The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-03-07

dsssrvs any st1sohon. One q - -
|141s $50 llrAt = > maerlzl suhxlonssU -
othsr thst y 4 merely tie result 81 csrlai
movements.
The kst i the theory broechsd bv IN
celebrated Dsscartss ~ ~ ons sdsnas,
BY Rrsnklia anons.essy ether hiIosopksr.
and u DIS They sapposs he who's mi
verse y be pervAdsd u . snhsfls n.slte.
which Is acted upon In sons pec0liar ssn
ner By luminous bodies 90 as to produce 4,
agitation which Il necessarily eensiassd m,
enables ~ b. Ito .vihraseFy motion 70 pss
eeise the object from which d receives n
motion--that IL. that the subtle matter |
set In motion and aots upon the ere iust 1
the air 10 set In motion and acts upon III
ear.
The other opinion Is, that light consists o
an emana.ion Of the particles thrown Oh b,
The luminous bodies constantly and ia sver,
direction. This j. the hypothesis Of tn,
grsaa Newton, and The one most senersll,
adopted a the present day, and the testi
mony OF experiments seems 10 declare n m.
true one, as well IS the one most consonan,
with reason.
To the hrst We object that wsss light But
the result Of agitation, the ssneas sound,
II like sound, word move, not In straight
Ines, but rather circles, and the interposi.
ton Of opaque objects between the eve and
the luminary, would not check the passage
OF the rays IL 1t undulated in every direc.
ton, ike sound, we could have no night, and
such thing ~ an eclipse would Is az i'm
possibility.
On the other hand, and In support Of the
Newtonian theory, we find the commonest
experiments verify it, while 1t is objected to
1t that were II true, the sun, by emitting
such an intinity Of particles and volume Of
%s:eriality, would soon become exhausted
and further, that il the sun and all the plan
cts were doing this, at the same time their
rays must Of necessity collide, sud IN incom-
prehensible confusion be the -esult. To he
tirst Of theie objections we answer, that the
tenuity Of light 10 vast beyond conception
It having been SHOWN by experiments and
reasoning satisfactory to the snquiring mind
that, small rs the particles are-and thew
must be small beyond al eomparison- they
need only come to the naked eye M intervals
Of twenty ak thousand miles apart. to pro.
duce upon the rstina continuous ray; thur
their distance from each other is so imuneas-
urably grea, or than their dismeters, tina. We
hnd the second objection answered by ans.
wsring the frst.
That the rays emas ate from all parts and
M all directions, from luminous bodies.
We need no proof; that these rays also mo,
IN 8 straight line Is equally clear, a. we see
when looking 1t the bright lines caused BY
light shining upon tho Hessing specks Of
dust In . room where the rays Of light are
only admitted through small apertursA This
rs also iorcibly illustrassd ~ bringing be-
tween the eye and the Light any OPAQUE
substance.
The velocity Of light Is something almost
incomprehenslble, being about one million
times greater tnan that OF the swiftest can
on ball, or more than ten million miles in a
minute This 10 conclusiyely proved by sx-
periments quite satisfactory to any inselIi-
gent mind that will take the :roubls 70 ex-
anime the subject. But here another source
OF wondermsnt Is opened to Us. II ths yelo-
city OF the particles is 80 very great, why
do they not strike wish positive and ire
mendous force. since tbs fbrcs WITH -
any prcjsctile viii strike, 10
the amount Of matter IL coDta
20 is velocity. fNn. sS
light moyi