Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-01-15
THE INTERsTELLAR MEDIUM.
Even a Scientists Pen Cannot Adequatel Describe Its Transcendent Properties.

Even Q Scientists Pen Cannot Adequately
 Describe Its Transcendent Properties.
 That space is not void is conceded. That it is filled with medium capable of transmitting light and heat is not questioned. This medium is believed to be uniform in density and elasticity, but the exact nature of It's constitution is unknown. Some believe it to be molecular, like gas, while others ques- tion if its structure has been correctly defined. It makes no direct impression upon the senses and is known only through effects produced, and yet, what ever be its nature, it is known to trans init a wave of light at the rate of S6, 300 miles per second, there being, as mean value, within the spectrum about 50, 900 waves in an inch, or more than 60, ,000,- 900, 900, 900, 900 in the distance passed over in one second.
 When it is considered that waves are transmitted through this medium in all conceivable directions with the same velocity, some faint conception may be had of its intense activity. The com plicity of the waves is transcendent, for each shade of light has it's own wave length, there being about 36, 900 waves to the inch in red light and more than 64,O00 in violet, and outside the visible spectrum there are less in number in one direction and more in the other. Every self luminous body in the uni verse is imparting to this medium waves of these varying lengths all travelling with a sensibly constant velocity.
 When it is considered that the count less number of stars and suns, scattered promiscuously throughout limitless space, are producing such waves, radi- ating from each in all possible direc- tions, it would seem that if they did not actually destroy each other they would so interfere as to produce "confusion worse confounded, and the impressions upon the eye of an observer would be valueless. But, on tho contrary, the scientist believes that this medium truly and faithfully transmits to the remotest space every wave iInparted to it, pre- serving with the strictest integrity its dividuality-except that planets and other solid bodies may destroy the waves they intercept.
 A star ten or more years ago started 8 wave which just now, we will SUD- pose, arrives at the earth and writes it's own record on some sensitized plates, though the star may be 6, 900, 900, 000,- 900 miles away. From these impress sions the physicist finds perhaps that the star is double, although the most powerful telescope had failed to divide it; that the two revolve about each other, and he determines their probable orbit, masses and velocities. Or perhaps he finds, as in the remarkable star of 1899, that it changes from a star to nebula in a few months. In all this no question is raised in regard to the in- tegrity of the record, nor whether in its long journey any planet, sun, comet, meteorite or nebula has interfered to modify or in any way corrupt the story it was commissioned to tell.
 What faith! But this is little more than the shadow of an illustration, for Herschel, the astronomer, thought it probable that we can see nebul@ from which it has taken light 300, 900 years to reach the earth, during which time the interstellar medium has been faith full in transmitting at the rate of more than II, 1000, 900 miles per minute the impulse committed to 1t, notwithstand- ing it's path has been crossed and re- crossed by other waves without number. Pen cannot adequately describe the transcendent properties of this wonder ful medium called the 'luminiferous ether" nor too highly exalt that faith which enables one to implicitly believe the truthfulness of the s.ories commit ted to him. One is led to exclaim with the psalmist: 70 Lord, how manifold are thy works. In wisdom thou hast made them all. "-science.