The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-16

, was 5000, 900 miles. which was stfll a
million miles over the concurrence on
| the best conditions. The question then
arises as to the kind of signal which
could be transmitted across a distance
of IS, 100000 miles.
A building as big as St Paul's Cathe-
dral on our satellite would about repre-
sent the size of the smallest visible OBJ
jet on the moon; we therefore infer that
a building would have to be one hundred
and fifty times as long and one hundred
and fifty times as broad as st. Paul's,
| to be discerntble as the smallest point
| on Mars Assuming that there were in
| dnabitants on Mars who were DESTROYS
OF making signals to the earth by the
waving of flag, that nag would hardly
be distinct enough for such a purpose
| unless 1t were at least ten times as long
as the smallest visible point, and had
breadth in proportion. We are thus led
to the conclusion that a nag, say some
three hundred miles long and two hun
dred miles broad, or perhaps about as
large as ireland, would be necessary for
the purpose II we could imagine a nag
of these colossal dimensions on a flag
pole say five hundred miles long and
II the Martians availed themselves of
the next favorable opposition, say In
1909, to make arrangements for waving
this colossal flag to and fro, and II some
of our most skillful astronomers. pro-
vided with the very largest and most
perfect telescopes, and situated on the
Hottest mountains on which observetories
have been placed, were TO be studying
the surface of Mars, they might, I grant.
perceive the waving of the flag. and
might possibly be able TO receive certain
indications therefrom.
Let US suppose that the signaling power
of wireless telegraphy had been advanced
to such perfection that It was possible
to transmit a signal across a distance OF
eight thousand miles-that is to say.
across a distance equal to the diameter
of the earth. think 1t will be admitted
that this is a very liberal superstition.
The moon 10, however. at q distance of
about thirty times the earth's diameter,
and therefore, evcG supposing that
Marcond's waves could be sent across
the earths diameter yet to be appre-
ciab1e at the distance Of the moon, which
is thirty times greater. the Intensity Of
those waves would have TO be not merely
thirty tunes but thirty times thirty
that Is, the efficiency must be nine humid
ned times as great as I have supposed
In other words, even ID the whole earth
we're brought within the domain OF wire
less telegraphy. the system would still
have 20 be improved nine hundred times
as much again before the moon could
also be brought within the sphere of In
1uence. And now let us apply this rea-
soning to Mars. I have shown that AZ its
very closest approach Mars must stail be
some 80. 10000 miles from our earth--thet
is TO say, even under the most favorable
circumstances, the rudy planet Is at a
distance from us which must be more
than four thousand times as great as tho
eartb's diameter. Even II wireless tele-
graphy attained the utmost perfection
that suppose even It's most sanguins
advocates could possibly dream Of. yet
the efficiency OF the apparatus would
have 70 be Increased a thousandfold, and
then a thousandfold again, and finally
multiplied by another sixteen. before
an appreclabie aignal could be tranSnitted
70 Mars.