The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-18
ROTATION OF EARTH
SHOWN IN LECTURE
Prof. Turner Gives Practical
Demonstration With Ball
Hanging on String.
SPACE VOYAGE HIS THEME
Others Thought Of Trip to Moon
Lon" Before Jules Verne.
He Says.
SPACE VOYAGE HIS THEME
SPECIAL Correspondence TO The srN.

Sptc.d! Correspondence 10 IHE sCN.
LONDON. Jan. s.--A demonstration prov.
Ing the fact that the earth is going round
was given recently by Prof. II. II. Turner
Savilian professor of astronomy In the
University of oxford. The lecture was one
OF a series entitled "A Voyage in Space
and the first was entitled THE Starting
Point-Our Earth"
The lecturer pointed out that Il was rec-
essary first OF all firmly to grasp the fact
that IL you hang weight-a dumbbell or
a cannon ball-On the end of string which
IL fastened 10 something steady and give
IL a straight swing II will go on swinging
like "A pendulum, TO and fro In "A straish t
line. and will not 10 sideways by SO much
Us hairs breadth. II will swing true
until Il stops.
Prof. Turner hung a heavy ball on a
long str.ns from the ceiling and set II
swinging. Behind the table was large
magic lantern screen. magic lantern
stood some distance away, pouring its
light on the screen. The ball swung back
ward and forward. so that the string was
at first between the screen and the middle
OF the lanterns lens. A black line was
marked down the screen, and when the
ball began swinging the shadow of the
string was on this line.
If the earth had been standing still the
shadow OF the string would have gone on
covering the line down the screen.
But the earth was moving, and the
Royal Institution was moving with It, and
the screen and the lantern were moving.
and the audience and the professor were
moving also although they could not sec T..
AS the audience watched IL saw the
shadow Of the string travel sideways. For
minute or two the shadow OF the swing
ing string covered the black line down the
screen. Gradually II travelled 10 the left.
In a few minutes the broad shadow thrown
by the string az 1t neared tine lantern
was all 10 the LETT of the line down the
screen. the professor continued his lee
turc. the earth went on rotating. the leo
ture room continued 10 heel over and the
shadow of the swinging string went
further and further across the screen until
II was right away from the marked line.
This was only one Of the captivating
experiments with which the lecture was
eniivened. The professor also cracked 4
number OF scientific jokes, which greatly
pleased his audience. Among his jests
were the following
at raises the question whether II Is
better to believe things Just because they
tell one or try to find out for oneself
There il no doubt in some cases. such rs
poison"
"A parabola il curve which never
comes back so that II is n course 10 be
avoided by aerial travellers"
THAT Newton saw the apple fall IL
proved by the piece OF the actual apple
tree, belonging to the Royal Institution,
which lies on the table"
Prof. Turner said that the idea Of a
voyage In space was no new one. Luci.Ln
had imagined the flight OF Tcaromenippus
up to heaven Jules Verne and H. G
Wells had by various methods conveyed
men from the earth To the moon and
George Griffith had gone even further.
The main difficulty in the way Of per-
forming such Il voyage was gravity, the
! action of which had taken great deal
OF finding out.
Aristotle said" he continued. that a
weight OF ten pounds. for example fell
ten times as fast rs n weight OF one pound
and the world went on believing II for
1000 years But Calico preferred to try
for himself by dropping Aristotle's weights
from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and
though people stll did not believe him.
, he showed that they reached the ground
practically together.
I'm Il vacuum a sovereign and feather
arrive at the bottom simultaneously II
Jules Nerne's dog had received any kind
or shove on leaving the projectle II would
not have remained satellite but would
have proceeded on path OF its own"