Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
earth_n	air_n	vapour_n	water_n	3,005	5	6.4769	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60283	The principles of astronomy and navigation, or, A clear, short, yet full explanation of all circles of the celestial and terrestrial globes and of their uses : being the whole doctrine of the sphere and hypotheses to the phenomena of the primum mobile : to which is added a discovery of the secrets of nature which are found in the mercurial-weather-glass &c. : as also a new proposal for buoying of a ship of any burden from the bottom of the sea / by George Sinclair.	Sinclair, George, d. 1696.; Sinclair, George, d. 1696. Proteus bound with chains, or, A discovery of the secrets of nature which are found in the mercurial-weather-glass.	1688 (1688)	Wing S3857; ESTC R26242	48,104	164

the Sun rarified ascendeth to the middle Region of the Air where by means of the coldness thereof these Vapors are condensat and thickned and tur●…d into a Cloud and afterward are turned into Rain and so fall down That there are such Damps and Vapors which ascend from the Earth and Waters cannot rationally be denyed nay many Thousands and Millions of them ascend which we do not see nor observe I have seen in Frosty Mornings the mouths of Coal-sinks and empty passages from waste Ground where Coals have been digged out Fumes and Vapors coming out so plentifully as Fumes from a Salt-pan Some do fitly compare this Earth to a Bag-pudding taken out of a Boiling-pot which sends forth Vapors in abundance Likewise from the surfaces of standing and running Water what numbers may be seen in a warm Summers Evening Nay from the Bodies of Men and Beasts there is a perpetual Perspiration But the finest and purest of all are those which are exhaled from the Earth and Waters We see that when the Sun is hot in Summer the whole face of the Ground after Rain covered over with Unduls or little curled Waves a small Gale of Wind being stirring like unto the curled Waves of the Sea Analogically And so slender and pure are they that whilst a man is among them he cannot see them but at a distance he may looking alongs the face of the Ground Likewise what multitudes of them may be seen alongs the surface of the Sea a man standing at a considerable distance from the Coast. And so thick are they that they have wonderfully lifted up and magnified much of the Land and have made it appear far otherwise than it was nay eclipsed whole Villages and Towns and metamorphosed them into various shapes and forms all which have come to pass by reason of their multiplicity and thickness Now these Vapors flowing from the Earth and Waters are carried up to the middle Region of the Air where by process of time they are condensat and thickned by the coldness thereof and fall down in Rain But here it may be inquired By what cause ●…r power are these Vapors carried up seing they are Material things and endued with weight For answer I must premit some few things which do not ordinarly occur First That in all heavy Bodies there is a twofold weight one Specifical the other Individual The Specifical weight is found in Bodies which differ by Nature as Wood and Stone ballanced one with another equal quantity with equal quantity ●… Individual weight is likewise found in the same Bodies but after a different way and manner For example Stone is naturally or specifically heavier than Wood putting equal quantity against equal quantity for a Cubical-foot of Stone is heavier than a Cubical-foot of Water Bodies of the same Individual weight or such as are weighed in a pair of Scales as a Pound of Lead and a Pound of Wool are individually of the same weight but of different weight Specifically Secondly There are two sorts of Ballances the one Natural the other Artificial The Natural Ballance is the Mercurial Weather-Glass wherein the Mercury counterpoiseth the Air and the Air the Mercury both of them observing an equal Altitude according to their natural weights for since the Mercury is reckoned 14000 times heavier than the Air the pillar of the one must be 14000 times lower than the other and so both are of the same hight according to their Specifical weights The Artificial Ballance is that Mechanical Power called the Libra Thirdly That one Body naturally lighter than another may become of equal weight or heavier than that other For example the Vapors which ascend are far lighter specifically than the Air yet they become heavier specifically when contracted and reduced by a Cold to a thicker habit or consistency and most of all when they are converted to Rain But how shall it be known that the Vapors are naturally lighter than the Air I answer If it were possible to take an equal quantity of Vapors with an equal quantity of Air and weigh them in a Ballance the Air would be heavier We know that Oil is lighter than Water for being put under Water it riseth to the Surface so the Vapors go up thorow the Air as Oil goeth up thorow the Water Now I come to the Question in hand and I affirm that the Vapors are carried upward not by the heat of the Sun which is an vulgar error but they being specifically and naturally lighter than the Air are prest up by it as Smoak till they come so far up as the pressure of the Air is able to carry them I shall make this evident by the following Experiment Let a Diver go down to the bottom of the Sea with a Bottle of Oil in his Hand and pour it out there he shall find that such is the pressure of the Water it shall drive it all up to the Surface above For as the Oil is naturally lighter than the Water so these Vapors are naturally lighter than the Air. Now these Vapors which are infinite in number ascending from all the parts of the Earth to the Atmosphere many Miles above the Clouds causeth the Air here below press with greater weight upon the stagnant Mercury and so raiseth the Quicksilver in the Weather Glass one Inch or two and sometimes three for it is not possible that the Air above can be prest down and burdened with that new weight and addition of Vapors ascending but the stagnant Mercury below must find the said pressure But how are these Vapors condensat and thickned together and fall down in Rain I shall do this by a most evident and clear example We cannot more fitly compare these Vapors ascending and descending again in Rain than to an Alembick or Distillater For these Fumes being carried upward within the Pot and meeting with a cold Receptacle for the Pipe descending goeth ordinarly thorow a Vessel full of cold Water they are presently reduced to their first condition and fall down in Liquor So are the Vapors which ascend from the Stomach to the cold Brain received and distilled But why should the falling down of the Rain cause the Quicksilver fall down and why should the rising of the Vapors cause the Quicksilver to rise For clearing of this it is to be adverted that whilst the Mercury is up at one and thirty Inch there is an equal ballance or weight between the weight of the Atmosphere and the weight of the Quicksilver so that there cannot be the least weight subtracted from the pressure of the Atmosphere but as much must be subtracted from the hight of the Quicksilver as by taking away one Ounce from this Scale of a Ballance the other presently goeth down or by adding one Ounce to this Scale of a Ballance the other Scale presently goeth up Hence is it that the pressure of the Atmosphere becomes less by the falling down of the Vapors and consequently the hight of the

growing of the Tide above the stagnant Mercury raiseth it higher and higher in the Glass so the ascending of the Vapors loadneth the Atmosphere more and more and consequently it presseth with more weight upon the Mercury in the Cistern And as the Vapors are turned into Rain and the Mercury falls down so by the ebbing of the Water the three Inch of Mercury falls down within the Weather-Glass It may be inquired How far do these Vapors ascend I answer That Philosphers distinguish the Air into three Regions the first second and third But both Philosphers and Astronomers do vary exceedingly in determining the hight of any of them I shall not curiously inquire but shall speak a little to what concerns the present purpose 'T is probable that these thin and light Vapors which flow out of the Earth and Waters go many Miles above the Clouds where there is neither Wind nor Rain for the pressure of the Air being powerful many Miles up must carry the Vapors so far up But to determine particularly it is not possible only in general they ascend very far Now it is evident that the Atmosphere is composed and consists of such Vapors being called Sphaera halituum which no doubt is of a considerable thickness and hight These Vapors when they are once past the inferior Region of the Air which will not exceed an English Mile and a half go up quickly and are received by the Atmosphere where they accresce to a considerable hight perhaps 40 or 50 Mile above the Clouds where by some extrinsick cause as extremity of Cold they fall down from the Atmosphere first as Mist or Dew till they come to the lowest Region where in a very short time they cover the whole Heavens tho never so clear before How many times before Rain will this be seen Besides there is above the Atmosphere that which Astronomers call the Diluculum and the Crepusculum that is both the Dawning of the Day and the Twilight in the Evening the one beginning about two Hours before the Sun rise and the other ending about two Hours after the Sun is gone down For if that Crepusculum were not there we should have no Light until the Body of the Sun were above the Horizon and should have no Light after the Body of the Sun is set This Sphere is unalterable and without accresce or decrease but the Atmosphere is not so by reason of the Vapors coming to it and decreasing again Next the Refraction which makes the Sun or Star to appear above the Horizon higher than really it is is caused by the Atmosphere 'T is observed by Shepherds that if the Sun appear sooner above the Horizon than ordinary the Day following shall be Rainy They see indeed the Image of the Sun a little before he rise which is caused by the Refraction or thick Medium of the Vapors which ly about the Horizon For example Let a man so fix his Eye upon a wide Vessel with an open mouth with a piece of Money in the bottom he shall not see it till the Vessel be fill'd with Water For Water being a thick Medium raiseth the Image of the Money and brings it to the Eye by a broken and crooked Line which is Radium refrangere or rather refringere It may be further inquired Why the Clouds are sustained or what keeps them up from falling down This is a considerable Question and well worthy of a Divine Answer The Lord says to Iob Dost thou know the ballancing of the Clouds the wondrous works of him who is perfect in Knowledge The Clouds then are suspended not miraculously yet wonderfully by Natural Causes for as a Ship is sustained from sinking by an even Ballance with the Water so are the Clouds keeped up by an even and equal Ballance with the pressure of the Air which really sustains them If they be light and thin they go further up but if they be heavy and black they come nearer to the Earth but are still in an equal Ballance with the pressure of the Air. And as the Loadned Ship goeth further down in the Water than the Ship that 's not burdened so do the black and heavy Clouds swim lower than the light and white Clouds But when there is a great convocation of Clouds together in one place each one presseth upon another and so like Honey-Combs they distil their Drops upon the Earth Note That the greatest Ship in Europe with all her Furniture for War is but the just and exact weight of the Water thrust out of its place by the Ships Water-draught It may be yet inquired How far are these Clouds from the Earth which send down the Rain I answer The surest way to know is by the Thunder Observe then how many Seconds of Time do pass between the first seeing of the Glance and the hearing of the Crack If the Noise be straight up five or six will pass which make an English Mile In Mountainous Ground which lyeth higher three at the most will interveen about five hundred pass To know exactly a Second of Time whereof 3600 make an Hour follow this method Take a small Chord of thirty and seven Inch and a half exactly To which append a Lead-bullet of seven or eight Ounce Hang it so that it may swing to and fro of its own accord Each one of these Swings are a Second of Time. But may it not be affirmed that the greater pressure of the Air which raiseth the Quicksilver is caused by the weight of the Clouds which swim above us and that the falling down of the Quicksilver is caused by the dissolution of these Clouds into Rain I answer This cannot be for when the Heavens are most serene and clear the Mercury is furthest up and when the Heavens are nubilous and covered with Clouds the Mercury many a time is furthest down It may be inquired Whether the cracking of Thunder maketh any alteration upon the Weather-Glass I answer There are three things to be considered in Thunder First The Lightning Secondly The Crack Thirdly The Thunder-bolt which three are lively represented to us by the shooting of a Cannon for the Fire coming out of the Muzzle represents the Lightning the Report represents the Crack and the Bullet the Thunder-bolt But there is a more lively representation of Thunder in Aurum fulminans which like the Thunder-bolt carrieth its stroak downward three Grains of which tho never so little made hot takes Fire and gives a greater Report than two Ounces of Gun-powder so stupendious is it But there is nothing here which can make any alteration upon the Weather Glass It may be inquired If the Winds make any alteration upon it I answer Winds are nothing but Air agitated nor Tempests but Air-floods or violent Agitations of the Air. These do really influence the Weather-Glass not only in causing the Quicksilver subside and fall down but in causing the top of the Mercury tremble and make some visible reciprocations