The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-10-03
WHAT is THIS WONDERFUL ETHER,
TFrom pickcns,s Household words /

[Fron, DFkens's Household Words
We may now very naturally inquire-what in short,
is this wonderful ether Is it fluid transparent aud
palpable body which pcnerates throughout and every
where Is il composed Of matter which Is equally sub
tic and rarifed at all the points which 1t occupies Is
exactly the in the neghbothood Of a yoluminous
planet in the midst Of immense open space entirely
empty of solid bodies In word does it differ essen
TALLY from the most rarifed portion Of the planetary
mosphcrei All these points open to controversy.
In the opinion of learned men, whose express belief
its Difference and attention, the ether differs only in its
extreme subtlety from the much highly condensed
matter which constitutes the atmospheres of the plan
etsa definition that has been ventured is the ether is
the simple Of whichsatmospheres the compound in
other words atmospheric matter results from the conden-
saon Of certain amount of ETHEREAL NATTER or finally
ether s the elementary matter Of which all other things
are formed,
This notion is not very far removed from that enter
tanned by Mr. Grove who believed that the ether pos
sesses all the qualities of ordinary gross matter and
particularly the quality of weight If this matter on ac
count Of its extreme ratification only manifest the
properties with which il is endowed on scale Of infinite
mnutencss on the other hand ut the surface Of the
earth it atains sree Of density which we are able to
measure by experiment The ether, or the extremely
raried matter which fills the interplaneary spaces Is
thus believed to be expansion of all the
mospheres of the planets of their most volatile elements
aud would thus furnish the material necessary for the
transmission Of those notifications OF motion which we
designate by the of light, heat and SO forth And
i is held to DO far nom impossible that attehuatcd por
from planet to another, thus forming link Of mate
rial communication between the distant noras of the
| universe. The ether, then. is iniIonderable or
unweighable, or, rather, On unwcghed fluid, cndued
with perfect elasticity 1t fills not only the plane
ary spaces but also the intervals between tho Gle
mentary molecules Of solid bodies, and even the
molecules themselves, those of the gases which
assumed to be hollow and spherical In short the
ether pervadee everything and is everywhere in the
most deliberately formed we'll in the desest
substances But the mind admit the existence of
an imponderable fluid; for, If it is fluid, it is body
Now, all bodies ponderabe therefore the ether Is
ponerable We certainly know that the ether has not
been weighed but have right to that IL has
weight The ether is the essential principle of all bod
less 1t is their primordal state 1t Is matter in condi
ton OF extreme enuity which prevents its being palp
bic, sesabe, VEGETABLE. Hydrogen is the first mate
rial body in respect TO density, Of which able to
take cognznce hydrogen is either condensed tangible
pondcrabe. Dr. Prout propounded the hypothesis
that mater Is uniform in lis nature and that all atomic
weights multpes Of the weight Of hydrogen 1t would
now appear that the weight Of hydrogen is multiple of
that Of the ether, OF unknown intermediate bodies
which themselves mutipes of ether Several gases
have been reduced to liquid and solid FORM by
the application Of great compression and extreme cold
azote and hydrogen have hitherto resisted the efforts even
Of Faraday to make them liquid The last gaseous sub
stance which will be lquhed by human agency doubt
less the ether
Whence the matter Of which the heavenly bodies
composedf 1t is generally called cosmc matter
that Is universal matter but does this universal matter
differ from what may be called universal ether2 Many
natural philosophers believe that atmospheric matter
produced by the condemnation of ETHEREAL matter But If
the ether is capable of condensation to form the at
mosphere the atmosphere in turn may be capable of
condensation to form solid globes such the planets
with the animals and planets which live on them. But
the existence non-exstence of the ether derives Its
great Importance from its intimate connection with the
speculaons that have been put forth respecting the
tre of light 1t Is the all pervading presence Of
dunn, which forms throughout space material commu
ncaton to the very distantest visible bodies, which
the fundamental hypothesis of the theory of
fluctuations Whether this medium be- las prob
able be not continuation of own proper anos
phere, the fact that there such medium derives great
support from the powerful arguments which
brought forward in maintenance OF the unduatory the
ory 1t would be desirable solve the problem What
is the absolute density of the luminous ether at any
given point of space But the data hitherto attainabe
arc insufficient for its solution. 1t may be remarked
however, that according to the law laid down by Boyle
the luminous medium is incomparaby denser than our
atmosphere would lie it extended to the nterpan-
etay spaces The ether may also be perhaps regarded
as the propagatng agent of electricity and magnetism rs
well as of light. AT the beginning Of the present CEN
tury the discoveries of Young Of Fresne Of Malus and
Arago proclaimed to the world several optical phenom-
which nexplicable the superstition that light
the effect OF luminous corpusculcs shot out from the
with immense velocity, while they were easily ex-
planned by the admission that celestial space is filled with
an excessively elastic gas
IN this latter the sum- not having to dart in all
directions molecules of light and heat which travel
with uncomfortable swifness may TO be regarded
monstrous planet eyerlastngly deyourcd by fire. The
part which the has to play the modern hypothe
sis, is simply to impress the matter which fills all
space powerful Migratory movement which extends in
the form Of luminous waves, far the most distant
planets and further thereby supplying them with light
and heat These luminous waves, unde are the rea-
son why the system is called the undulatory theory
The views respecting the nature of the ether of which
now conclude SKETCH what entertained TO
greater less extent by almost all the scientific po-
neers Of the day notwithstanding which, it is not yet
completely proved that the ether itself has any
actual existence in nature The grand quarrel of Plenu
rs Vacuum, which mounts 10 respectable antiquity and
had already attained importance in the time Of Pytha-
goras scarcely be sad TO be yet settled ques
tom There little than crcunsantial evidence
in proof Of the allegation II is consequently still so in
teresting subject of debate that the five classes of the
Institute of Pars at their annual meeting in August
eighteen hundred and tysix decreed their grand ten
NAL prize to d. Fzeau whose works have for their OBJ
ect the demonstration of the fsy of the hypothesis Of
the establishment Of the presence of the ether
throughout heavenly space the proof Of the unduatoy
theory and the measurement of the velocity of propaga-
ton In light