back, for I should like to
hear what you are going to say.”
“Well,” said he; “and you, Rollo, may come and sit down by me,
and I will explain it to you when mother comes back.”
So Rollo came and took a seat on the sofa by the side of his
father, saying,—
“Father, I wish you would have a bottle of spirits of turpentine for
us to light our lamps by.”
“It is not of much advantage in a family,” said his father, “where
the lamps are lighted in various parts of the house, and only a few in
all to be lighted. But where there are a great many, it is quite a
saving of time to have a little spirits of turpentine to tip the wicks
with. In an illumination they always touch the wicks so, and by that
means they can light up suddenly.”
“But, father, why will the wick light any quicker?”
“Why, different substances take fire at different temperatures. For
instance, if you were to put a little heap of sulphur, and another little
heap of sawdust, on a shovel together, and put them over a fire, so
as to heat them both equally, the sulphur would take fire very soon,
but the sawdust would not until the shovel was very nearly red hot.
So if you were to put oil in a little kettle over the fire, and spirits of
turpentine in another kettle, and have the fire the same under both,
the spirits of turpentine would inflame long before the oil. There is a
great difference in different substances, in regard to the temperature
at which they inflame.”
“What do you mean by temperature, father?” said Rollo.
“Why, heat,” said his father.
“Then why don’t you say heat?” said Rollo.
His father laughed.
“What are you laughing at, father?” said Rollo.
 “Why, that’s the same question that you asked me at first, and I
promised to wait till mother came before I explained it. So we will
wait until she comes.”
They did not have to wait long, for Rollo’s mother soon returned;
and she put out her lamp by means of a little extinguisher which was
attached to the stem of the lamp itself. Then she sat down at the
table, by the light of a great lamp which was burning upon it, and
took out her work.
Rollo’s father then repeated to her what he had just been telling
Rollo, namely, that different substances took fire at different degrees
of heat; and he said that it would be a very interesting experiment
to take a long iron bar, and put a small quantity of several different
substances upon it, in a row, and then heat the bar gradually, from
end to end all alike, until it was very hot, and so see in what order
the various substances would take fire.
“I would have,” said he, “phosphorus, sulphur, sawdust, charcoal,
saltpetre, oil,—we should have to make a little hollow in the iron for
the oil,—alcohol, spirits of turpentine, and perhaps other things. The
phosphorus would take fire first, I suppose, and then perhaps the
sulphur, and others in succession.”
“Well, father,” said Rollo, “I wish you would. I should like to see
the experiment very much.”
“No,” said his father, “I cannot actually try such an experiment as
that. I could not get such a bar very conveniently; and, if I had the
bar and all the substances, I could not heat the bar exactly equally.
It could not be done very well, except in a chemical laboratory. But it
would be a very pretty experiment, if it could be performed.”
“Is there a very great difference,” said Rollo’s mother, “in the
degree of heat necessary to set fire to these different things?”
“Yes,” said Mr. Holiday, “I believe the difference is very great.
Phosphorus inflames below the heat of boiling water, but it takes
almost a red heat to set wood on fire. And iron will not take fire till it
is white hot.”
“Iron?” said Rollo, with surprise.
 “Yes,” said his father, “iron will take fire and burn as well as wood,
if you heat it hot enough.”
“I never knew that,” said Rollo.
“The ends of the tongs and of the andirons do not burn,” said his
father, “simply because the fire is never hot enough to set such a
large piece of iron on fire. But if we heat the end of a bar of iron
very hot indeed in a furnace, it will take fire and burn; and so, if we
take a very minute piece of iron, as big as the point of a pin, a
common fire would be sufficient to heat that hot enough to set it on
fire.”
“Well, father,” said Rollo, “let us try it.”
“If we had some iron filings, we might sprinkle them in the fire, or
even in the flame of a lamp, and they would burn.”
“I wish I had some filings,” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said his father, “they burn beautifully.”
“How can I get some?” asked Rollo.
“You can get some at a blacksmith’s shop,” said his father. “The
filings commonly accumulate behind the vice, and you can get plenty
of them there. The next time you go by a blacksmith’s shop, you had
better go in and ask him to give you some.”
“Well,” said Rollo, “so I will.”
“And now do you understand,” said his father, “why it is that you
can light a lamp more easily when there is a little spirits of
turpentine on the wick?”
“Yes, sir,” said Rollo. “The spirits of turpentine need not get so hot
before it catches fire, and so you don’t have to hold the lamp-lighter
so long, and burn your fingers.”
“Will oil always take fire when it gets to a certain degree of heat?”
asked Rollo’s mother.
“Yes,” said his father, “I suppose so.”
“And yet,” said she, “the lamp seems to take fire much more easily
at some times, than at others.”
 “Yes,” said Mr. Holiday, “that is true. If the wick is cut square
across, and rises up only a very little way above the tube, it is very
difficult to light it, because the tube itself and the oil below keep the
upper end of the wick cool. It is very hard to heat it, in that case,
hot enough to set it on fire. But if the wick projects considerably out
of the tube, then it is out of the way of the cooling influence of the
metal, and you can heat the upper end more easily.”
“I never thought of that,” said Rollo.
“That is the operation of it,” said his father. “And if you push the
wick open a little, so as to separate some of the fibres of it from the
rest, then it will take fire more easily still; because the small part
which is separated, is more easily heated up to the necessary point,
than it was when it was closely in contact with the rest, and so kept
cool by it. That is the reason why a thin shaving takes fire so much
more easily than the outside of a large piece of wood. The outside of
a large piece is kept cool by the parts of the wood behind it, which
touch it, while the shaving is heated through very soon.”
“I didn’t know that before,” said Rollo.
“In the cities,” continued his father, “the lamp-lighters, that trim
and light the street lamps, always cut the wick off, when they trim
the lamps, in a slanting direction, so as to leave a point of the wick
projecting up on one side. This point will light very easily, for it
stands by itself, somewhat apart from the rest, and so is not kept
cool by the rest of the wick. Then, when they put in their great,
blazing torch, it heats this point to the degree necessary to inflame
the oil very easily.
“There is one thing more I want to tell you, and that will be all I
have to say about lamps to-night; and that is, to explain to you the
philosophy of putting them out. You must understand that two
things are necessary to carry on combustion or burning. First, there
must be air; and secondly, the body burning must be kept above a
certain degree of heat. Now, if you either suddenly shut off the air
from the substance that is burning, or suddenly cool the substance,
it will go out. For instance, the wick,—you have to heat it to a
certain degree before it will take fire. Now, if, after it is burning, you
suddenly cool it below that degree, it will go out; or if you shut out
the air from it, then it will go out; for it cannot burn unless it
continues hot, and unless it continues to have a supply of air.
“Now, when we blow out a lamp, we stop the burning by cooling
it. The cool air which we blow against it, suddenly cools the upper
end of the wick below the point of combustion, and so it goes out.
On the other hand, when we put it out by an extinguisher, we stop
the burning by means of shutting out the air. Either mode will stop
the combustion.”
“And how is it when we put on water?” asked Rollo’s mother.
“Why, that is somewhat different from either,” said Mr. Holiday, “or
rather it is both combined. There is something very curious in the
operation of water upon fire; that I must explain some other day, for
now it is time for Rollo to go to bed.”
 QUESTIONS.
What was the difficulty in lighting the lamp, as described in the beginning of this
chapter? What method did Mr. Holiday say was sometimes adopted in hotels to
make the lamps light quick? Why would this make them light more easily? What
question did Rollo ask his father in respect to the use of philosophical language?
Why did not his father answer the question immediately? Do all substances take
fire at the same temperature? What substances take fire with the least degree of
heat? What experiment did Mr. Holiday describe which he said would show this
very distinctly? Why could not he perform this experiment? Will iron burn? Why do
not bars of iron burn in a common fire? How did Mr. Holiday propose to show that
iron would burn? How did he propose that Rollo should get some iron filings?
 CHAPTER III.
BURNING IRON.

When Rollo went out into the kitchen that evening to get his
safety lamp,—the one which he usually took to go to bed,—he found
Jonas sitting at the kitchen table reading; and while he was lighting
his lamp, he asked Jonas if he would not get him some iron filings
the next time he went near any blacksmith’s shop. Jonas asked him
what he wanted of iron filings, and he said he wanted them to burn.
He then repeated to him what his father had said in respect to the
combustibility of iron.
“I can make iron filings enough for that experiment in five
minutes,” said Jonas.
“How?” said Rollo.
“With a file,” replied Jonas.
“Well,” said Rollo; and without waiting to hear anything further, he
ran back to the parlor to ask his mother to let him sit up long
enough to see Jonas make a few iron filings to try the experiment.
“Won’t it do as well to-morrow morning?” asked his mother.
“The scintillations will look brighter in the evening,” said Mr.
Holiday.
“Very well, then,” added his mother, “go, and, if Jonas succeeds in
his experiment, ask him to send some filings in to us.”
So Rollo went out to find Jonas again. Jonas was gone. Dorothy
said that he had gone after a file. In a few minutes he returned, with
a file in one hand, and a large iron spike in the other.
“What is the spike for?” asked Rollo.
 “Only for a piece of iron to file,” replied Jonas. So saying, he took
a small piece of paper out of a drawer, and laid it upon the table.
Then he rested one end of the spike upon the paper, and, holding
the other end in his hand, he filed it several times in such a way,
that the filings fell down upon the paper.
“What fine filings!” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said Jonas; “the file is almost worn out, and it does not cut
very well.”
Rollo looked upon the paper. There were quite a number of small,
black points upon it like grains of very fine sand. Jonas then took up
the paper carefully by the two sides, bending the two sides upward
at the same time, to keep the filings in the middle of the paper. In
this way he raised the paper above the lamp, which was upon the
table before him, and then holding it in an inclined position, he let
the sand slide down into the flame of the lamp. To Rollo’s surprise
and delight, it produced a column of sparkles rising up from the
flame, which were of the greatest brilliancy and beauty.
“Yes,” said Rollo, “they burn, they burn most beautifully. File me
some more, Jonas, and let me carry them in and show them to my
mother.”
Jonas accordingly filed some more filings, and Rollo went in with
them very eagerly, to show to his mother.
“Just look,” said Rollo; and so saying, he held the paper over the
lamp in such a manner as to let the filings slide down into the flame
just as Jonas had done. The experiment succeeded perfectly well, as
it had done before.
“So you see that it will burn,” said Mr. Holiday, “if you heat it hot
enough.”
“If you make it small enough, you mean,” said Rollo.
“I suppose the smallness of the particles is of no consequence,”
replied his father, “excepting to make it easier to heat them.”
“Why, father,” said Rollo, “I might put the end of a knitting-needle
in the lamp, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t become as hot as one of