Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-10-03
A COMFORTABLE THEORY.
German Professor Says Human Race
Will Never Perish.

IL il is a comfort TO anybody to feel
that lie Will exist forever on our planet
instead of lasting only few million
years after he is gone he should by all
means read the address of a German
scientist who holds out this hope to the
race, says the Literary Digest. The
eternity of matter has always been pro-
claimed by science. but she has denied
the indefinite existence of the particu-
lar groups and systems of matter that
we find in our own universe Flam-
marion, in his END of the World"
enumerates many causes, any one of
which, acting by itself, would bring the
present world to its termination. 1t
would seem to be only a question of
which should achieve it's end soonest.
Now. however. comes Prof. Gustave
Jaumann. of the Brunn Polytechnic
school, Germany. and announces in an
inaugural address on Modern views of
the end of the world quite a different
doctrine. The modern view, he asserts,
is that the universe is stable Disturbing
forces act only to call into being other
opposing forces which will restore the
balance of things. Loss of heat is bal
anced by the inflow of gravitational en-
ergy. These views. he tells us, are the
consequences of new theories of gravi-
tation which take into account the fact
that the grayitational impulse requires
time to travel through space. Newton's
law on this view holds exactly only for
bodies at rest whereas our system is in
motion. We read in a translation of
Prof Jaumann's address into French
-
THE anomalies of the field of gravita-
ton are compensated, in cosmc space.
according to a law analogous TO that
which governs the Irregularities of dstrr-
button of temperatures in the mass OF a
conductor of heat. 1t is only for bodies
at rest that Newton's law of effects at
ii distance follows exactly from the dill
ferential law of gravitation. The mo-
tons of the planets involve disturbances
"a kind of accumulation, so to speak, of !
the field of gravitaton in front of these
bodies, giving rise to new gravitatlonal
forces which are added to the Newtonan
forces |
Although very small indeed, these |
forces may be calculated with great pre- !
cision; the most important of them is in !
the direction of the planets motion and
thus aids that motion. 1t increases with
the planets velocity and varies in in |
verse ratio to the distance from the !,
sum. These new gravitational forces in
troduce into the movements of the plan
cts disturbances that may be calculated
without difficulty, and that determine the
departures from Newtons law that have
been noted above, such as abnormal ro-
Iations of the perihelion, abnormal ac-
.elerations, abnormal oscillations of the
serticaI, etc Thus are explained all the
oeculiarities of gravitation. which New
on's law of action at a distance could
lot do. These new forces of gravitation.
moreover, give to the planetary system
physical stability of practically UNI
United extent.
They preserve the present forms of
considerable resistances due to friction
With the cosmic ether, but despite huge
occidental disturbances. If perturba-
ion of this nature. due, for instance, to
he passage, near the solar system, of
fixed star at high speed, should COM
,letely change the form of the planets
'rbits, the new gravitational forces
would introduce into the elements of the
,rbits such variations that the orbits
would return exactly to their present
table forms.
Far from being fatal to us. the fric-
ional resistance of the cosmic etherl
would appear On,y as factor destined
- 10 kss