New-York tribune., 1908-05-24
ETHER, THE INVISIBLE
Denser and More Massiue than
Sans and Planets.

That ether the invisible and intangible something
which fills all space, is denser and more MASSIVE
than suns and planets is one of the extraordinary
statements of modern science. That which cannot
be weighed is heavier than the most ponderous
substance Something which is not matter infinite
" surpasses matter in quantity and force Lighter
than any gas filling the most perfect vacuum pro-
duced by human skill penetrating the compact SUD-
stances of gold and steel air crculates through
a sponge ether is fluid Of unthnkable resistance
and energy. 1t is the main stuff that composes the
universe 1t is the omnipresent all; If not matter
itself vet the mother of matter It is the ocean in
which swim about those comparatively tiny and IN
significant particles known as earths and suns II
Is the connecting link which binds together the en-
tirely separate never touching and wildly dancing
atoms of matter in granite blocks, steel ngots,
diamonds and everything that seems solid and sta
tionary We must not think of solid matter. but of
solid ether. Matter is not rigid, but ether is Mat
ter eternally wabbles and moves about. Ether Is
stationary although it has an intense vibration.
There is perhaps not much trying to grasp all
these paradoxes as presented by Sir Oliver Lodge
in The Contemporary Review for May. 1t Is true
we have an either sense" which is exercised when
ever perceive the sensation of light The vibra-
ton of ether makes light. But a real comprehen-
sion of the universal mother substance seems to De
beyond the range of the human brain development
of the present time.
1t is by no means all speculation, nor are mathe-
calculations lacking to verify lofty theory
Sir Isaac Newton. when he discovered gravtation.
recognized that action at distance was impossi-
BILE, and that there must be some medium through
which the pull of heavenly bodies is exercised 1t
is estimated that the force with which the moon IS
held in its journey around the earth is strong
enough to tear apart Il steel rod four hundred
miles thick But there is no steel rod connecting
earth and moon. only the invisible medium of
ether, and this must be sustaining the enormous
stress of the satellite tending to break away
IT, fY into he rptI-
ment OF gravitation be dismissed the existence of
ether is well established by the phenomena of light.
electric and magnetic force. These forces certainly
require a medium to travel in. The speed OF
ethereal vibration for light ranging from the slow
est red rays to the fastest violet rays, has been
accurately measured. Whether ether is the dwell
ing place of Spirits is a ticksh subject that
scientists do not care to NEEDLE with at present.
Professor ]. J. Thompson is quoted saying that
the whole of any body is the mass of ether
It contains, plus the atoms call matter. In
fact. all mass. momentum and kinetic energy Of
body belongs to ether. The density Of ether is so
great that matter by comparison Is like a hlmy,
imperceptbie mist When steel spring is bent 1t
the steel that yields but the ether. The
atoms steel merely change their places. They
did touch another before and they do not
touch another at bending. The stress is all in
the ether. because the matter can only be moved.
No do the atoms of steel come in actual con-
tact than the earth touches the sun while whirled
ether is that matter moves-it has the property OF
locomotion and strike or bombard-while ether
Is in a state of stationary tension and is able
exert and recoil. All potential energy exists
in the ether 1t vibrates 1t rotates, but 1t does not
move and Is the stationary body know.
If it is asked how ether, fluid, exhibit the
properties OF solid matter, the answer is that
tion transforms the nature of any fluid compara-
lively yielding substance A Jet of water at high
speed cannot be cut with a sword and spinning
disk Of paper becomes rigid and acts like a buzz
saw. Ether In rapid vibration may initiate the
properties of matter even construct matter. An
attempt to vibrate or spin ether mechanically by
sending light rays around steel disks revolving
four thousand times minute has been without
suits On other hand electric vibration of ether
is a successful feat. A sudden stoppage of cleo
trio charge generates the ethereal pulses known
X-rays. There is also to suppose that ether
spins around a magnetic pole whenever electric
charge is made in its neighborhood. The rotation
cannot be seen, yet experimentally discovered,
the motion may be discovered of top spinning too
fast for vision by the resistance it offers to a
change in position. A sudden move of electric
charge magnetic pole a shift of ether
at right angles to the force. The pole and the
rent try to revolve around each other in conse-
quence of the spinning ether.
The intrinsic energy of ether is incredibly great
Every cubic millimetre, or six-thousandths of a
cubic inch. Of space possesses in ether an equiva-
lent TO a thousand tons of matter and an energy
equal TO the output of million horsepower station
for forty million years.
The amount of matter in the universe within the
range Of the largest telescopes is equal to about
billion Of our suns, yet compared with empty"
space the average density of the visible cosmos is
because it transmits waves of light a finite and
measurable speed