Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-06-24
WOULD TALK WITH MARS.
TESLA BELIVES THE GIGAN
TIC SCHEME is PRACTI-
CABLE.
Planning Apparatus to Utilize
His New Discoveries i'm Com
municating With Other
Planets.

IndG NlcOId IeSla DelleVeS that tht
day is not far distant, as science
measures time, when a serious at
tempt may be made to transmit in
telligence TO the planet Mars.
The belief is the direct out growth
OF his discovery that the earth is the
greatest conductor of telegraphiC
messages, and that news, and ever
power, may be conveyed from one
part of the the globe to another with.
out the use ofwires.
The incalculable forces stored ir
the earth's bosom he has learned tc
chain, and claiming it has learned
how mighty it is. 1t is sufficient, he
believes, to carry our messages across
the space which separates the worlds
and science stands upon the verge of
revelation which at some time in the future
will res1lt in linking the whole frmamen
in chain of thought.
Tesla has a scientists faith. So firmly
does he believe that the intelligence of othel
worlds is akin TO that of ours that he con.
ceives and outlines theory of rudimentary
signals upon which code of communica
tion may be built up.
He is elate. 81 firmly believe" he sai6
to Journal repre- sentative who visited him
at his laboratory, that this transmission is
Immediately possible, and on large scale. u
And have you faith that the communica
tion may be extended to the stars?"
ONLY SYSTEM THAT Is POSSIBLE.
81 pr fer to phrase my answer this way,
That if 1t ever is achieved 1t will be by this
means-the utilization of the static electri.
city of the earth. There is no other system
by which it is possible. Serious considera,
tion has been given by scientists to the
scheme of signaling by means of enormous
lights, but what that Is not, to my thinking,
practicable. Why? Because there is no
means of concentrating it upon any given
point.
"A light might be genera ed which would
seem enormous, and which would in fact be
enormous. But the difficulty is that in its
journey to Mars that light would be scatter
ed, diffused go that it would fall over the
greatest circumference of the planet. So in
receiving any light signal which might be
transmitted to US we would be practically
helpless. OF course we might employ a
mirror twenty feet square, for example.
But that would be infinitesmal compared
with the whole area over which the light
must fall. Any concentrating agent repre-
senting only millionth or hundred mil.
lionth of the whole area would be useless.
but sound wave can be sent in motion,
definite direction, and the force
which can be summoned for such service is
And do you actually believe that such
communication is possible"
"Yes, do, and it is plain that the belief
is not an uncommon one among scientific
men. Aside from popular and imaginative
writing, the serious essays of scientists and
fhair atuHIas InnkiD tnwa r1 tho parfnotioO
Of devices give proof that the belief has be-
some concrete and practical"
ATTEMPT WILL SOON BE MADE.
"Do you not believe, gauging the future
steps by past progress in science, that an
tempt at communication with Mars will
% made within comparatively short time,
Is time is counted in human progress?"
"You mean serious attempt?"
"Yes."
"vVas, do. And that point of the ratio OF
human progress is a very interesting one,
too. One upon which I began many years
ago to make mathematical calculatoin.
was curious to know at what rate science
moved"
"The progression must be geometrical?"
VASTLY more than that" answered the
inventor. 1T is more nearly like the multi
pncatlOn OF germ lie. IL Is dlmost H.
credible of carbon. Eoch for example, the
bacteria of carbon. Take one of millions
produces millions. 1t preys upon organic
matte, and destroys it, but, fortunately. in
30 doing destroys itself. That is the only
safeguard that living beings have. If it
were not for that we would be utterly de-
stroyed. 1t is the same way with races. A
race grows in civilization and power until
at last it's GENERALIZATION weakens it and
some barbarian people come in and destroy
it. But the seed of that civilization left be-
hind is taken up and developed until the
barbarian himself becomes over civilized
and in his turn fails. So history goes on
forever. but the sum total of all these &C.
furnishes US the rate of
human advancement, and it is enormous.
ut is upon the result of that calculation
that base the declaration of my belief that
a serious attempt at transfer of intelligence
to Mars will be made within short time.
Of course mean short in the scientific
sense. But would not undertake to say
how short or how long that time will pro-
baby be-"
But it is easy task to read, in the enthu-
siasm of Tesla upon this appealing question,
the hope the half conviction that in his life
time the growing triumph of science will be
achieved end speech journey across infinite
space.