The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-08-14

d~nce - all our s-nses Hut philosophers
and scientists have taught ~ for ages
that uur s-n-eS ar. frequently false Wit
nez-s-, the art u the Coniurer and the
Snowman prov" this o. ~ every day
And as matter Il fact We should be
extremely puzzled ~ say ~ ha' this matter
- VA which We ~ firmly believe What
ar. the qualities which define ~. which
form it, true ESSENCE
The iifaTent scier CO.. mathematics
physics and chemistry. are agreed IN
chArActerizin x matter by three fundHm"n-
tai properties All matter has mrs. ~
heavy and ~ inert. The Totlor u tTo-
duced into scieTCe 10y LSvoisier wGs that
matter u Indest ructibls ard inn 81 i-hahl"
and that II curEtitutes the primordiSl
AID perhaps the sole element Of the wcrld.
But Suppress. a piece ~ hHlk. which pos
ss-SssS mass wei Sht irertia on the earth =
surfec-. were taken 20 the centre 81 the
earth. u would lose its weight, and the
same thing would happen II IL we're PLACED
~ a suitRhla GiSiAUC,. between III" earth
aud the moor. or the earth ard the sun.
Nouli It Their cease to lie matter What
n weights We are IN absolute ignoraI O.
r"gE-.iug n We feel cunfiuseily that u
does not dwell wIthir heavy bodies. tut
outside them. in other words, that II ~
m" result 81 - pressure exerted on bodies
hv tho imma'"rial medium which ha- been
rAm.i ether. Again. those who believe
~ the Inertia Of matter should study
through a powerful microscope "A small
puRrtity ~ Chirese irk diluted with
water. they will sa. IT. the field of the in
strumeut solid gralrs IN n cesSnrt motion.
This goes on for wears. and our otserva-
tiors show that II may go on forever.
Moreover. oil our krowledg" ~ nature
confirms this view that tn" tii al "l"mer IL
Of matter are ~ = state ~ perpetual and
spor ta"eous agitation. Classical Scier &C.
tells ~ Hl-o that everything Possessed III
inertia - matter everything rot posseSsei
Of IL ertIa IL Immh;rrial Hut what are we
To- think ~ el'srtrlcity' Electricity is not
matter Aui Vet II Possesses true irertia
several scIertists have removed the mote
from our cyes They go further and dirk
that there l. o. reality TO other irertiA
hut that of elcctri and tina, the inertia
II matter u iuc 30 the elect rio charges
which it bears.
Rut W. are only a. the hegipr ing of orr
ifiCuti's Matter. even with the adj
tiou Il all possible forc,~. ~ insufficient
10 explain may phenomcnA Let us
for example. consider hight We know
r"youi doubt that hetwe-n tho earth
the sur al the stars Their" in 70 tTECa II
matter except IN" very thin layers form.
ing III" Atmosphere Of tks'-e hodies. and
"" also krow that hight j. merely = vihrs-
tory movement which ~ propG gatei az
thn rate Of ~. nnn miles per second Where
has the light leen when. Gurir < its lorg
journey 10 ~ from the sur or stars II wa
no Tor ger OF tn" uTIgiT al toGy ror in our
a'mosThera' We are obliged "a ina sir
ether. the medium which fills the ui iverse
and tra-Hports hy UH Vihraiiors TIE
re- !ia,ious Of heat, light electricity. ard
perhaps ever sctioTz a. a iistsr ce such
u the attract ion eIercisei ~ the heavenly
bodies Ether direrS profoundly from
matter Matter and ether are tho ma.
'.riaLs with which our sceI tific tho, rice
/ have tri"I to COT struCt at image 81 tho
work.. DuI hefora the .-!IiiC. wa com
ple'si great eNpft AZ the end ~ the
b 2 H. eteeuth century gave n great impulse
- science AID imported 20 it AZ ur.N-
;-.rt.l turn. The greet discovery 81
4 Routgru and tho su-Cuver.s - BeCquerel
and CIrie revealed to ~ new world
To-day all Ihysicists attribute to the Y
Tor Rurtgeul rays the movements -
the ether propagatsi II ISOLATED waves
whereas luminous waves are propGRatsi
ir regular ard equifis,Art series Many
other extraordinary thirgS are shown
/ by the N-ray tube; that electric charges
can exist irdependently - material
support. that these electrical charges
smAnAtinR from the cathode are borne
| by grains Of matter. material PARTICLES
each with a mass equal 60 one-thousandth
- the mass ~ an atom ~ hydrogen
I This nov material element has been He'd
an -sleCtron' or -corpuscl". and II seems
Ia constitute the primordIAl unit - dis
aggregated matter We ar. practically
/ sure from experiments that the entire
mass - the corpusCle cannot consist ~
matter Are We sure that any part ~ it
- really due To- matter VI Poncare
who N both a great mathematician and
an eminent scientist. aflrnz that II there
~ no matter IN 'ke negative charges -
the cathode ,aS has been calculated by
another sCientlstI the positive Chargee
must also D." free from IT, Thus the
atom has been denaterialized 10 TAI speak
and with n the molscul~ and the entire
universe Matter disapp.arr and We and
all that surrounds us remain mere dis
TURNED regions ~ the ether determined
10y moving electric charges Hut a new
theory may sweep away all these hy-
pothsses 90 morrow.
" ~ remaT kable that after - many ccn-
turie- 81 civilization We should know 80
much about far ~ worlds and - little
about The infaripr of our own Va still