Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-11-19
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4 progress thai ha- placed mankind on
The plane with Tie gods oi mythology
who were invested hy their creators
with ju,t til" wonderful qualitica-
ton. for oycrcomin" difficulties which
circumstances ~rcnicL To- demand
Man can now not only project his
lIra~ ever an unlimited space, 10y a
mere touch ri tl.c band. hut can Rs,
the mystic current t. carry the very
tones Of his voice To- his distant core
Spondcn;; or he may. ly the use of 4
cylinder, bottle up his speech to be re-
produced for the editication OF future
generations. The learned doctors
have discovered Il lamp by which the
interior OF that wonderful machine,
the human body, can he viewed at
leisure and the cause of any diSar-
ran5cmcnt OF its cogs located. Fol-
loving up the theory that every bane
has its antidotc, We seem to be on the
eve OF discovery of distinctive
lymph which will be a specific for each
OF the diseases which have batilcd sci
cncc for at least nineteen centuries.
4 light that approaches the brilliancy
OF the solar orb has been evolved from
Il mass OF iron and revolving arma-
turc, while the power to drive the
most pondcrous machinery may be
transmitted hundreds OF miles over 4
wire no larger in diameter than a
mans little finger. These are n few
of the achievements of the present
century, which excited the skepticism
OF the people at each successive stage
of discovery, but it is safe to say that
they are only a beginning of the Won
ders which will greet the advent of
the new cycle of time so soon to be-
gin, and what gigantic bridges be-
tween the finite and infinite may not
span the horizon before another CEN
fury closes!
Already we have the airship almost
launched in the boundlcss sea of ether,
and it may not be decade before we
can look back with smile of amuse-
ment at the crude means of transport
tation by which the worlds commerce
was moved even in the expiring hours
of the nineteenth century.
But the most stupendous achieve
ment that is gradually opening into
perfect blossom is far more audacious
in its scope and design. 1t is no less
than to open up communication with
the inhabitants OF other worlds. In
habitants? Yes. Are we so vain as to
suppose that the people of earth are
the only rational beings in the vast
system which science has demonstrate
ed exists under the generic name of
the universe?
1t is only about month ago that
DIR. Gates, of Washington City, excited
the scientific world by the exhibition
of a microscope which extended its
field as far beyond the scope of the Or
binary magnifer, as that instrument
went beyond the visual power of the
human eye. This of itself, was a
mighty achievement whose influence
upon many other fields Of discovery is
incalculable, but very few anticipated
that it would bring about revolution
in telescope achievement as we'll. 1t
is now announced that DIR. Gates has
succeeded in applying the same prin-
ciple to the telescope with results that
give promise of the most astounding
results no less than the bringing of
the people of other spheres within
speaking distance" at least by use of
the manual alphabet, with our own.
DIR. Gates new instrument is simply
combination of microscopes, a meth
cd by which the objective of second
microscope is applied to the focal
plane produced by the objective, or the
objective and ocular of a first micro
scope. The results obtained were sur
prising and, it seems, has imbued the
doctor with the Alexander-like ambi-
ton to seek other worlds to vanquish.
The telescope very naturally came
within his range of vision. His in
strument is a small q inch Bardou
telescope. In an account he publishes
of his experiments, he says: II TO-
cused the instrument on two pine
trees about two and a half miles dis
tant from my laboratory. Each par
ticular branch looked like an irregular
patch of green. Then 1 removed from
the eye-piece of the telescope the front
lens and adjusted my microscope so
as to focus upon the focal plane in the
telescope. The microscope had a
fourth inch objective and a one inch
ocular, and to my great pleasure and
surprise, distinctly saw the separate
pine needles upon a single twig. Four
persons besides myself saw the expert
ment and were pleased with the new
telescope"
One of the difficulties in the way of
extended, or indefinite multiplication,
of results in microscopic, as we'll as
telescope observation, has been that
the increase of power has been at the
expense of clearness of outline, the
diffusion of light being attended with
faintness and often an entire loss of