The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-07-17

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the purpose. :,
Every one knows the unparalleled
swiftness with which an electric signal
speeds it's way along a conducting
wire. The operator presses the key,
and instantly an electric fash is trans
mitted from one end of the country to
the other. The merchant, on going to
his Office after breakfast, dispatches a
message to place thousands Of miles
distant, and easily receives his answer
before the morning is over, notwith-
standing the inevitable delays inciden-
tai to the transmission and the recep-
tion of tbs message. The speed at
which Z current actually travels is
indeed great that very elaborate in
struldents are required if that speed is
to be measured. Only an imperceptible
fraction of a second would be occupied
in an electric journey across conti-
nent. The actual velocity attained in
telegraphic practice varies according
to Circumstances. The electrician,
however, knows that, even when all
the circumstances are most favorable,
the speed Of current along the wire
could never exceed 100000 miles a
second. We shall employ this maximum
speed as the velocity of electricity in
our present illustration.
Just consider all that this implies.
Suppose that row of telegraph posts
25, 900 miles long were erected round
the earth at the equator. Suppose that
a wire were stretched upon these posts
for this circuit of 5000 miles, and
that then another complete circuit was
taken with the same wire around the
same posts, and then another and yet
another. In fact, let the wire be wound
no fewer than seven times completely
about this great globe. We shall then
find that an electric signal sent into
the wire at one end, would accomplish
the seven circuits in one second Of
time. Provided with this conception
we can now give suitable illustrations
of the results at which astronomers
have arrived in their researches on the
distance OF the stars.
Let us suppose that the telegraph
lines, instead of being merely confined
to the earth, were extended throughout
the length and depth of space. Let
one wire stretch from the earth to the
moon, another from the earth to the
sun, another from the, earth to the
nearest bright star, another from the
earth to faint telescope star, and
finally let wire be stretched all the
way from the earth to one Of the more
distant stars. Let us now see what
the very shortest time would be in
which message might be transmitted
to each of these several destinations.
First, with respect to the moon, our
satellite is comparatively speaking so
near to US that but little more than q
second would be required for signal
to travel thither from the earth. The
sun is, however, many times further
! away than the moon, and the time re-
quired for sending a message to the
sun would be correspondingly longer.
The sun is indeed so far that when the
key had been pressed down and the
electric wave had shot forth along the
solar wire to pursue it's route at that
stupendous speed which would permit
it to place girdle seven times around
this earth in second, yet eight min
utes would have to elapse ere the cleo
trio wave, Notwithstanding its unpar-
allelled velocity, had passed from the
earth to the sun. An answer sent
back from the sun would require an
other eight minutes for the return
Journey, 80 that if there were no undue
delay in the solar postofice we might
expect reply within half an hour or
30 after the original message had been
despatched.
Telegraphing to the stars would,
however, be much more tellous mat
ter. Take first the case Of the very
nearest of those twinkling points of
light, namely, Alpha Centauri, to
which I have already referred. The
transmission of telegraphic message
to this distant sun would indeed tax
the patience Of all concerned. The key
is pressed down, the circuit is complete,
the message bounds off on its journey !;
it wings its way along the wire with
that velocity sufficient to carry it $780,
900 miles in single second of time.
Even the nearest of the stars is, how
ever, sunk into space to distance so
overwhelming that the time required
for the journey is not question Of
seconds, or Of minutes, not of hours,
not of days, nor of weeks, nor even of
months, for no less than four years
would have to pass by before the cleo
tricity, trembling along the wire with
it's unapproachable speed, had accom-
plished this stupendous journey.
Alpha Centauri is, however. merely
the nearest of these stars. We have
vet to indicate the distances of those
which are more remote. Look tonight
toward the heavens, and among the
thousands of twinkling points which
delight our eyes there is many one
up there so far off that if, after the
battle of Waterloo had been won in
1915, the Duke of Wellington had
telegraphed the news to those stellar
depths, the message would not yet
have been received there, notwith-
standing the fact that for eighty years
it has been flashed along with lightning
velocity which would carry it seven
times round the earth in the interval
between the two ticks of clock.
There are stars further still. Fortify
your eyes with telescope and direct
it toward the sky. Myraids of stars
will then be revealed which would not
be discerned without its aid. Nor need
we feel surprised that the effulgence
of glorious suns, as these spheres un-
doubtedly are, should shrink to such
inconsiderable proportions when we
think of the awful remoteness of these
bodies. Over our heads there are
thousands of stars so remote that if
the news of the discovery Of America
by Columbus had been circulated far
and wide through the universe by the
instrumentality of the telegraph, these
thousands of stars to which [ now refer
are elevated into boundless space to
attitudes so stupendous that the an