They dart down through the top
layers of the water, and shake the water-particles forcibly
apart; and in this case the drops fly asunder more easily and
before they are so hot, because they are not kept down by a great
weight of water above, as in the kettle, but find plenty of room
to spread themselves out in the gaps between the air-atoms of the
atmosphere.
Can you imagine these water-particles, just above any pond or
lake, rising up and getting entangled among the air-atoms? They
are very light, much lighter than the atmosphere; and so, when a
great many of them are spread about in the air which lies just
over the pond, they make it much lighter than the layer of air
above, and so help it to rise, while the heavier layer of air
comes down ready to take up more vapour.
In this way the sun-waves and the air carry off water everyday,
and all day long, from the top of lakes, rivers, pools, springs,
and seas, and even from the surface of ice and snow. Without any
fuss or noise or sign of any kind, the water of our earth is
being drawn up invisibly into the sky.
Pages:
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109