Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-30
WORKERS In THE SEA.
The Coral zOOphytes and the Mighty
Castles They Build.
EXISTENCE ON THE ASTEROIDS.
What Person Would Weigh Down at the
Center of the Earth.
GRAVITATl0N AND - ITS WONDERS


Those stupendous works of the anclents-
the seven wonders of the worid-were the
special admiration of mankind down to
few years ago. The great tunnel of the
Alps, the $4,000 900 bridge connecting
New York with Brooklyn, and the Eiffel
tower in Paris attest the wonderful en-
glneering achievements of man in these
closing years of the 10Th century. But
there are other workers In this world who
have far surpassed man in the magnitude
OF their achievements and in the beauty OF
their execution. There are little animals,
some Of them so small that they might
almost use a pin point for a circus ring,
whose works, compared with mans, are as
giants to pigmies, and which outlast mans
Iabors as one day is to ], 900 years. ,.
In various parts of the world, particu-
larly in the South Pacific Ocean, there may
Pe seen, below the surface of the water,
mules OF structures like fairy palaces, of the
most exquisite workmanship and of surpass-
ing beauty. These are coral reefs. Thou
sands of years before the advent of man on
the earth, little animals were at work on
these great coral formations, building and
beautiIying just as they are doing to-day.
FURNISHED THEIR OWN MATERIALS.
And they don't have their building
materials furnished to them, ready for use,
as the builders tof our houses do. No, every
particle OF building materials comes prim-
arily from their own blood. The animal
which builds the coral reefs is very queer
little creature. Part OF him is constantly
dying, and the dead part-a sort OF cast-of
skeleton-becomes coral, that beautiful sub
stance OF many coIprs, which few years
ago was very fashionable for jewelry.
work making coral (out of the refuse
from their bodies, and the stupendous
nature of these ACHIEVEMENTS may be in
terred from the fact thaf there is one coral
reef off tine coast of Ne wv Holland over a
thousand miles long. AIN the great chalk
beds are the results Of work by little ami
mails. Several OF the PolEnesian Islands,
and some OF those in the Indian ocean, are
OF like origin. There are So-called crystal
islands of coral and rock sometimes reach
ing height OF 500 feet.
And the rapidity with which these minute
creatures work is marvellous. Channels cut
through coral formations for shipping pur-
| poses have been closed again by the little
| workers within few years. anN there are
Instances in which these formations have
| grown several feet within a few months
But. while the builders are lndivA Adually SO
| tiny, they make up for size bv their amaz-
ing numbers and their rapid increa Sc. The
greatest works of man are utterly Ndwarted
by those of these little animals, sd small
that we can see them only with a micro
| scope.
NEW SIGHTS IN THE SKY. \
Within the last few days astronp pmers
| have announced the discovery of al new
| comet and q new asteroid. 1t is now Within
a few months of 100 years since the | first
| asteroid was discovered, an event which, Gre
| ated great sensation in the days OIL our
eat-grandfathers. The asteroids are a
| sort OF puzzle to astronomers, and a thor
| oughly satisfactory solution has been sou hit
in vain during the whole of the present
century. We know that they are little
planets like the earth, with the exception
that the largest of them is less than 900
miles in diameter and the smallest prob
ably not more than dozen miles. The
some sort OF mistit in the making of fully
grown planet. Their orbits lie betweens
those of Mars and Jupiter.
When the discovery of these little worlds
began the theory was advanced that they
were the remains of an exploded planet-a
world, possibly, like ours-knocked to pieces
by some Internal convulsion or other awful
cataclysm. But this theory is not accepted
by astronomers OF the present day. 1t is
now thought that by some freak in original
planet-making the material was dispersed
instead of uniting, the result being about
200 little worlds instead of one big one But
the astronomers really know very little
about the matter. The asteroids are so small
tine last one discovered showing only us a
star of the thirteenth magnitude-that it is
impossible, in the present stage of astronom-
ical research, to learn much about them.
LIFE ON THE ASTEROIDS.
Some interesting thoughts are suggested
by the discovery OF this new asteroid. Now,
even ii it is little world, might it not be
inhabited? There is no reason to believe
that the size of a planet makes any differ
ence in adaptabilitv TO animal and vegeta-
BILE life Then why might not such of the
asteroids be inhabited as have reached the
right stage for life on their surfaces? But
it would be very strange, from our stand
point, to live on So small planet as the one
lately discovered, probably not more than a
| dozen miles in diameter.
You know that weight is another term for
| attraction of gravitation. What you weigh
means the degree of attraction proportioned
! to YOUR mass, which the earth exerts upon
| YOU, and the earths attractive power is in
| proportion to its mass. Well, imagine
! yourself on the little planet found few
J DAYS ago. The attraction of gravitation
would be so slight, compared with that OF
the earth, and your weight so light, that
you could probably jump 100 feet; and it
would be only an exhilarating exercise to
take jaunt around the world as breakfast
appetizer.
THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.
The subject of gravitation is one that
nearly everybody is somewhat familiar
that you may not know. For instance, sup
coal mine, and afterward at the bottom, do
YOU suppose there would be any difference
in the result? Yes. there would. You
would be lighter at the bottom. If it were
possible for you to go on downward 1000
miles in the earth, and there be weighed,
YOU would probably be surprised to find
| your weight only one-half what it was at
the surface; and if you could go to the cen.
ter of the earth you wouldn't weigh an
| ounce.
This is because the center of the earth is
the center of its attractive power, which is
exerted equally in all directions. If
YOU ascend from the surface of the earth
your weight will also decrease, but not in
the same ratio as when you descend. In 60
ing upward the decrease will be in proportion
to the square of the distance. Thus while
you would weigh nothing ii you should go
downward 4, 200 miles from the surface YOU
would still weigh one-fourth your actual
weight if you could weigh yourself 1000
miles up in the air. The law of gravitation
is at once the strongest and the most SUP
lime in all nature.