The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1913-11-07
A NATURAL RIDDLE.
Attraction of Gravitation Is a
Mystery to Science.
1T CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE.
Vet That Wonderful Force That Di-
rects and Regulates Moons, Planets,
Suns and Stars Without Visible
Means OF Connection Is lnexplicsble.

GUNS ana otarS WIthout visible
Means OF Connection Is lnexplicable.
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 should be at the same time the
most inexplicable, but so 1t is.
In order to see clearly wherein the
mystery consists. let us first consider
what gravitation appears to be. 1t is
grayitation that gives the property Of
weight to all bodies If there were no
gravltation we could 6oat like thistle
downs and infinitely better than this
tledowns, for they, too. are finally
brought down by grayitation.
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 it
will go, 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
800 or 1900 feet per second. Gravita.
ton acts on a moving body exactly as
we'll as on one at rest
1t Is gravitation that curbs the mo-
tion of the moon and keeps 1t in an
orbit of which the earth is the active
focus
SO, too. it is gravitation that gov
erns the earth in it's motion around the
sun. preventing it from flying away
into boundless space Astronomy shows
that gravitadon 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-
tions whatever between astronomical
bodies or between a flying stone or
cannon ball and the earth. How, then.
can there be an abrasion? In order
that body may be attracted or drawn
there must be something to draw it.
Gravitation does the trick but com
pletely 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 a height Of
a thousand feet he begins at once to
fall toward the earth as if 1t were pull
ing him But how can it pull If it
has nothing TO pull with? You may
think at first sight that il is the air
which acts as an intermediary. but
that is not go. because the earth and
the moon pull upon one another with
a force equal to the strength OF a steel
cable 500 miles in diameter But there
is no air and no other tangible thing in
the open space. 100000 miles across,
that gaps between the moon and the
earth.
Then. gravitation exerts the same
force at every instant No matter how
| fast the falling aeronaut may be de-
scending at any moment, gravitation
will keep on adding speed as If he had
| Just started. Disregarding 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 thirtytwo 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 $50 feet per second. From 3
height of 10000 feet he would fall in
about twenty five seconds and would
strike with velocity Of 400 feet per
| second
The same kind of calculation can
| be applied to the gravitation between
| the earth and the moon. If the moon
| were not In motion across the direc-
| tion of the earth's pull" it would fall
| to the earth in about ll6 hours.
Now. to return to the mystery, how
is this force exerted? Is it really q
| pull, as 1t seems to be? The answer
to which science is tending is that In
stead of being a pull, gravitation is q
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 q push should be exerted without
a tangible connection as pull. But
the clew is found in the supposed prop
critics Of that invisible, intangible, al
pervading medium called the ether
This, to be sure. is explaining one
mystery by another, for we know
nothing about the ether except thai
II conveys the waves of light and elec
tricity: but. Of any rate. it affords 9
conceivable explanation Of gravitation
Dr. Charles F. Brush's theory regard:
the ether is being filed with pecul
lar form of waves and that materia
bodies may intercept these waves IL
such a way as to be pushed toward
one another on account of the dimin
ished effect of the ether waves In th
space between the bodies. Garrett P
Serviss in New York Journal.
IL you know bow to spend less thai
you get you have the philosopher
stone, Benjamin Franklin.