We must regard it as a singular
fact that no observations yet made give us the slightest
indication as to what this emanation is. The possibility of
defining it is suggested by the discovery within the past few
years, that under certain conditions, heated matter sends forth
entities known as Rontgen rays, Becquerel corpuscles and
electrons. I cannot speak authoritatively on this subject, but, so
far as I am aware, no direct evidence has yet been gathered
showing that any of these entities reach us from the sun. We must
regard the search for the unknown agency so fully proved as among
the most important tasks of the astronomical physicist of the
present time. From what we know of the history of scientific
discovery, it seems highly probable that, in the course of his
search, he will, before he finds the object he is aiming at,
discover many other things of equal or greater importance of which
he had, at the outset, no conception.
The main point I desire to bring out in this review is the
tendency which it shows towards unification in physical research.
Heretofore differentiation--the subdivision of workers into a
continually increasing number of groups of specialists--has been
the rule.
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