The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-09-04
EEPrKLIC s.EcIAI.

cIuSlOHS about M. l4L!ll4E agts--
80: the world knows The Incident &C
c;-6lng to the literal description OF Ia
school books. Sir Isaac Newton wa
Struck on The head by falling apple OF
q summers day In the year 1906
Newton had graduated from Trinity Col
ieSe several years before with a we!!-le
fined belief that his calling should rui
along the study of natural philosophy En'
mathematics.
He WAS studying the law % Eravit!
when the apple was fortunate 10 fail
His name be-aTus linked thereafter viii
the greatest thinkers Of his time. People
through the generations have paid hin
some homage sine. that immortal episode
Voltaire Is really Responsible Tor m
apple story He had II from Mrs. Con
dUitt, Newton's nelc@. Thus tie law q
gravity was est3 biisHtd- An honest mar
and an able man has come forward viii
a new theory Ills mind has been vel
trained. HIS years have been devoted Il
the study OF physics.
He advancss a kinetic principle that
promises a revolution in thc orthodox
teachings. This scientist. Robert steven
son, a graduate o. Glasgow University
ard now resident o, New York. de-
clares that objects thrown into the all
DO not return % earth. but that the
earth leaps forward 20 meet the station
airy object Thc saca that a ball thrown
into the air ret.nns 20 the earth. he de-
ciares, IN an Illusion.
This Is the sifnp!est way 20 put This
statement. The description given By the
technical terms. The idea is simply that
the earth travelling something like
twenty-five miles second, OF thersa-
souts, hits the object in the air. NJ.
stevenson. IN support OF his theory. says:
SCIENTISTS REASONING.
The kinetic stability OF motion. secr.;
principle OF nature. has bafae6 all ;he
no
Tt appears now o-om this discovery
ward never stops overhead. hi: that the
earfh's peculiar motion IN space brings IL
UP against the stone instead OF the stone
rapidly falling 70 ths earth; Tn.s result,
should throw a ball horizontally toward
ant motion Of the earth IN space
causes IL to keep No constant pressure
on every body on It's surface. which is
10 the rnass OF the body and
that constant pressure is weight
The body does not have weight per
sc: due to the action OF the earth; bu:
only has weight sup@rDosed on IL by a
peculiar motion OF the earth which pro-
duces constant accaleration or every
body connected by any support TO the
rider is pressed horizontally against the
horses back when running at q high
speed IN a rng.
Even u that speed be uniform the
celeration. and II q person were standing
On the horses back he GOULD lean almost
II the horse were going fast
the center OF the rom. the ball. II a
mass would appear to go a certain dis
lance and stop and then fall beck toward
the horses back
But that motion is AZ, Illusion: Il does
not fail bU: the horse IN describing the
ring comes up against 81 and strikes It.
Just the same as the earth ooes with the
-
Although the illusion does not alter the
-ate o. fail or force OF fall. vet the truth
alters the supposed cause And this
change In this case Is fraI2ht with mighty
much SO that Il has been declared by some
81 the greatest scientists OF this age that
II this discovery is true and will stand the
L will eas.Iv rank as the greatest scientific
discovery that has ever boen made in the
annals OF history.
TO be true. II is hardly possible that such
! principle should have escaped the notice
Of Calico. Newton. Euler, BornaulM. La
place. Lsme. Young. Maxwell. Stokes.
scientists of every age. But the GIscoyerer
has the proof and can explain how these
great men were hypnotized and prevented
from seeing.
at is one Of those divine proofs prey
rant with mighty events which are about
to happen and which would not be re-
redled TO man until the time Tor these
events was close at hand.
HIS EARLY TRAINING.
when q youth Of II. az an engineering
Itcdent at Glasgow University. I was FOR
tunate in being taught the fundamental
principles Of natural philosophy By the
greatest master Of natural science that
squally fortunate IN being trained in ap-
Piled mechanics and engineering BY the
greatest engineering professors OF that or
my age. These two men have by their
greatness cast a halo OF renown around
he nane and fame OF that ancient un.-
.ersity-an honor which hope VIII never
Iinetic stability was my INTRODUCTION 70
he gyrostat. which apparatus was used
'or many purposes. OF which one was the
physical demonstration Of the truth OF
ion Of ruperImposed forces or momentum.
Lord Kelvin's gyrostat was to outward
appearance a sheet iron box about twenty
inches In diameter. bulged out at both
Iides. with a sharp rim. on which II could
,e made TO stand upright The box had
/ gyrostat wheel inside. which. by means
If a hywheel. pulley and rope. could be
riven a rapid revolution.
when the wheel was revolving its sta
,ility in the vertical plane enabled the
,ox TO stand upright. seeming TO DEFY the
ok was thus standing upright on its sharp
i'm I was asked by the professor to take
lolc OF Il and lay it gently down On Its
II wondered IT ID not fail OF Itself
vas not aware at that time OF the rerolv-
nz wheel inside, SO got a surprise when
gently caught st to turn II on its side
md II kicked back so viciously as to al
most upset me- That experience produced
II impression on my mind which will
ever die.
OK something analogous to life. But
lso found that, however fast the wheel
evolved, II ] moved the box sideways
Without canting the wheel there was no
FheeI was not revolving at all Now that
act was given by the professor as q
inetic illustration Of the truth Of Cali |
eo'S fundamental principle Of motion.
smelv. that two transverse monenta can |
e superimposed on one mass without in |
srfering with either Of their separate mo |
Ions
I'm the case OF a projectile Calico found |
hat whether Il was at rest OF projected l
or:zontally at any velocity the time OF |
all vertically would be the same In any |
ase. That fact seemed to show that the /
rst component momentum did not inter |!
ere with the second. and 50 on to any /
lumber of component momenta IN any d. i
ection-
There was no kicking back or struggle |
Or existence when the motions were COM /
ounded. such as felt when i tried to /
the momenta OF the gyrostaf.
EARLY EXPERIMENTS.
'But my experience with the gyrostat
,ade me question the validity Of the COM
ornding OF momenta when the professor
aid II was compounded by moving the
heel horizontally and keeping It always
critical. did, not believe that was COM
oundlng momenta, but as could not ex-
lain the reasons OF my doubt I accepted
ne dogma without consentfne In my mind
, its truth.
The case OF the falling body kept me
5iet. 1t seemed TO prove GaiiIeo's prtn-
pie and ] Gid not feel that I could
.ckie the professor and tell him that
iought he was wrong when he said that
rowing. q revolving wheel parallel to IT.
III was compromising mCmenta on that
heel However. 1 felt that TO compound |
f1<v xrh 4e i