Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-11-02

in the tube We are unable to think
that magnetic energy can exist in
nothing. To meet these and numer-
Gus like difficulties, the ether has
been invented.
Once having adopted the ether, its
duties develop at an astonishing rate.
II mas to fill all space, or stretch out
to infnity in ali directions, without
any holes or blank cavities. 1t must
permeate all substances to the inner
most, more thoroughly even than
water permeates a submerged sponge.
The motion of matter must give rise
to no displacement in the permeating
or environing ether The ether must
be capable of absorbing electric and
magnetic energy, and Of transmitting
grayitational stresses. E.ectromag-
netic energy must be propagated
through it at a uniform and definite
speed. All Of these properties must
he everywhere the same-to ranges o.
billions of miles, so that the ether in
which the earth floats next year must
be. within measurable limits, identi-
cal in behavior to the ethe- in which
inc planet floats today, for the entire
solar system is supposed to shift its
position In space by half a billion
miles per annum. 1t must be admit
ted that an ether which can do this
is very remarkable entity. Specu-
ations as to what 1t can be like have
been rife for many decades. Some
estimated that it was jelly-.ike. Others
distinct grains like extremely small
shot The astronomer wanted one
kind and the electrician wanted an
other. Some scientists postu ated for
1t a rigidity much greater than that
of steel, together with tenuity much
below that of the rarefed gases in
Crookes tube
The occasion Of these remarks is a
paper contributed TO The Journal OF
The Franklin Institute by Professor
w. s. Franklin, in which the writer
discusses the propagation of electric
waves on a theory of the ether pro
pounded many years ago by the Eng
lish physicist. Clerk Maxwell Max
well supposed the ether to consist of
contiguous spheres that rotated one
upon another like cOgwheels, and
from this hypothesis he dcduced very
ingenious,y many of the properties
described above. Professor Franklin
finds that this theory helps to account
for the behavior of electric waves
over wires. Unfortunately the theory
is merely a mechanical symbolism,
which aids the mind in understanding
without protesting to represent aCtu-
ality. Is 1t permissible to use such
theory? The writer in the Electric
World and Engineer believes that II
is He says:
1T may be permitted any honest
man to doubt the existence of this
cogsphere ether without being guilty
of heresy. We do not suppose that
Maxwell ever believed that the ether
was butt up Of alternate positive and
negative cOgspheres. As to the real
nature of the ether, we are as much
in the dark as ever. But If the Max
well theory offers an ideal machine
whose actions can be followed in
to final result. which
Is the same as that of the actual but
machinery. we are justified
in using the Ideal mechanism merely
to assist our ideas. 1t does not fol
low that. because we consider the
actual mechanism is different from
the ideal mechanism, we must avoid
all use of the latter as a tool. This
is Professor Franklin's position as we
It,"