Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1913-09-09
A NATURAL RIDDLE.
Attraction Of Gravitation Is a
Mystery to Science.
IT CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE.

Vet That Wonderful Force That Di-
xects and Regulates Moons, Planets,
Suns and Stars Without Visible
Means of Connection Is lnexplieabls.
The mystery of mysteries in science
is the attraction Of gravitation-that
very force of nature that is the most
familiar to us all. 1t seems strange
that the most familiar thing in the
world shol:d be at the same time the
most inexplicable, but so II is
In order TO see clearly wherein the
mystery consists, let us first consider
whas gravitation appears to be. 1t Is
gravitation that gives the property Of
weight TO all bodies. If there were no
gravitation we could float like thistle
downs and infinitely better than this
tledowns. for they. too. are finally
brought down by gravitation.
1t is gravitation that brings a can
non ball eventually to the earth, no
matter how swiftly it may be project
ed. The faster it starts the farther 1t
will 80, but during every second Of its
fight 1t drops the same distance YER
tically toward the earth, whether the
speed impaired to it by the powder is
200 or 1900 feet per second. Gravita-
ton acts on Il moving body exactly as
well as on one Mt rest
1t is gravitation that curbs the mo-
tion of the moon and keeps it In an
orbit of which the earth is the active
focus.
So. too. il is gravitation that gov
erns the earth in its motion around the
sun. preventing it from flying away
into boundless space. Astronomy shows
that gravitation acts between all the
plants and all the stars and controls
their motions with respect to one an
other
Now. this mysterious force appears to
be an attraction. as if there were elias
tic cords connecting all the bodies in
space and tending to draw them to-
gether. But space. as far as our senses
can detect. is empty. There are no
elastic cords and no physical connec-
tons whatever between astronomical
bodies or between a flying stone or
cannon ball and the earth. How, then,
can there be an attraction? In order
that body may be attracted or drawn
there must be something to draw It.
Grayitation does the trick. but COM
pleteIy hides from us the mechanism
through which it acts. We can discov-
er no mechanism at all
When an unfortunate aerOplanist
drops from his machine at height Of
thousand feet he begins at once to
ia II toward the earth as if 1t were pull
ing him. But how can it pull II 1t
has nothing to pull with? You may
think ut first sight that 1t is the air
which acts as an intermediary, but
that is not so. because the earth and
the moon pull" upon one another with
a force equal to the strength of a steel
cable 500 miles III diameter. But there
IL no air and no other tangible thing III
the open space. 100000 miles across,
that gaps between the moon and the
earth.
Then. grayitation eXerts the same
force at every instant No matter how
fast the falling aeronaut may be de-
scendng at any moment. grayitation
will keep on adding speed as If he had
Just started Designating the slight
retardation produced by the resistance
of the air, he will fall sixteen feet in
the first second. forty eight feet in the |
second second. eighty feet in the third |
second, gaining thirty-two feet in his |
velocity during every second after the |
first.
From a height of 1000 feet he will |
come down in about eight seconds, and |
will strike the ground with a velocity |
Of about 256 feet per second. From |
height of 10000 feet he would fall in |
about twenty five seconds and would |
strike with a velocity of 400 feet per |
second.
The same kind of calculation can |
the earth and the moon. If the moon |
were not IN motion across the direc- |
ton of the earth's pull it would fall |
to the earth in about 11G hours.
Now, to return to the mystery, how |
IL this force exerted? Is it really a |
pull. as it seems to be: The answer
to which science is tending is that in
stead of being pull, gravitation is a |
push; in other words, that the falling |
aeronaut is pushed toward the ground |
and the moon is pushed toward the |
earth
On the face of it one might think |
that nothing was gained by this
theory, because it seems as impossible |
that push should be exerted without |
q tangible connection as pull. But |
the clew is found in the supposed prop
critics of that invisible. intangible, all |
pervadinG medium called the ether
This. to be sure. is explaining one
mystery by another, for we know |
nothing about the ether except that |
it conveys the waves of light and cleo
tricity; but. at any rate. it affords a
conceivable explanation of gravitation
DR.. Charles +. Brush's theory regards
the ether is being filed with a pecul-
TAR form of waves and that material
bodies may intercept these waves in
such Il way as to be pushed toward |
one another on account of the dimin-
ished effect of the ether waves in the
space between the bodies.-Garrett p.
Serviss In New York journal.