Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-02-23

The world is never satisfied. There is always a hunger for something big ger and better than the present pos session and attainment. Scarcely has the world become familiar with some great achievement which eclipses all former effort before still larger things are in process of the making. The 20-story sky scraper is soon distanced by the 30-story one which the daring builder erects, and that by still high CT structures. The 60-mile-an-hour train is soon considered slow as the 70-mile-an-hour train speeds over the country, and that in turn by the train which makes still faster time. And so 1t goes, until the world has come to expect that the biggest thing known will soon have rival in the thing still bigger.
 So it has been with the instrument which the astronomers use to search the heavens. Years ago the widest dreams of the scientists would not have thought 60-inch telescope pos sible, but when at last through the years such an enormous development had been reached, was the scientist content? Did he believe that he had attained the Ultima Thule of telescopic construction? Nay. verify. For when the possibility of constructing a 60- inch mirror had been demonstrated, the scientist at once began to plan for still larger telescope. and now 1t is the hundred.inch glass that is the goal of ambition.
 The first step in such an enormous advance in the size of telescopes has just been taken by the officials of the Carnegie Institutions Solar observa. tory on Mount Wilson, California. The sum of $45,000 has been contributed by John D. Hooker, of Los Angeles. to cover the expense, and glass disk of unexampled magnitude has been ordered made in France, and from this disk Mir. Ritchey will construct a mirror for new refiecting telescope 100 inches in diameter. Mir. Ritchey has nearly completed a mirror of 60 inches diameter in the shops of the observatory at Pasadena. and hitherto this has been looked upon as an un- dertaking of extraordinary boldness; but the 100-inch mirror will so far ex. ceed the 60-inch in its power to grasp the light of the heavenly bodies that to compare them is like comparing a full-grown man with a child. To show this 1t is only necessary to re. member that the capacity of a tele. scopic object-glass. or mirror, to col. lect light varies directly with the square of its diameter. The square of 60 is 3,e00. and the square of 100 is 10000: therefore. the power of the contemplated telescope will be to that of the telescope nearly completed as 10000 is to 3,6oo. or nearly three times greater, The famous Lord Rosse tele. scope. constructed in Ireland in the middle of the last century-and still in existence. and to some extent in use-is 72 inches in diameter; but it is SO imperfect in figure, and in re flecting quality. that 1t cannot be com pared with either of these two Cali fornian giants.
 In truth. a hundred-inch telescope is no less than an innovation, and many astronomers. knowing the i'm mense dificulties which beset the use of large instruments. dificuIties both mechanical and atmospheric will be disposed to doubt the success of this undertaking The new disl will be 13 inches thick The e0fnch disk is eight inches thick. and weigh, . ton These facts give an indica ton of the enormous weight the pro jected mirror will possess. and sug gest to those who are familiar vitf the mechanical problems involved ir the mounting of huge telescopes some of the practical dificulties that vii have to be overcome before this new astronomic eye opens its mighty lid, to penetrate among the yet undiscov cred marvels of the starry universe
 One or two other comparisons be II