The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-11
THROUGH THEA
A PLAN FOR RAPID TRANSIT BETWEEN
AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA.
Confident Manner In Which the Learned
Doctor Met the Objections Of His Young
Fricnd--A Rate Of Speed That Would
Take Ones Breath.


Take Ones Breath.
A fairy tale of science in ST. Nicholas
is by Clement Fezandie and Is called
Through the Earth" 1t tells Of the
achievement Of a scientist who bored a
hole through the earth and sent through
this tunnel a cigar shaped car containing
a boy. This is how the author outlines
the scheme:
"What do think of itf Why, doctor,
the whole scheme Is impossible from be-
ginning to end, and am surprised that a
scientist like yourself should entertain it a
single moment
but, James, you surely cannot under
stand my plan fully, or you would see
that, so far from being impossible, it is
most feasible IL / can only secure the nec-
essary capital.
"Either you must be dreaming, doctor,
or else do not altogether understand you.
From what you tell me, gather that your
idea is to open a rapid transit line between
Australia and Ito United States. You
| propose to bore hole through the earth
and then drop into it baggage. people and
what not and let them fall to the other
| side"
"Yes, )" said DIR. Giles TRANQUILITY, "that
is my plan. What objections do you find
| to iti"
"What objections? Only one-namely,
that 1t is impossible" said conclusively.
my young friend" said the doctor,
"do you know what the word impossible
meansY 1t means simply something that
has not yet been done. Everything is i'm
possible until some one does it, and then
1t becomes, on the contrary, astonishingly
easy. If we take any other definition for
this word, we must admit that there is
only one impossibility.
And that is?'
"And that is to know that anything is
impossible. But tell me- James, what it
is you find difficult in the scheme9"
Certainly, If you wish it. In the first
place, how will you bore through the
earth?''
Just as I should dig WE'LL" replied
the doctor. but, to expedite matters,
shall DO obliged to devise special machin-
cry
And how, pray, will you prevent the
walls from caving imp
Simply enough AS fast as / dig l
shall have stout metal tube cast of the
size OF my well and let it down to support
the walls"
'Sai, obAiiObihS thdu yOu CdIl ulR your
we'll down through the solid portion, how
VIII you manage as you approach the cen
ter, where the materials are one mass of |
liquid fire, ehg"
How do you know the earth is q mass !
of liquid fire at the center?" inquired the |
doctor.
How do know it? Why, all the great
authorities concede the fact
Indeed was not aware of it. On [
the contrary, l thought that our most pro- |
found thinkers all rejected this theory"
But in mines the deeper you go the |
warmer the temperature becomes"
True, but the increase varies consider
ABLY In different parts of the earth. More
over, 1T is also true that the temperature
becomes colder as we go higher in the air
but this by no means proves that the cold
becomes more intense if we ascend to an
infinite height"
But does not the existence of volcanoes
prove that there is n central fire?''
III proves that there are certain incan-
descent masses In the interior of the earth, !
but not that the whole interior is mean
descent. In fact if tho earth were LIQUID
at the center, the incandescent matter or
sea of fire would have tides Just as our
oceans of water have. Consequently every
active volcano would have each day two
high and two low tides, whereas nothing
OF the sort happens. Indeed, all the man
lfestations accord more closely with n be-
lief In solid earth than one containing
sea OF molten matter. "
well, doctor, granting that you could
bore through the center of the earth, even
then your scheme seems impossible, for
anything dropped into the hole would
merely fall to the center of the earth and
stop there.
Not bit Of it," retorted the doctor.
You forget that the speed of a falling
oouy constantly increases. The first Sec
ohu Oh lts iall 1t goes 10 feet, the next Sec !
ond 4o feet and the third second 80 feet. I
mere being an increase of about 32 feet !
per second at tho start You will therefore
zee that by the time the body reached the | 4,
'enter Oh the earth 1t would be going at
such frightful velocity that it could not
top, but would be carried right ON past
ne center and almost up to the surface on
he other side. In fact, if there were mo
lir In the tube the laws of physics teach ms
nat the body dropped into the hole here
n Australia would go completely through
o the United States
Yes, that's true enough, but when the 7
,ody reached the United States il would '
IMPLY fall back again and keep on falling :
backward and forward in the tube until
finally came to q complete rest at the
enter of the earth"
so 1t would If we allowed it to fall
'ack, but you must remember that before
can fall back it must come to a complete
top, and what prevents us from having ,
uitable catches in the tube to hold il fast
no prevent its returns If it stopped short
u its destination, as 1t probably would, it
ouid be hauled up the last part of the
ube by some electric device"