The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-05-21
Abaron-An Important Discovery.

The venerable doctrine of primary ele-
ments, that is, of constituents of matter no
further dissolvable into plurality of parts,
has recently suffered severe shock. Not
that any man of sense, with sufficient indie
pendence of judgment to consider the mat
ter from purely abstract point OF view,
ever really did believe in the veritable mat
ter-Of-fact existence of such primary ele-
ments of matter; but then the practical
men of common sense" who have unfor-
tunately stood at the head of physical SCI
ence from days immemerial, have always
impressed the world with the truth of the
existence of such elements, and based upon
it the whole fabric of their science. In the
light of pure abstract reasoning, 1t Is just
as impossible to arrive at an elementary
constituent of matter. which cannot again
be dissolved into different ingredients, as it
is to get hold of an atom which cannot
again be divided into parts. But science
has chosen to pronulgate the doctrine OF
clements as it has adhered to the doctrine
of atoms; with this advantage, however,
in favor of the elementary doctrine. that
whereas science has never been able to eX-
hibit matter-of-fact atom, as indisputable
evidence of the correctness of its doctrine,
it has boasted hitherto of being able to
point out quite a number of indissOluble
elements.
But this boast has Just now come TO
grief, as we have said, and in one of its
most important instances. In short, hydro
gen. hitherto considered one of the most
primary of primary elements, has been sub
jected successfully to analysis, and divided
into two new elements one of which
has been baptized by the name at the head
of this article. The discoverer of this
quality of hydrogen is a Erenchman, Mon
sieur Lebarre, of Lyons.
NJ. Lebarre is the foreman of large
mandatory in Lyons. and has for two
wears been engaged upon series OF expert
ments that have finally led him TO his dis,
cOvery. On the 18th of June last year lac
submitted the result of his experiments To
the French Academy of Sciences, in one OF
its secret sessions but so great was the
amaZement of that enlightened body at the
daring of a simple foreman of Messrs
FOedre & Sons mandatory to annihilatC
one of the most venerable elements OF
physical science and overthrow by fact
what thousands of pure theorists had unit
then been able to disprOve only by reason
| ing, that they refused to make known thu
! discovery until additional experiments
made under the supervision of the Learned
body ITSELF should have cOrrobOrated it.
These additional experiments have now
been made, and hydrogen is dethroneC
from its rank as an element. Indeed thu
authority of all primary elements is now
| sorely shaken, and physical science is IL
! great distress. Its bottom has been knocked
| out, so to speak; for if every atom is no
only materially but also chemically divisi
bic into an infinite number of substances
/ moods no annonnSan n
particles of matter so small and so impOn
| derable, that instead of atoms they SHOULD
rather be called pores. In other words
we shall know at last that the world i
made, in the most absolute matter-O fac
! sense of the phrase, out of nothing.
Monsieur Lebarre has christened his new
substance by the Greek name, Abaron
which signifies body that has no weight
1t is twenty-five times lighter than com
mon gas, and nine times lighter than tn
! lightest substance hitherto known, hydro
| gen. 1t is not cOmbustible like hydrogen
| but rather smothers flame. 1t has no col
or, smell or taste.
Apart from the theoretical importance
of the discovery, should it prove practi
cally applicable. it will have an incalcula
BILE effect on the science of ballOOning
For when we have a substance nine time
lighter than hydrogen and twenty-five
times lighter than common gas, we can con
struct balloons of the sOlidest kind of ma
terial and need no longer have those gi
gantic gas-bags, that have hitherto proved
the greatest obstruction to aerial travelling
since they not only admit the outside air
however air-ight they are made, but als'
offer as little resistance to every gust o
wind as they do to rain and fire. In short
if Abaron proves practicable, we can max
our balloons of thin sheets of iron or cop
per, absolutely air-tight and secure agains
fire. Instead of the clumsy globe form
now in use, we can give them an elliptical
or fish and bird shape, as we do to tn
ships that sail on our waters; and far from
being a risky experiment, Prof. Wise
proposed voyage across the Atlantic vii
be even safer than a trip on FrencI
steamer.-iSt Louis Times.