Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-06-18
THE STUDY OF TIE STARS
Likely to be Revolutionized by
a New Discovery.
LENSES MADE OF OXYGEN GAS
Extraordinary improvements
In Telescopes.
Tho Probability of the Interior of the
Planets Being Revealed by n simple APP
paratns - rhe Problem Of the so-called
Canals OF Mars Expected to bo Solved.

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paratns = rhe Problem OF the so-calied
Canals Of Mars Expected to bu Solved.
The study of the stars is likely to be
reyolutionized by new discovery. Be-
fore long telescopes will be provided
with lenses not OF glass, but Of oxygen
gas. They can be made of almost un-
limited size, 30 that the heavenly
bodies may be inspected at compara-
lively short range The moon will be
brought within few miles, 10 that
every Typographical feature of the side
which II turns tlward the earth may
be explored and mapped. The problem
OF tue SO o-cailed canals of Mars will be
solved, and, IL that planet has any in
habitants. the fact will be aScertained
In short, astropomical science will
leap into new IRA.
Such are the claims made by
Washington correspondent Of the Bos-
ton Transcript .or tho invention of
Prof. Elmer Gates The invention is
the outcome of experiments with sim
ply short piece of iron tubing, in the
end Of which pieces Of glass were set
The ittlo cylindrical box thus made
was filled with OXYGEN gus. Now. 1t
has been asceItaiIed by Prof. Dewar
that oxygen is magnetic He found
that In liquid condition it could bo
picked up by magnet, like iron
filings. Prof Gates turned this fact
to account by converting the iron tube
into magnet, winding it round aud
round with fine wire.
A gas. of courbe, is composed OF par
ticlos of matter which are flying about,
exercising toward each other mutual
repulsion. Thur il will be understood
that the molecules of oxygen in tho
little box wero attracted toward the
magnetized iron ring, so that the
density Of tho gas was less in the
middle than near the ring. Prof.
, Gates used the box in place of glass
lens and made photographs with it.
| Here, then, was the discovery namely,
that oxygen gas would serve instead OF
glass as a material for lenses Prof
Gates Gays that he can build lens 30
feet in diameter which will photograph
tho moon on such u scale and with
such accuracy of detail that the sur
face OF our satellite may be STUDIED to
an advantage never dreamed Of hitherto.
But this is by no means ALL The
lens of oxygen gas necessarily is fal
I
can be made, inasn ii as the particles
of oxygen under such conditions al
those described arrange themselves II
accordance with mathematical law.
Again, it isaccepted truth that lensel
Of glass have their limitations. il
other words, their usefulness in tele
scopic work does not increase in
definitely with bigness.
Prof. Gates believes that there i
practically no limit to the size of th
oxygen lens. His discovery will brini
tho whole stellar field into compare
lively near view, and the astronomy o
tho near future will be scienc
enormously more far-reaching and com
prehensive than at presents Think q
u telescope with lens 80 feet il
diameter What might not thi
gigantic eye search out in the realm
of space as yet unexporedP Th
Topography of Mars and tho othe
! planets which attend the sun may be
come familiar. If there are any peopl
on the Martian orb some means may b
/ found 10 communicate with them
, Even far-oif Jupiter may bO watched
, us it cools off and gets Toady to SUI
port the population which eventual
doubtless will be evolved anu furnis
, inhabitants for that huge world
! times the diameter of the earth.
|, Prof. Gates has been making SOU
! researches recently which throw ligh
upon the nature OF the etheE which
. supposed to fill all interHtellar space
, Hitherto science has been disposed
claim that this mysterious element,
!. such 1t may be termed, was homogen'
Gus and continuous everywhere-i. O.
not consisting of distinct particle
. But Prof. Gates has proved to his ow
Z satisfaction that the ether is actual
: composed OF such PARTICLES. That thu
a must b0 infinitely small goes witho'
y saying; but the professor asserts thi
I they are as much smaller than "a chem
= cal atom US such an atom is small
u than the sun. If that bs so, it ia
'. wonder that nobody has succeeded
4 yet in finding out about the natu
~ and properties of ether.
i However, Prof. Gates thinks that
y has made beginning in research
Ia this direction. Tho first step has be-
accomplished by devising a means
creating an absolute vacuum, som
- thing never accomplished hithert
at Though the air in a receiver may
oe reduced by an exhaust pump to t
n | ulllObl AunhlL1N " Wv va
4 millionth OF AN atmosphere, some
~ it still remains. A Crookes tube co
~ -, tains little air. Up to now the tot
nS vacuum has been more conceptio
,n never accomplished in fact But Prt
is Gates vacuum is absolute. lie pi
,o ducee a glass receptacle which CO
az. tains not particle of air. 1t b
n. absolutely nothing in il eave the 10
N, sought ether
y" THIS remarkable result is accol
be pitched in very simple way. 70 bog
bc with. the professor takes tube of p
-. ash glass This is an extremely ha
ne glass, requiring much greater hl
~ than any other kind TO met it.
AZ fills the tube with another sort Of I'll
Sa that is very soft having a melti
~ point 800 degrees lower than that
=" tho potash glass. The tube and
-, contents are then subjected to al
az 'n heating, until the soft glass ia su
~ GENTLY melted TO enable it to be pul
ro ro out bodily part way from the tube
10 hard glass containing it. The sp
IL, thus left is an absolute vacuum, c
u" tanning no particle of air or any OF
~! ~ gus II holds nothing but ether p
.he and simple
Il" .ha Hore, then, is a quantity of al
the M lutely pure ether. Tho question
jtv will it exhibit under certain conditl
IL. any phenomena calculated to tn
ata light upon its nature? One til
thc which Prof Gates has accomplis
the by mcans of it il tho taking of ph'
'''' graphs in the dark; but he decline
nm, say much about that, inasmuch as
Iii has made only "a beginning of IT.
i ;.,r extremely interesting experiment
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