The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1896-11-21
A LOST DAY.
EXPLANATION OF ASOMEWHAT
PUXZLING MATTER.
A Line in the Pacific Ocean Where II
is Sunday OH One Side and
Monday on tho
Other.
1THE lost day in the Pacific is
: / j puzz]ing the college PROBES.
sGrs 10 exnlain. THEW find

IL V4A1CAlIf III AushluS ~ CleI
to the mind OF the youthful studen
just why there is line down through
the Pacific Ocean, on one side o
which it is Sunday and on the othe
side Monday.
1t is right at this spot that nal
going around the world one wa,
gains q day, while going the other wa,
he loses day out OF his life. Ever,
ship crossing this line marks its 10:
book one day ahead or one day behind
according to the direction in which i
is going.
Right on this parallel of longitud,
it would be difficult for man to know
what day Of the week it was, if, in
deed, time wou'd not altogether close
for him. Here is the only place OF
earth where Time may he said to stauG
still, and where the ordinary calendar
ceases TO- have any significance.
In brief. the reason for this lost day
or line is that ga day" is an arbitrary
division OF time, based upon one ris
ing and setting Of the sun. and which
itself is caused by single revolution
of the earth. When you travel around
the world against the sun you gain a
day, and whom you encircle the earth
with the sun you losa a day. For
practical purposes OF navigation and
accurate measurement of time the
astronomers have agreed to drop this
extra day into the middle Of tho Pu.
ciiic.
We're man to travel over the
carth's surface from East to West as
rapidly as the earth revolyes, starting
at high noon, the sun would remain
Immediately overhead to him for the
twenty-four hours. There would have
been 10 sunrise or sunset for him that
day.
SO far as the registry Of the sun was
concerned, he would have been still
enjoying the noon hour, while all
other men on the earth were return
ing to their afternoon labors, going to
their homes after the labors of the
day, going to the theatre in the even
ing, retiring to bed and to sleep, rising
IN the morning and beginning the
next days labors and again going to
lunch ut noon. During the course of
his long noon hour the calendar would
have done its work, however.
Let this traveller start at noon on
this same journey and go as slowly as
be will-1O0 years in making the cir
cuit-he will have by those slow de-
grees filched from the calendar one
full day and 10 more. He will have
seen the sun rise and set not so many
times by one as the man who has re-.
manned stationary upon the earth's
surface.
. When he turns and moves with the
same rate of speed in the opposite
direction to which it moves it will
take him just as long to cover the dis
lance back to bis starting point, but
his relation to the sun, which counts
off the periods Of time, will be remark
ably altered. he will enter the shadow
OF the earth in helf the time that be
would If he remained and allowed the
ordinary revolution OF the big globe
to carry him out OF sight OF the sun.
He will pass through the shadow Of
the earth i'll half the time that he
would il he remained still and will
emerge into tho sunlight again with
what had been the under side Of the
earth to him when he started. That
is to say, he will have seen a day and
q night moon to noon) while the earth
had made only half it's revolution, and
he was only half way round.
He will arri i've at his starting point
at noon Of tie second day, according
TO his own experience, having PASSED
twice through tho shadow Of the
rth-night-while the folks ct home
had done SO but once. He will have
gained day upon them and upon the
calendar, but that the lS0th degree of
longitude has been called in to set him
straight. That is the explanation of
a gaining of q day in travelling the
world round from west to east-the
way the world itself is gong; and it
matters not how long the traveller en-
ploys in the journey, he sees the sun
rise and set once oftener than the man
who stays at home, although there is
no jolting OF the heavens to announce
it.
Here is another illustration of the
lost day. Imagine train OF cars
twenty-four miles long on circular
track, the last car being just in front
ct the engine-that is, the train max
ing a circle.
The train starts to move at rate of
speed that will bring the engine back
to the starting point at the same time
next day. A man on tho rear end
starts to walk to the engine and man
on the engine starts to walk to the
rear end.
They walk at a rate of speed that
will bring them to their destination at
the same time the train stops. They
l..