Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-23
Bv GARRETT p. SERVISS.

pressure would not prevent any
body that readily sinks to the bot
tom of a glass of water from sink
ing to the bottom of the deepest
hole in the Pacific. This Is due to
the fact that water Is almost alb
solutely incompressible, SO that its
relative density is very slightly in
creased even at a depth of six
miles. If, then, any body is denser
than water at the surface it will be
denser also al the sea bottom, and
thus nothing will prevent it from
continuing to sink, as long as there
is any water under it. Even a piece
of cork, if once immersed deeply
enough to be greatly compressed by
the pressure Of the water, would
inevitably sink to the bottom.
No Sunlight.
There is no sunlight In the ocean
at a depth beyond a few hundred
yards. The blacklist of black
nights prevail there. The most
brilliant electric light could be
seen but a short distance away.
whether there is any life in the
deepest abysses we do not know,
but we do know that wonderful
creatures live at depths of many
thousands of feet, and possibly
there may be such inhabitants even
in the profoundest depressions.
The creatures of the ocean live
in a land of wonderful valleys,
plains, caves, mountain ranges and
peaks. The water is their atmos-
phere. Nature has not left them
without light, although she has de-
prived them Of the sunshine. Many
of them make their own light. They
possess a chemistry far more cum
ming than ours. If we ever master
its secret there will be a revolu-
ton in industry.
Here is legitimate field for the
Imagination. If we could drop
down into that abyss near the Phil
ippines, it is possible that as we
approached the bottom we should
look down upon a marvellous spec
tacle. We might think that we
were drawing near to some magical
city, Illuminated with stationary
and moving lights, initiating the
soft splendor of millions Of glow
worm and FREELY candles. Over
the rocks and the red ooze would
crawl creatures such as neither
science nor fancy has ever drawn,
their long. pendulous bodies
adorned with rows of phosphores-
cent lights, like the battle lam
terms of an old-time frigate. In
some the lights would be concen-
trated about the head, surrounding
the huge eyes with circles of
strange incandescence and project
ing pale green rays into the encir-
cling gloom, Wonderful shadows
would play through the passages Of
that submarine city. Darling and
struggling forms would be seen
for the creatures of the ocean. no
less than those of the land. are
subject to the law that life must
feed upon life, and they are as mer-
CHESS as anything that lives in the
sunlight. We might see. issuing
from cavernous holes, creatures a
glimpse of which would make lis
turn and hasten away upward.
where they could not follow.
These, to be sure, are fancies,
but they are not unwarranted by
the discoveries that biologists have
already made in the ocean deeps.
The fact is. we are too fond of
setting limits to what nature can
do, We should mediate on what
the great French mathematician
and physicist, Henri Poincare-
who died the other day-said: The
human mind is only lightning
fash; but that flash Is all We
have"