The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-07-31

and that the entire solar system is moving toward
the constellation Hercules at the rate of u miles
per second or 400,000,000 miles per year. How
ever, as scientists have not yet been able to
measure the motion of Hercules, they still do not
know the absolute motion of the earth In 1880
Professor Nicholson attacked the problem OF de-
termnng the motion of the earth with reference
to the ether, the all-pervading medium that fills
interstellar space.
All of US have noticed that, when walking
through the rain, although it Is actually falling
vertically, it seems to be falling at an angle the
degree of this apparent detection depending upon
the speed with which we have moved Looking
out the window of fastmoving train scientists
have noticed similar detection in the angle of
the light coming to the earth from some far dis
tant star. AS the medium that carries the light
between heavenly bodies is the ether, scientists
argue that the detection is due to the relative
motion of the earth through the ether
Professor Nicholson eventually overcame the
tremendous experimental difficulties In connec-
tion with, this problem; but no motion of the
earth with respect to the ether was found This
result came as profound surprise to the entire
scientific world
In order to solve this problem Professor Mich.
elson invented a most marvellous instrument.
III
strument is 80 times more powerful than an alb
solutely perfect microscope would be- The micro.
scopes power is limited by the length of light
wave; and the smallest distance 1t can reveal is
one-half wave length, or one hundredthou.
sandths Of an inch. BY utilizing the properties OF
light in another manner, the interferometer can
reveal distances equivalent to one fvemillionth
of an inca. The microscope has been of immense
value both In scientific work and in practical life
and the invention of the interferometer an in.
strument so times more powerful Is In itself an
achievement that should win for Professor Mich
eson undying fame
He used this instrument to aid him In measur-
ing the standard meter, the foundation of the
metric system In terms of infinite exactitude and
In manner that viii make this unit perpetual
The original meter length is carefully preserved
at Paris; but scientists have long worried over
the possibility of its destruction In 1898 an In.
ternationai commission on weights and measures
asked Professor Nicholson to devise some method
by which the meter length could be accurately
reproduced The meter is theoretically one forty.
millionth of the earth's circumference; but this
definition is not accurate enough for scientific
purposes. Professor Nicholson announced the
length of the meter In terms of cadmium light
waves, with maximum error of one part In two
AuAS uSHniIiuu Will always GudDlG SCI
entists to reproduce the meter accurately, as
long as the earth exists
These are the most striking achievements OF
Americas greatest scientist Any one of them
is sufficient to perpe1uate mans name in the
annals of science The result of Professor Michel.
sons experiments with reference to the motion
Of the earth has raised questions that 1t win
take science many years TO answer satsfactorily;i
and his determination OF the Rightly Of the earth
has made possible further and more wonderful
progress In the sphere of celestial mechanics.