Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-01-23
EARTH MYSTERIES.
.euIiar Lights and Sounds That
Puzzle Scientists.

ocular Lights and Sounds That
Puzzle Scientists.
Two remarkable phenomena have re-
ently been the subjects OF scientific
Investigation and discussion. Profess
John Milne interested the members
4 the British Association For the Ad-
ancement Of Science at It's recent
Meeting with an account of his expert.
hents with an unexplained light ema-
ating from a chalk pit near his house.
pm dark nights he has seen the pit
lowing with a soft radiance, the In
ensity' Of which alternately increases
md decreases. The light appears t.
ONE from the rocks themselves.
This is not the only instance Of un
Explained lights ennnating from the
arth. Sometimes they are seen in
onnection with earthquakes. do not
emember that anything Of the Kind
vas recorded Mt the time Of the San
Francisco earthquake, but during the
Valparaiso earthquake, later in the
lame year Q9OG), the simulacrum of
fhain lightning was observed playing
long the hilltops. But there were no
hunderstorms and no atmospheric dis.
urbances to account for the phenome.
pa. At the time OF the great earth
quake that was so disastrous in Gala
bria in September, 1905. the luminous
Rpparitions accompanying the shaking
pf the ground terrified the people.
Professor CALI thinks that an ex.
PLANTATION Of these luminous spectacles
may be found by supposing them to
be due to infiammable gases released
from the underlying rocks and soil
Ind ignited by the FRACTIONAL heat re-
Bulting from the vibrations In the crust
pf the earth. This may truly explain
eome Of the appearances. but not all Of
fhem. The flames" seen are no doubt
|bpen to this explanation, but hardly
the phosphorescent lights. the fiery col
INNS moving across the landscape,
the 'slow lightning" or the balls OF
fire. All Of these phenomena suggest
the effects Of electricity. This, more
|Pvcr, is the idea entertained by Pro.
fessor Milne, who thinks that part
bf the mechanical energy expended In
The grinding together Of rocks during
)Rn earthquake may produce electrical
discharges through friction.
The other strange phenomenon to
which | have referred belongs to the
fealm OF acoustics. 1t consists OF unex-
planned sounds originating no one
knows where, whether in the earth
pr the air, In Italy, where these mys-
FERROUS sounds have recently been the
|Bubject of study by Professor Alippi
|Of the observatory Of Urbino, they are
called "brontdi." They have been no.
ticed at different times In all parts Of
|the world, In this country n cele-
DRAFTED example is the "Moodus noises"
thus called because they are heard in
the town of Moodus, Conn. They were
noticed by the earliest settlers and
were known to the Indians, who natu-
rally ascribed them to the Great Spirit
Years sometimes pass without their
being heard. and then they recon-
nencs and contiIiie FOR months.
These sounds wherever heard are
|ger>rnily grave. tpavy, resonant, like
thu echoes Of ffsofr thunder or of n
49, sni explosiuu In~y v.eot IN cain
|Eaya- wnen the heavens are clear and
me air serena 1t IS Il popular notion
that this presakes bad weather, but all
attempts to couAect them with storms
|or to trace them to any certain source
have failed. They occur with equal
frequency In wincsr and summer. In
Italy 1t has been remarked that they