New-York tribune., 1907-08-12
BRITISH SCIENCE.
Streams of Stars and Origins Of Nat
ter-A Tournament of Giants.
Teicasser kuo,,~.

tho. a,,eu the yiseacres on the benches closed
their eyes and nodded as they listened 20 them
Sir David Gill in his long discourse on the prog
ress of astronomy dealt with the science o..
measurement and with the solar paraax the
fundamental unit That youthful veteran %
eirbtv-tbree Lord Kelvin made light Of the ex
c,,rsion bv describing il as a magnificent tour
through the universe personally conducted BY
the president at the rate of some thousand mill
ion kilometres a second: but the duller folk ia
the audience, instead of fancying themselves On
a magic carpet. were inclined 10 compare their
fate with that of the dog who swallowed his
tag in an express car from San Francisco .,
New York Yet there were eloquent Passages
which must have fascinated their tmaginations
one was his graphic account OF infinite space az
dUed with two majestic streams Of stars travel
ling in opposite directions. yet alike in design
chemical constitution and process Of Develop
n,ent when the cTyptOgrams OF their spectra
were deciphered.
/ The stars were the crucibles OF creation ard a
universe with millions OF systems pervading IN.
infinite was the great experiment OF the ages;
and vast as each system was. IL was Itself bur a
speck in HlimitabIe space; and Who could say
/ vrbeuce had come the two streams OF matter our
( Of which have been evolved the stars nov
ing through space in majestic procession,
/ There is no science with stronger grip upon
the ina gina tion than astronomy; and il Is not
{ eakened when II is reduced 10 exact measure
uent and IaboriOus. systematic observation gen.
/ Grafton after generation is substituted for brill
/ liant speculation.
! There has keen AZ Leicester an authoritative
! but incomplete account of Sir William Ramsay's
| recent experiments in the transmutation of ee-
rents: and the champions Of the atomic theory
/ have rallied in force. and challenged revoluiM-
arv investigators like Sir oliver Lodge and Pm
! fessor Rutherford to preve the subdivision and
degradation Of the mighty atom. These discus
sions have been lively. but severely technical
Professor SmitheIls. the president of the CheTI-
cal section has not been ready 10 admit that
any disclosures Of radiO-aCtivity involve any,
! thing like an unsettlement OF scientific articles
/ of faith He has taunted the new school ot
I exDerirneuters with creating chemistry of phaI-
I toms. Being reminded OF Falstaffs reckoninss.
| he has exclaimed with Prince Henry; On
! rnonstrous. but halfpenny worth OF bread
/ to this intoIerabIe deal of sack He d'es not
feel sure of his ground when radluIn- which m
! accordance with conventions is an honest. ELF
I respecting element and ought u act Ike one. s
convicted OF uasqueradinS in the likeness *
other elements and the best excuse he can offer
for its eccentricity is that eminent meu Ike Sir
William Crookes and Sir Norman LOckysf have
/ always insisted upon the complex nature OF
these units Of creation The elements may not
have been subjected TO transnutatlons as -adcal
I as Sir William Ramsay tnagines, but certainly
the 0Id-fashiOned science Of chemistry mas been
turned upside down great chemist must now
be an expert mathematician; and he must also
/ be a bold experimenter with the new tnstru-
. mertS and methods and be prepared 20 sum ID
the results Of radiO-aCtivity in the Language OF
speculative philosophy. The old-fashiOned men
find it hard to keep abreast vith the new
science: and some Of the most progressive among
| them are in open revolt against it
! Lord Kelvin Joins issue with the radum eX-
I perfmenters without hesitation or reserve he
/ believes that there are many different kinds Of
I pOnderab ble atom. each eterpaIy lnVaraole n
I its own specific quality. ana that substances
/ like gold. silver and copper are incapable of
( being Transmitted. He regards an atom as the
ultimate. indivisibIe unit. which can never lose
/ its individuality change lis character anu
| an clectrou is like unto it-evcn an electrical
/ atom. Ii Tadium breaks w into hehum Or
other things he insists upon describing IL as
/ moIcCule. assemhlage of pouderaois
| atoms held together by mutual attractions and
I kept i'm balance by mutual repuiSloDs. As us
atom is indiviSibe. the element is tn'Tnutanie'
and if the spectrum Of the simplest uon-atomic
I gas Yields a complex spectrum with bright lines
IL is because there are many electronS for eacn
! atom. The veteran in his dTdOr for controversy
takes the risk of being lost among tire infinities
| Electricity is not matter. but energy and etne'
| is an infinitely extended. strUCtureless COM
pressible. elastic solid. rather than fluid
/ Every portion of ether however small. has us
same electric proper les as any portion however
great. and the whole of space. from ininity 20
infnity in every direction is filed with some
thing utterly homogeneous ard elastic LOTu
| Kelvin is quite prepared 70 admit that matter
and ether occupy the same space sinlulta-
neousIy: but he strenuOtlsIy rcsists the modern
attack upon the atom unstable quantity
easily divisible. supplied with UntristworuF
electrons and endowed with unsuspectsd ener-
gies for disappearanceS and transformations
The Grand Old Man Of British science. paylns
| with his atoms and eiectrOns and the rio'iOI,
OF ether as easily superannUated veteran
| turns the cards in solitaire. is the most pictur-
| esque figure of the Leicester congress
| lord Kelvin had thrown out chalengs TO tns
revOlutfontsts intoxicated with radium rays. anu
| battle began between the electricians ana tns
! chemists Mr. Strut Lord RayleiShs eilss9
| son already keen investigator in his tventles'
| showed how common a thing was hehuIn' tn7
| element discovered by the spectrOscOpe IN uI7
sun and subsequently identified In the enisiA
, tions from radium II was in granite quartz anu
| every mineral. and il might be an open fues.i So
whether il was produced by radio-actNltS % 49, -
| the degeneration of ordinary elements r.
| fessor Rutherford who had a share IN the es
covery of radium. read remarkable paper %
! the constitution Of the unstable ana untLa -
worthy atom. and announced confidently ua- -, -
| eIectrOn had come to stay and would Speeus
be known and identified by its shape Ine 49, ~.
according 10 his view. was not pel"ih4s,
thing but an elusive little trap for eninss'ls
eIectrons or units of electricity Matter va
merely a mask or shape taken by electr1clty, aI
II could be changed into force. as the ola 49,
lists believed Sir Oliver Lodge. with bury Is
and powerful voice supported Professor FN.t. ,.
ford most vigorously. and described the he'p =, :,
little atom as squirminS with electricity uhe, -,
happens TO be changed into something e4ss-
Soddy one of the most brilliant investlsa'o.s
| among the chemists. considered the experle.
ers radium inebriates who were hardly respo.,
! sibIe for their theories. and Lord Kelvin 80 -
the debate with a fine tribute to the geniu
! the investigators and an emphatic pio