East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-01-20
NEBULA HYPOTHESIS.
One of the Most Interesting Prop
oSiti0ns OF Science.
WHAT 1T ACTUALLY MEANS.
That the Sun, Planets and All Matter
Were Once a Vast Mass Of lncan-
descent Gas All JumbIed Together In
an Enormous Chaotic Cloud.

descent Gas All Jumbled Together In
an Enormous Chaotic Cloud.
Everybody has heard the phrase. the
nebua hypothesis. but what is it:
In few words this is the meaning
of "nebula hypothesis" That the sun.
the planets and ali that is In them
were ut one time in the inconccivably
remote past vast mass of chaotic. in
candescent gas all jumbed together in
an enormous nebula. or cloud.
TO begin with. the first conception
| that science has dared to make. how
ever, takes us one step further back
Without mentioning the origin Of mat
ter itself science conceives that IN the
beginning all matter was uniformly
distributed throughout space thut
there were no stars. no planets, no
satellites. but that all space was filed
with the matter we now have divided
up into very fine PARTICLES some dis
lance apart. The consistency Of such
material was perforce very thin in
deed, much more rarefied than the
highest vacuum we can obtain now by
air pumps. From this state TO the
nebulous state the theory has a miss
ing link, one that can only be satisfied
by supposing divine command for it
assumes. in the words of Professor
Todd, that gradually centers of at
traction formed and these centers pull
ed In toward themselves other parti-
cles. AS a result of the inward fall
ing of matter toward these centers. the
collision Of its particles and their fric-
ton upon each other the material
masses grew hotter and hotter Nebu-
lac seeming TO fill the entire heavens
were formed luminous fire mist. like
the filmy objects stilI seen in the sky,
though vaster and exceedingly numer-
Gus" This process is supposed To
have gone on for countless ages. faster
in some regions than in Others. Many
million nebulae were formed and set in
rotation around their own axes. This
happily can be explained by science.
y Whenever particles are attracted to-
ward center and are kept from fall.
ing directly to this center whirlpool
is formed, rotating in one direction.
An example of this. though humble
and not exactly analogous. is the rota-
tion of water in Il basin when the stop
{ per is pulled out of the bottom. Crawl
ty attracts the water Immediately
3 above the hole. which starts flowing
5 out, thus leaving space to be filed.
= The rest of the water rushes in from
= all sides to do this. and the whirlpool
is the result
Now each of these whirling ucbulac
became exceedingly hot. and eacl
formed what is known as star ol
sun. our sun being one. The eartl
and other planets had not then come
into separate existence. of course, rs
It is supposed that they were thrown
off later from the sun.
Our sun In its Debulous form and ro
tating swiftly on its axis gradually
, flattened at its poles on account ot
8 centrifugal motion. This phenomenon
Is entirely familiar to those who have
e seen ball of clay on potter's whee
C gradually flatten. The motion was So
. swift and the mass so nebulous tha
the sun to be took the shape of a disk
2 As time went on the outer part be
came cool and somewhat rigid. while
the inner part continued its coolin:
and contracting. Thus the inner par
drew away from the outer, leaving ;
ring of matter whirling around on th'
o outside. This breaking off of the rims
! &c, 20 IN hv tho In
ability of the outside to keep up th'
G swift motion of the central mass. boil
= on account of the slight cohesion anC
d of the centrifugal force But this par
t ticular part of the argument has moth
= ing 10 stand on If the first law of mo
tion is true.
In the successive stages of the suns
contraction this process was repeated
o over and over again. until severa
rings were whirling around the centra
orb. They would necessarily be II
!, the same plane. Now. these rings, no
- being uniform in mass or thickness
would each gradually accumulate to
= ward the densest portion until they
too. would form ball which woult
subsequently fatten, and il the sub
stance continued nebulous and the bal
= was large enough they would ais,
slough rings
n OF course the rings the sun discard
= ed have become the planets. which. al
r required by the theory, are alI yer!
10 nedrly in the same pidhe, The ring
= that the planets formed have becom'
moons or satellites. SO we are driver
to conclude that our sun at one tint
flied all the space from his presen
d, position to the farthest planet in th,
o solar system
IS From this theory there is anothe
- thing that we have to believe, and tina
e Is that every star in the heavens ha
: gone through this same process an
n has family of planets sailing aroun
Ie It, lust as our sun has. II would b
s. impossible to see these planets, c
J. course. for 1t is impossible To see
At star. even with the greatest telescope
e. except as a mere point of light.
AS regards the proving of this mel
ula hypothesis. of course II cannot b
done. But everything points to its AZ
o- curacy. Many pebulae are seen eve
70.