Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-25
A Proposed Ether Ship Booked for
the Unknown.
FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN THE PLANETS
Possibility of Having Friends Living
at Mars.
NEW FLYING MACHINES
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
How will man eventually travel to
Mars" This question The Star correspond
ent yesterday fired at Prof. Elmer Gates
Of the Gates Laboratory.
The genial professor threw up his hands
mo. but seriously. professor. they tell
me that you have recently made some ex-
periments throwing new light on this prob
lem"
They do. do they? That is interesting
Well. when 1 get my machine In running
order will take you along with me on my
first trip. Then you will have plenty of
meat for your paper Hot day, isn't it?''
The newspaper man saw that he would
have to steal up to the point by gradual
steps,
What do you think of Count Zeppelin's
new airship? Looks as if we all would be
professor"
Yes. 1t does. Aerial navigation will be
practical means of travel within ten
years. 1t will replace all present modes
OF transportation. 1t will turn the whole
world Into single neighborhood. Dis
tances will be practically annihilated. There
Will no longer be any necessity for rail-
roads or bridges, because aerial transport
tation VIII be extremely cheap, economical
ana lar safer than any other form of travel
When the workman can live several hun
dred miles from the workshop or store and
go home to lunch he will see the crowded
cities gradually spread out over the coun-
try The millions now spent on roads and
bridges will go to identifying the earth's
natural landscape. The tops of houses will
be transformed into stations or porch-like
vestlbuies for the landing of aerial veh-
cies, and light will be kept burning on
the housetop to guide the aerial pilgrim.
The great aerial highways of travel will
De along the lines joining the great cities.
Hill and mountain tops will become import
ant sites for residences. But aerial navi-
cation is to be accomplished by ma
chine such as has never before been sug-
gested to the public.
Goes Nine Miles n Minute.
Il have lately seen this new machine. 1t
has none of the contrivances-such as bal
loon-envelopes, Tapping wings, aeroplanes.
explosive motors, propellers, air or steam
jets-which have figured in airships hereto
fore. The invention is as yet a secret and
is being closely guarded The machine is
now capable of propellng itself at any
speed up to 500 feet per second. 1t can
rise slowly from the ground and can then
support itself in the air without moving
L have seen 1t start slowly from this mo-
tonless position in the air, move itself
gradually forward, then go fast and then
slowly settle down upon the ground It was
capable of lifting more than It's own weight.
l. was In no danger Of falling and was not
aHected by currents of wind. 1t was simple
and cheap.
Il believe that this machine solves the
problem of aerial navigation. In one test
IL Travelled at the speed of one mile in six
and one-haf seconds. or little over nine
miles a minute. 1t went two and a half
miles in straight line toward a cliff, which
1t struck. Speeds greater than 200 miles an
hour would be too high for practical pur-
poses, of course. The friction of the air
would heat passenger compartment to an
unbearabie degree.
Not Many Going That Way.
1.-THE general shape OF this new machine
is that of two long-drawn-out cones placed
base to base. A model weighing but eleven
ounces lately assembled to the enormous
height of eleven miles, as was authentic
ally recorded by an aneroid barometer
placed inside. This was far above any
height ever heretofore reached by a me-
chanical device. Yet the instrument came
down within one furlong of the spot from
which 1t was sent up. With a similar de-
vice / am going to make measurements of
the upper air. Inside of it 1 am going to
put instruments which will measure tenn
perature and moisture and another which
will bring down samples of the atmosphere
found at such enormous heights. These
samples Will be tested here in the labora-
tory. 1 propose to use the instrument at
night, attaching device which will show
light during descent and thus mark the
path of the drop. I will thus be able to
locate the machine when it returns to
earth
But. professor, what is to prevent a
more powerful machine built on these lines,
from venturing out into the open Space be-
tween the planets. even to Mars?"
The professor raised one elbow, as IL
warding off something thrown at him.
Then he leaned back in his chair, wheeled
it around and looked out the laboratory
window.
lone cannot reach Mars" said he, 'by
any existing method of flight utilizing at
mosphere an aid to propulsion or buoy
ancy When we were school boys we were
taught that the earth's layer of atmosphere
was but forty-eight miles deep. It has
been recently estimated that it Is more than
four times that depth. 1t probably extends
$50 miles above our heads. Above 1T there
probably are some lighter gases which will
not mix with air.
sit would be impossible to travel to the
planets In balloons or in devices using pro-
pellers, aeroplanes or Tapping wings. Once
above the earth's atmosphere there would
be nothing to buoy balloon UP and moth
ing against which wings. propellers or aero
planes could act. Giant projectiles sent up
by explosive force would be out of the
question. Too much energy would be re-
quired to project them. The greatest posi-
BILE explosive force put back of the best
adapted projectile would send 1t hardly to
the roof of our atmosphere.
Between the planets we find only ether
ABOUT the nature OF WHICH tn6r6 Is m0Cn
difference of opinion. Some experiments
which have made In vacuums prove to me
that contrary to the accepted doctrine,
ether is not entirely frictionless. 1t is COM
posed of particles many billions OF times
smaller than atoms. These are of such
nature that ordinary body meets with
any resistance in passing through them.
These experiments prove that machine
can be made to propel itself where there Is
air. Such devices, therefore, could ira
verse the open space between the planets
How? Through this ether space between
the planets there are streams of electric
and light waves. Against either of these
two systems of waves other sets of waves.
artihcialiy made by a machine. can be
forced In such way as to cause resistance
and propel the machine along. I have de-
vices by which I have proven this. l have
proven that the rays given off by a magnet
may be acted upon by light in such man
ner as to rotate the magnet. This is direct
proof of the action of one set of waves upon
another. The electric and light waves al
ways coming from the sun, penetrate the
ether In every direction. At any place i'm
the ether reaction against them may be had
in any direction.
Must Take Air Along.
ut would thus be possible to construct a
machine capable of propellng itself through