The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-09
BAY STATION.

this point how the SpectrOScOpe deter
mines for US the movement of stars
| towards tine solar system or away from
it. and popular explanation is sug-
| gested by the analogy of sound waves.
| Consider the case of an approaching
railway train. The sound of its whis-
| tie alters as it approaches and alters
| again as it recedes. Let two trains run
ming at d speed of thirty-six yards a
| second, which is one-tenth the speed of
| sound, approach each other. Let the
whistle of one sound the note E three
hundred and twenty-three vibrations
per second. 1t will be heard on the 9TH
er locomotive as the note G three hun
| dred and lightweight vibrations per
| second for the speed of each train
crowds the vibrations into one-tenth
| less room per second, adding, therefore,
twice thirty-two vibrations a seconds,
and making three hundred and eighty
eight in all. The trains pass. The vfbra-
lions are now stretched into one-tenth
more space by the whistle making them,
while the other train allows only nine
tenths of what there are to overtake the
car Each subtract 1thirty-two vibra-
tions from three hundred and twenty
three, leaving only two hundred and
fifty-eight, which is the note c. Yet
the note E was constantly uttered. APP
ply this analogy to the instance of light
waves.
If a star is travelling towards the
solar system at a speed of eighteen
miles second, then the speed of light
being 1856, 900 miles a second the vi
brations will be crowded into one-ten-
thousandth part less space and the
vibrations will be farther apart. The
eye could not, of course, detect these
differences in compression or elonga-,
ton, but the spectrosc is capable
of doing So On the spectrum band
which is cast by the light of stars
there are many lines, indicative of
the elements giving rise to the light of
hn cfo
tions have assigned certain places to
these lines, and it is by deviations
from these places that we learn
whether, and in which way. the star
Is moving to or from u.s.
Sir William Preece mas recently
committed himself to the statement
that for long distances. such as those
between Europe and America, wire
less telegraphy seems very unlikely to
be able to compete with the cable. 1t
is an observation that has been made
a good many times since Sir William
Freezes own experiments in inductive
wireless telegraphy for the postoffice,
and 1t may be usefully remembered
that even such respected authority
as Prof. Silvanus Thompson once OBJ
served that the probable limit of
etheric wave telegraphy was a hun
dred miles. That very grave difficult !
ties have cropped up in Translate
wireless telegraphy is not to be de-
panies which had already established
communication, and those which are
seeking to establish themselves is a |
testimony to the fact that the cables |
are safe for some years to come. 1t is
gratu1tously foolish to prophesy, how !
ever, about advances in electrical |
knowledge and we may note only |
that ordinary telegraphy is itself max
ing strides. Messrs. Siemens and
Halske have recently placed before |
I q of
automatic telegraph which is called |
the Telecryptograph. Like all the |
modern methods of automatic tele- |
graphy, the message to be sent is first /
punched in conventional Geographic |
characters on a rubber destined to run |
through the transmitter. The receiver
embraces photograph device, as in
the Pollak-Virag system. That is to |
say the cipher message as it comes
over the receiver is photographed |
onto long strip of sensitised photo
graphic tape. The Photographic tape
or band then passes into second
camera, where it is acted on by1
sponges containing the developing and
hiking agents. After passing through
a drier the band issues from the APP
paratus the finished imprint of the
telegram The greatest accuracy has
10 De maintained in synchronising the
of a second would be
certain to give a wrong letter, and
there Is bell arrangement which au-
tomatically rings when the accurate
synchronism is lost The German
government has placed part of its
wires between Berlin and Frankfort
at the disposal of the company for ex-
per1ments, and an average of 1000
signs per minute has been successfully
attained by the new system
Amulets to protect horses against
ewes, w1tchcraft and the evil eve are
Still innocently used in England. as
was pointed out some time ago in a