The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-07-26

HOLES IN THE OCEAN
BY Frederic J. Haskin.

= q d3Sk1n. 81
e1acens1etcsetgs
his disposal. He should not rest his
produce on the ocean bottom. how
ever. because the interior heat OF the
earth makes the water very near 1t
a degree warmer than is that a little
higher up.
The water pressures in the depths
are so terrific that no device that
man has created can exist even few
hundred feet below the surface.
When q diver, for instance, goes
down hundred feet, his chest must
resist the pressure of column Of
water as great as its surface and 81
hundred feet high. So remarkably
efficient is the construction of man
that, IL given time to adjust itself.
the chest will pack air into itself to.
such an extent that the pressure will
counterfeit the water weight. II he
were pulled suddenly to the surface.
with his body filed with compressed
gases intensified to meet the condt-l
ton OF the depths he would burst
because of their expansion and be
instantly killed.
II a box, each side of which mea-
sured a foot, and which contained
an inner air space, were sent down
"a mile in the ocean, it would have
to be strong enough to resist a pres
sure of about 200 tons. on each OF
its faces, or be crushed. This pres
sure would increase with the exposed
surface and the strain on vessel
of any considerable size would soon
become such as could be resisted by
no structure.
A Disappointing Experiment.
An interesting experiment was once
made in the tropics. which demon
strated both the principles of ocean
temperature and pressure. A merry
making party decided that it would
avail itself of the refrigerating pos
sibilities of ocean depths in cooling
its champagne 1t sunk its bottles
on long lines and left them overnight.
Next morning they We're pulled up]
and found to be ice cold. When the
bottles were opened, however, they
contained sea water instead of cham
payne. The pressure of the depths
had diminished the size of the corks
and allowed the champagne to es-
cape.
Another feature of the ocean depth
is the entire absence of light from
the sun. The light penetrates deep
when the suns rays strisse perpendf-
cularly. The day beneath the sur
face is short. the twilight long and
the hours of darkness longer. Even
at best, those rays which make OBJ
jects visible go down but few hun
bred feet. There are other rays not,
seen with the eye that go deeper.
Thse rays may be recorded on o.
Photographic plate and it is there
fore possible to make picture of
depths which could not be seen even
q Ta1xy 70
Below all of this is absolute dark
ness. Many of the creatures Of the
deep are without eyes, for there is
no light with which they may see.
Others Of them have eyes made USE
full by the fact that they have their
own lighting plants and their own
installations which they carry around
with them They possess a phos-
phorescence which lights their way
and eyes that are adapted to it. Theral
is one of these fishes of the deep with
truding from its head and serving the
purpose torch bearer does in al
parade.
Mysterious Worlds.
These tiny wires that reach into
the blue have brought back many
messages of the life that exists there.
In the first place, it is demonstrated
that plant life does not reach beyond
the influence of the sun, and is there
fore phenomenon of the regions
near the surface. Below that is
creatures that are peculiarly adapted
to it. There are no depths so great
| that they are not abundantly sup
piled with animal life-strange crea7
lures of eternal darkness that have
never seen nor been seen except In
their own mysterious sphere, and
that would explode like fire cracker
| if brought suddenly to the surface.
When a wire goes down five miles.
there is always an instrument on the
end of it that brings back sample,
of the ocean bottom. It may carry;
drag net that will accumulate,
specimens Of the life at the bottom.
Nets have been dragged through the.
waters at the various depths and
every where an abundance of life has
been found.
These were but small nets, of
course. and not capable of snaring|
monsters of the deep If there be any.
No evidence has been gathered that
would indicate that there are crea-
lures in the holes in the ocean that
would dwarf the whale and put thet
mammoth to shame. 1t has not, how
ever. been proved that such crea-
lures do not exist, and it is stated
that so slight an exploration into
the region in which man dwells might
not have shown his existence nor that
of the biggest animal of the earth's
surface. The ocean bottom is still
a mystery which may eventually rel
veal secrets that are beyond the con-
ception of the most imaginative.
-=------------= NOTICE.
From this date on any person wish