The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-01-15
THE CUBICAL PLANET.
The Surprising Theory Based On
It's Alleged Discovery.

The alleged discovery by Arndt, of
Munich, of a planet whose orbit lies be-
yond that of Neptune, and which differs
from all other reputable celestial bodies
in the fact that it is neither a sphere nor
spheroid, but cube, has naturally
caused some excitement among scientific
men, who, however, nearly all discredit
The report. True or not, it has already
given occasion for some most curious
and interesting speculation as to how
and why certain common physical phe-
nomena, occurring on cubical planet,
would differ from analogous phenome-
ma taking place on globe like the earth.
These speeulations are so remarkable
and apparently SO well founded, and
they lead to such peculiar results, bear
ing upon what are commonly thought
to be the very foundations of certainty
inregard to mathematical truth, that it
is high time they, or some of them,
should be laid before the general public.
In a conversation which recently took
place between the present writer andDr
William Yankirk, the weIl-known physi-
est and mathematician, DIR. Vankirk
smiled at the notion of the alleged dis
eovery, and said that even with the aid
OF the new thirty-six inch lens made in
Paris it would be utterly impossible for
the most skIlful observer to say whether
q planet lying beyond Neptune-which
itself is more than $500, ,000, 900 miles
distant from the earth-was cube or a
sphere. ''The whole account is hoax"
be continued, land there neither are
nor can be such things as cubical plan
ets-that is to say. there are no such
things ii there is any truth i'll the nebu-
lar theory, which seems to be as near
the truth as it is possible to come in the
present state of physics. But then,
sad he pacing thoughtfnlly up and
down the floor, ''did You ever think
Nhatan odd thing it would be to be cast
away, not off on a comet with Jules
verne, but on cubical planet? No?
heil,then; forone thing, your present sys-
sein of geometry and mathematieswould
be upset before long completely and
lrrecoverably demolished and knockded
INTO cooked hat. All your straight
lines would be curves and your curves
straight lines; YOU could see around
corner; and probably look at the back
q your own head, if you wanted to, be-
SIDES doing many other strange things,
and all this upsetting of your present
certainty that a straight line is the short
Substance between two points, and SO
on,l would bedue to the action of gravi-
satlon alone. There is fine thought
,of your Hegels, your Harrises, your
MeCoshes, your Enersons, your Bow
cns' and your metaphysicians in gener-
" ohly to think of it! A physical fact
Pans gonr immediately belongings and
SoM absolutely true mathematics away
uAe aeloud of dust in high windt'
!, hoWHdo you make that out?'' asked
the writer. Is39 -.
n this way was the reply of the
uoe1or as he eagerly thrust one eyebrow
snaer his chin and placed the other on
as sop OF his magnifieently proportioned
s a. I'm a cubical planet that is to
Us on regular homogeneous material
s1asaleinatled figure bounded by six
- q A.. ptanes -gravitation would tend
~ - tlew neoies toward the central point
III III, - y uoes on the earth. A stone 1et
lah from height would maLo - ~
sas 2 Dee line for the center NJ
~ Ogus,oer sue what the result of such q STAT,
!. -, ,d,s. el,al[s would be. Suppose a man to
m sel out to walk around our ronnd a.,,. as,.+b "
s' nileh ne has gone about 6. 600 miles h;c hi.
~ sun point to the center and hie lers
Sass., NJ q rlght angles with the line tbey
nrsa;al n0sailueu when he started, and are II in
tsoslseig thesame mathematical raIat;on
q slie surface, and at the same dictanoa
,a, non the center. But what will 'tsII faIe
elss ssss ~ eubical planet when tray-
tbias 80 = OUT eus on a long journeyp Some
stas s entireiy different Suppose his
az. 1nS place to be the middle point Of
49,, 4s one OF the six planes that form ;ta
ts.lssee-the point at which in eoniIaS
a,LA sseaa reetangles thediagonals cross each @
ssnef-and that he proceeds in. anys ii Ii
ovso5 togsss toward , the edge of his square :
m;ah asu what, In your blindness. voa
esssaa sas eau the jumping-off plac. be-
~as srsse YOU probably think that when he
ses ss,s IN, ensre ne can lie down on his face
,.-o iooA Sheer down the face of a cliff
aeuhe looks down INTO a canon Snn
mneh NM 0ar Y, eubleal planet to measure az
egsth tb' ! Tween Its opposite sides as the
Il 1a ~ uoes from one end of its diamete,.
wv o'aef' say 5000 miles, and 81,