Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-01-24
Mystery of the Suns Light.


= - aarrsst p ssrviss.
TTBAT is violent agitation Of the infnitesimal par
III tcles molecules. OF which all matter IL COM
posed; hence there be no heat In a vacuum.
there particles OF matter TO be agitated.
in the ether. which is a medium that does not
obey the ordinary laws OF matter.
But, on the other hand. the vibrations that give
rise when they encounter material bodies must
ether Il the ether which carries
them. and since ether is not excluded, like matter.
from what call a vacuum. II follows that those
vibrations may exist in a vacuum In fact, the only
thing that q vacuum contains is ether
According 10 the strict meaning of the term
vacuum should contain nothing whatever but
unable get the ether out and perforce, let
II go at that Experiment long ago showed that a
quantity Of the vibrations which produce heat
passes through vacuum than through an equal space
filled with air
The only way In which heat Ia supplied to US from
the 10 by OF vibrations In the alenveopng
ether. While they are the ether. before they have
struck the earths atmosphere and through the atros
phere, tho earth ITSELF the vibrations bear the same
relation heat that the electric impulses in teie-
phone wire bear to the sounds into which they are
transformed they strike the receiver
The thing IL true Of the vibrations that pro
duce light They not really light until they have
impinged upon our eyes and affected our nerves of
vision In such manner to set UP another sort OF
vibration or agitation the molecules Of brains.
and this causes the sensation OF seeing the per-
ception Of what we call light.
Consequently. while all space around the sun rs
filled with vibrations capable of being transformed
into light and heat there is neither light nor heat in
open space. except where the vibrations encounter
some material object whose molecules be asitated
by impact and thus bring about the transforms
ton needed
No doubt these vibrations conveyed from the by
the ether may produce many other effects upper
ceived by unknown to us. because we have no
special nerves. organs OF sensation. suitable to
their perception.
The ether, you will observe is a very mysterious
thing end the discovery OF s existence is Of the
greatest triumphs OF human intelligence II seems TO
possess of the properties OF matter. and yet 1t
defies most Of the laws Of matter as we know them
When try to define II we Immediately begin to
contradict ourselves. and to be talking nonsense
and without the hypothesis OF the existence Of this
wonderful something nothing nearly the whole edfce
OF modern science would tumble into ruin.
Investigation of the world of matter in which we
live and of which we a part leads to the
OF precpice. in the dark, where science sustained
by faith In her hypotheses steps boldly out over the
void s herself astonshed to find that instead OF
being precipated into the gulf she is borne like
spirit across I'll
To study all the phenomena Of heat would require
the devotion OF entire lifetime. Have you ever
reflected the why heat turn iron into
a liquid and water into steam? Most persons seeing
these things done. knowing that they done,
every day. think about It,
It II not from among such persons that the great
leaders OF human advance make their appearance II
10000 would think earnestly about these things
for every who thus thinks about them today the
world would soon base with intellectual light like
born sum-
But TO return to the answer to question. Iron
is melted and water s vaporzed by that very shaking
agitation of their constituent particles OF which
have been speaking. The molecules particles OF
solid liquid held together by their mutual
attractonnot the attraction of sravitaton, but
other sort OF attraction called cohesion.
The distance over which this kind OF attraction
acts n very small Each particle draws upon its Inn
mediately surrounding particles and they. In turn
OF a portion Of liquid is held together
In solids the force Of cohesion great that the
lively weak that the particles may slide about
over one another; In g gas. or vapor, there is no
cohesion.
into extraordinary vibration and II the heating "a
hesion win be far weakened that they begin to
slide over another. the solid liquid.
Carry the heating stl farther and the particles win
be shaken that they lose their cohesive grip en-
tirely. and the liquid expands into a vapor
As you sit in front of your winter fire and the
black coal. or the hard wood molecularly shaken
asunder in the jaws OF heat until part OF Il ascends
in and part falls in aahes. while the agitation
sets up new waves Of heat in the surrounding air
and ether you may II you will become a philosopher
and contribute your little share to the thinking
| which drives the world.