Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1901-06-12
SOME NEW IDEAS AND FACTS.
Concerning Physical Science, With 8 Few Answers to Questions Gwen
 For What They are Worth.

Editor Journal Miner: There are, as every inquiring mind recognizes, unexplained mysteries tha' present themselves to our faculties.
 The electrician would like to know more of what electricity really is. The consertave philosopher has as stunned the atomic constitution of bodies without supplying a convinc ing demonstration of its reality.
 Scientists perceive the necessity Of invoking a universal ether, yet they admit that the assumed ether may be entirely fictitious. In this article I will endeavor to disentangle a few misconceptions, commencing with an atom.
 Philosophers have accepted an atom as an indivisible geometrical point, having position, possessing mass and capable of motion. Further. the size of an atom has been the subject of mathematical calculation by process of reasoning too intricate to describe. A single drop of water is taken and magnified to the size of the earth. Then the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen composing the magnified drop will be seen bound together, larger than entrants and smaller than grapes. -(Roscoe D. c. L.. L. L. D., F. R. S.) We assume that an invisible. inde- structible atom is an infiinitisimal part of a part of the whole, but the proceeding quotation from the learn, ed professor cannot be accepted as a demonstration.
 We are still confronted with the question: Are there really such things as atoms? or, is the assumed interplanetary atomic ether of the philosophers, the assumed luminifer- Ous ether of the electricians, entirely fictitious? (See Electricity Simplifed, D 10-1D. Science seeks for a solu- ton. A simple, positive demonstra- ton that intervening planetary spaces are permeated with an ultra gaseous ether, forming a medium, is shown by a solar spectrum of the heavens. (H. O. What is a solar spectrum of the heavens? 4 solar spectrum of the heavens is the broad and luminiferous streak extending from a comet and widens as it extends outward into space, commonly called the tail of comet. made visible by the refraction of the suns rays, through the gaseous envelope that surrounds the comets nucleau. In other words, a solar beam, after passing througk a comet, forms a spectrum in the ether Of space. Now in an Hypothetical abso- IIte vacinum. there can be no spect- rum visible, becacse in a vacuum there is nothing to be oeen. A solor spec trum of the heavens Is the clearest il lustration that by taking knowledge through the senses we afe liable to err. Now to make plain the meaning we must familiarize the mind with the difference between the apparent and the real.
 I will now recite phenomena con nected with the sensational comet of lS43, which has been carefully ob- served, its motion and velocity accur- ately measured by the astronomers of that time.
 The comet of 1880 and 1S43 were perhaps the most sensational that have ever been seen by men. They were alike in splendor and dimen- sions. The latter flying at the speep of 340 miles a second, turned round the sun from half past nine till half past eleven on the IT, rning of Febru- ary 27. 1S43. This is the greatest velocity that has been definitely meas ured by astronomers, turning the eel estial stake post gave them the de sired opportunity. Its tail was straight and measured one hundred and ninety eight million 09S ,000.000J miles and it is one of the wonders of this observation the the tail was al ways opposite to the sun, and seemed not to be broken of or scattered on the skies when making such an ab- rupt turn in two hours" Astronomy by s. G. Bayne, page 60 and 6l.)
 Now while the comet proper con sisting of central condensation sur rounded by thousands of miles of a highly rarified gas swept round the sud sun with velocity equal to the theoretical requirements, it must be noted that the outward extremity of its tail being 19S,0000O0 miles further from the sun, in its swing around that luminary performed a semi-circle with radius of nearly 200,000000 miles in two hours time, a surposel velocity entirely incompatible with ;he force of solar gravity. which di minishes four fold as the distance is doubled. Further the tail of tine comet followed the law of the shadow
 yhich further disproves it as an ap- bondage to the comet.
 Now what appears to be quite sin yular Is that for so many centuries solar spectrum in the ether of space has been supposed to be a tail attach ment to a comet. In the forthcoming Halley's celebrated, historic comet that is booked to arrived in 1912 it k
 lesired that 1t may cast its spectrum on the earth, or in the ether of space near enough to show the primary colors of light which at the distance Jf millions of miles are evidently blended into one uniform greyish white In conclusion we may be as sured that if our interpretation of solar light through a comet forming spectrum in the ether of space k ir- refutable. and the difference between the apparent and the real is seen to be lumineferous ether and not a tail to a cOmit, then it is demonstrated that tie enormous iniervais Of space are filled with an infinite number of atoms forming an atomic ether. With the evidence of an ultree ether inter penetrating the molicles of matter