The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1896-02-24

experiments and investigation. Everything
appearing in the newspapers which would
throw light upon tho subject and upon tho
experiments conducted elsewhere was care
fully cut out and kept in n special porto,
lilo. Tho whole matter was fully discussed
between instructors and STUDENTS, anu Oh
Friday February eth. at n meeting OF the
electrical society of the university, the ne"
discovery was presented with AL me IN
formation concerning it which had aD-
pearcd up to that time. The following DAY.
Saturday, the first photographs were taken
by the new process. These were unsuccess-
ful, tho time of exposure bcing 100 snort
Further researches ana further eHnerl-
meats have been made since with better
results, and they viii be published IN luli
in article in The Engineering Annual
for 1886 The equipment OF the university
for working with the RCentgen rays Is
very good. A nno Ritchie induction COIL
giving a nine-inCh spark, Is used in the
experiments and Tor the newly discovered
electric prints we have a very excellent
Toepier-IIoltz static machine. IL may be
well TO review in brief the causes "hich
led w to Professor Eoentgens great dis
covery. Physicists are coming 10 beheVe
more and more that the following great
gencrak cation states but the exact truth:
" Nothing exists hut the ether, and all
we see and feel and taste and smell ami
know anything about is bnt a mode of
motion of its PARTS All HYPOTHESIS which
explain the various phenomena Of lsnt.
sound, nctlSm, electricity, etc, are
based upon the cXistcncc OF the ether. n
medium which pcrvaGes all space AMI pen
etrates into the pores OF All matter the
particles of the latter being limbs dded i'm
the ether and moving about in il Just as
particles Of dust wave in the air. Lord
Kelvin in his Johns Hopkins lectures. stat
cd that instead of beginning by saying
that We know nothing about the ether.
] say hat we know moro about Il than W.
do about air OF water. glass or irOn-lt is
far simplcr-tncTC is far less to know
Maxwell, the brilliant young EuSiisEIuan
whose early death cut short "a most useful
and wonderful career. says that the ether
is homogeneous solid, the Rightly OF
which is only ono one-bih.onth that II
ste! and its density that of our own at
mCsphcre nifty miles above the cartn shr-
face.
'.1'his elastic medium is capable of trans
mttiTE all kinds of energy in the form Of
Vil.atious ard IL also Icy virtue of CcIt@ii.
kinds of motion impaired To i by the ire
atot. makes UP what We eau nlitl,t. 1Dc
moderu definition Of which is. Matter
is the rctaun- luta OF an inert perfect
nuid ttae cth"r), which iillS all space, hut
which is, when not rotating. ahsoiHttly
unpercciNed by ctr SENSES TN" phvacih-
en;t Of electricity ana magnetism may al
Ic explained 10y etuer-st-"sS. cthtr-rotatiou
and characterization. what We cdn HAat is
merely the sensation produced i'm the uiaiu
toy the mp!nging upon thc rctiu1 Of tae
eye Of ether vibrations or waves OF 4 c, ~
tain Ier-th. The nerves OF the Tctua. how
ever. are only effected hy waves which
vary IL, length from .U19as Ccutin"ter I'd
.ooe1t crntimeter. Waves longer tnan the
frs produce heat. buL mo- SENSATION of
hight TIE slowcst and longest waves
which aftcat the eve produce the sensation
Of red light. If the waves are shorter
sensation 1f yellow. green or blue ll-ht
results. The violet rays nave the shortest
W;tVe-lenlth which can produce lf "" 'N
the sensation OF light. Tho ulu2-Ntolel and
iufra-rel rays ar. Therefore, lHNi.i3ir !"
The eve ana L. is not VT decided whether
tine new y rays belong Co TIM a!tfst-t iei't
or infra-r"d portion OF the spectrum " hrn
say tuat a. body = tr@hNpaI ehl "i
opaque we mean that Il allows the WAY
Of the ether TO - through uhlih1 .fed ga
that il stops them. Doht Whlch l9
Opaque e. waves oi IShL OF a. ttitdil
length may bc perfectly Transparent 70
ether waves of a shorter or ibu-cr length.
though these last waves may Zoe Too lois
or too short 10 produce 10 our "yS7 ~,
sensation OF lisht. Some anIH'ils, ants iof
instance, can see uItrd-Nluict rays, anu
others can perhaps see infra-rcd rays.
so that IL is not SO wonderful after AN,
but only what we should c't@ ~ expect
when We read that to tine \ rays glass IS
Opaque, and paper, leather. aluminium etc,
are transparent. Professor i'eu sh""ed
twenty years ago that sheet OF ebou.te
WAS quite transparent Co mira-rcd rays.
though apparently quite opaque 70 orolha-
OF all lengths between the violet emu lhr
red rays. iu fact. the suns hGhi mas
waves OF an lengths ana "a phot"SraPh
showing IA S. has recently been taken al
Columbia college, whore n ray Mt@s pno-
tOEraphed upon paoicSI dph.r pi'itr
through an cbouife shutter boy merely eN-
uusIug them TO- the @llG Rays Tor several
hours. Professor &oeateen published ms
'sitzungSbyrichte der ~ ur1nurrrr t'hNS k-
AtpIi. tic@sIlschalt ami from it We Cul!
tle folloNug interesting facts about As
rcw rays. Tie calls them. for hrevty.
* RAYS. and D. worry 'oHEtHlthl
term. for ). seems as II thcs arc cutie du-
fcreut from cathode RAYS or nutr;.-Nlolct
rgvs So different. indeed, that he sup
poses the vibrations to be lousit HdinIl m
Stead Of transverse. a. other ctlcr Nlbra-
tious arc. IN daring hypothcs has hetn
We'll received and may bee correct Cathode
rays may bee detected hy a naEnet-N rays
cannot be- Light waves can hc reflected
and refracted boy pria"s. but the rays
apparently cannot Ice. Professor lto'ntS"u
saws ne has NHas many DF ,'triNeufS 60