Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-10-30
PROF. KERSHNER RETURNS
TO rms ArrAck ON rHs RUsB AZ
rRtNuuICsL THEORr
The Latest Contribution to rhis Highly Divert
ing Mathematical Discussion-H Huriiug
sines amt Nerscd sines at bach other
with utter RechIessness
10 The hditors OF the lNrnllaxNcrn

To the Editors OF the iNrELLieENCER
The new theorem published in the lNrEL-
LIGEN GER several weeks ago seems to have
developed some new traits The chief
characteristics are that 1t sometimes gets
very cross and also obie To our use of nun
bers Passing by the personal remarks, we
beg TO say that the author also displays q
characteristic always found peculiar 10 the
man with a new theory. lie imsgines that
the " ofiense of inveutiug a new theOrem W
subjects him TO persecution because others
would like to share his good fortune Indeed
we never had any thought about the matter,
except TO feel sorry for the author, when he
deceives himself with the notion that he
thinks he has either invented Il new theorem
or discovered u mistake In Sir Isaac New.
toms corresponding proposition.
The claim to have high regards ior the
law of the iverse square; butitmust be used
in proper way and for proper purposes
To show that another orbit would have the
same law of attraction does not di~plaCe the
comic sections since the adoption OF them
a. orbits followed because Kepier, and every
practical astronomer since, showed that they
represented the places correctly. kepler
| did this not by any theoretical demonstra-
| ton but by the sheer force OF numbers. lie
SIMPLY made a compilation vi UuseTNaIlOns
| at his command and then found what figure
best represents the places, where the centre
of attraction must be situated, the law OF
areas and the relations between the mean dis
| tsuces and the periods This kind OF work
will verify the correctness of any assumption
| in regard to the forms Of orbit The law Of
attraction will then take care OF itself since II
is a theoretical conclusion after the form has
been discovered. \ new form OF OTUlt we
repeat will only find its way into astronomy
| II it represents the places OF the heavenly
| bodies better than the COME sections and
| not before. And why not put the circular
| orbit to this test7 Let the places Of planet
| or comet he predicted by means OF the circu
| lar orbit, and II the computed right ascen
| sion and declinstinn agrees more closely witt
| the observed than by using the comic sections
| there will be no difficulty in having /
| adopted as q correct form of orbit Indeed
we should be much pleased 10 see al
| ephemeris Tor a comet or planet produced
| on the hypothesis OF a circular orbit Il
| would then only be a matter of q Compara
| lively short tune to have IL tested by Ceser
| vations
| Now for the numerical test on the funds
| mental propositions about which there is 81
| much complaint The tests applied are per
| iectly In harmony with the manner in which
| the work of the demonstration is carried for
| ward and the absurd results produced are en-
| tirely due 10 the incorrect use Of the trigO
| nometric functions and the Fundamental
| radius, 4 there is one, in the demonstration