The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-09-22
THE END OF
THE WORLD.
Scientific Ideas About
The Date.
THREE MILLION YEARS YET
The Last Man May Give up the
Ghost in Cold and
Darkness.
he end Of the human race,

That man has but three mi lion more
years to live is the opinion given by Dr.
T. J. J. See. the well known astronomer
Of the Naval Observatory. At the end
Of that time the sun. which has already
expended eight-ninths Of its energy, will
have burned out. The whole solar sys-
tenn win then be bathed in perpetual
night. The earth and its sister planets
viii continue. however. to travel on their
orbits about the darKened sun. The latter
will sdI be the center OF the solar sys-
tenn.
Man might continue TO live in darkness
II absence Of his daylight supply were the
Only effect OF the suns burning out.
Within 900 years. not 10 mention 100000.
nan will have learned to manufacture ar
tlfcial dayl ght. but when the suns light
goes out it's heat will go with It, The
determination of all earthly life such as
new exists. VIII, In DIR. Sees opinion, re-
suit from cold. At the present time he
thinks the sun Is growing hotter. II viii
probably become twice as hot as II Is now
before beginning TO cool. but this does
not mean that IL will give the earth twice
an much heat as II does now or that in
sumner thermometers w.L eventually go
up TO 30 degrees In our zone. With the
sun twice as hot the earth might be even
lccoler than now. After doubling Its own
heat the sun will begin TO lose II. The
icooling and darkening of the earth will
then be gradual There will be no sud-
den catastrophe marking the extermina-
ton Of mankind and of other forms of
life, the astronomer says. The great
oceans will slowly freeze over. They will
become absorbed by the land. Later our
atmosphere will cease to be vapor and
vrtll 1 he
But why should we worry2 Assume that
the last earthly mortal freezes 10 death
in the year 10000 A. ID. What relation
will he be to his ancestors Of today7
Next, presume that the average genera
ton viii continue during these thirty
Thousand centuries 20 measure thirty
years as now. Now take a slip OF paper
nile and half long and write upon II
the word great" eeseS times. side by side.
At the end write grandson" Thus you
have this last mans approximate relation
ship TO his present ancestors.
But Is not a comet likely to lift US
scrne time before these 30O0.000 years shall
have passed. asked DIT. See.
! suppose it id. 1t might knock down
would happen" replied he.
Are We not liable some time TO collide
with another planet?"
I'VE frd that the entire SOAR system Is
continually Fastening In the direction of
group of planets you can now see almost
z directly overhead. When We ultima tely
, recch them we shall probably pass
, through without damage. There Is one
chance in a million that We will strike
one OF their number. OF course. II We
E collide with a body relatively great IN ex-
(: tent II may sweep US entirely away from
h the sun. But II will take ages and ages
n hsfCrc we will ever reach this constclla-
: ton. We are quietly moving through
space and II any disturbing element ap-
: pears directly in our path astronomer
II vance OF our reaching it."
m Lord Kelvin thinks that there Is onl,
> e-CuEh oxygen In our atmosphere to las
mankind some three hundred years. How
: about that?'
l. PLANT life will continue TO convert on
- carbouic acid gas back to oxygen. as
Is has done for ages. The earth's vegetation
"A viii not decrease as civilization advances
"a The destruction OF our forests will neve
"a be effected 50 long as mans intellect i'm
~ proves. Such vandalism will be prohihite
le ~ law. and some day mankind viii sc
the necessity OF replanting mighty forest,
IN Moreover. / think that the human rae
!, will always center in the temperate zones
"a Population will never materially increas
- in the tropics The jungies and THO
to vegetable growths Of that belt will -four
ne ish more and more. breathing out increas
a. ed oxygen. Furthermore. the burning {
>, coal. which process consumes vast quar-
y titles Of oxygen. will cease. Solar er
At rires. storing up vast quantities OF n
=. suns heat, Will within the next centur
n supply US with electricity. It will r
"a longer be necessary then TO consume e.
Iis travaEaut quantities OF oxygen"
= Billions OF years. Nothing more de
- mite" Such Is the lease given to earth
life by Astronomer George a. Hill. al'
OF the Naval Observatory staT. ''Tf
earth VIII ultimately become Ike u
e Moon" he continued. "AI water on Of
OF planets surface will dry up. We W
-. grow colder ard colder as a result Of
AZ loss OF our moist atmosphere. which &C
ne as a blanket. holding our heat back a.
ne preventing its escape into space on
n oceans viii ultimately be dry ahvsse
no ali animal and vegetable life will.
y course. go. Mankind will be dried up
ck frczen out. After moisture and vege;
We ton vanish there viii be nothing lie
'ut 10 keep the earth's crust dark. II W
Itur1 white Ike the sands Of orr deser
mt as II dries. Snow will cease. There "
zee Be no electricity. no thunderstOrms."
m Isn't there a possibility that some OF
nd cr calamity will meanwhile put an e.
ed 10 earthly HfeT'
nd There are two catastrophes Will
vs. might occur. The earth might lose
IS. present position IN the solar system.
Il might be converted into a burning bs
M Glowing with fire. Either effect mi
OF result from the earth's or the suns G
les Iision with some other body IN space
lily comet hitting us7 No. / think II
ad- would have little effect A comet hitti
the earth would produce about the sal
ers relative shock as a feather hitting a bal
YER ball. A comet Is a gaseous substance. \
ing went through the tail OF one in iSs5 WI
ing .Hawaifs volcano went into eruption. ]
only effect was a haziness and red gil
in the sky. We did not seem TO y
ooa through this comets nucleus-its cent
lie mass. To all appearances that app
i'm ertly solid part was immense. But WI
r. we came 10 weigh II there was moth
to r. II seemed to be Of the same 4
lteriai which composed the tail There ]
. never been a record OF a comet Suffice
tiSt ~ large to knock the earth out Of p
on ton. The largest would give US
sky. nothing more serious.
An immense meteor would be m
"a likely 10 end the earth than would
Fr1- comet OF any size. Suppose our pia
were struck by meteor one-half Its q