The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-06-01
- -. i a--.-Ar-oN
one oftrr .--fs-f Na' r.riat s,.,-..
I..#U. I#H...I


I.H... luf...I
u...l. |u"
aun.IHus u.. uII .I.u. DOL. ID. valuable
Boz r.Flrl iu rnt..I.lu i.rI1lv suggests
the limits uf our LnuI.ftI.a Boo rhi. uirsc.
iIu THam uuc uo rIr.O. iu uuuro with
which 500 uu. nUu GmHiur Than those ot
gray tutuu. u.. tHa Upusc of EaNiuton
is emit rIy m u.Wu to ut TIE general
attraction between massD which We dos
iplntc 1s rr.yit1tion i- Universally rrcog
ulycd the laws under which 10 acts nrc
wru known. lut We are entirely ignorant
of the means uf its action We do not oven
know whether the attraction Is resident I'm
the masses themselves or iu some medium
which surrounds them. writes Colonel $.
&c. Tilmun.
awe know that Newton himself pro
nouncod as absurd the idea that matter
could act at distance through vacuous
space. upon other matter lie looked 70 a
universally difused medium for the mech
anism Of gravitatiun. lie showed that If
the pressure of this medium increased as
we rccedc from dead bodies according to a
certain rate the law Of gravitation would
result He was unable 20 suggest an cx-
PLANTATION for the supposed variation in
pressure Of tho medium, and accordingly
left the cause Of gravitation untouched.
&c sage, the Swiss philosopher, at
tempted to fix cause for gravitation by
assuming space to be filled with innumer-
able atoms flying In all directions These
atoms he called ultra mundane, because
he supposed them to come from the outer
universe. A single body would be bonn
Z bardcd by these atoms equally on all sides,
/ but two or more bodies would partially
screen each other So that the lombard
/ ment would be less on the sides of each
/ body next to the other and greater on the
sides farther away. Consequently the bod
/ ic, would be forced toward each other by
/ the excess of bOmbardmCnt on their outer
/ sides Under this hypothesis the corpus
Cular pounding necessary TO produce the
gravitation effects of matter is so great
/ that the entire planetary system would b,
melted from the excessive heat produced
I Hoollc, the contemporary Of Newton, at
tempted to assign the ca SO of gravita
ton to waves propagatcd in the surround
/ ing medium. II has since 'ou shown tina
. in fluid motion the veIlge pressure il
least where the average mo ion il greatest
so that bodies immersed in the fluid woulC
be drawn toward the cCntcr Of gravitatiOn
T Sir William Thomson, by nal ing certain
assumptions in regard to he medium o
space and some very hig ly improbable
suggestions in regard to nat er, was en-
abled to dcduce from them one Of the law
of gravitation.
"1he above may be said to be the onl
hypothesis which make any advance to
ward the explanation of aviation. q
these that of lie Sage is tn, only one sutfi
GENTLY developed to be ever discussed. w
have the high authority G tie late Pre-
fcssor j. Clerk Maxwell 70 I'll Statement
that the progress toward olution of tn
problem has been almost inpcrceptibl
since the time of Newton. lie also say
that the science producing "alue OF the q
forts made to answer TIE .ucs ton is ne
to be measured by the pros Hcct they affoT
of ultimately yielding a solution, but b
the effect in stimulating Investigations
nature. Chicago Tribune.