Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-02-17
FLASHING SIGNALS
TO OTHER WORLDS
Scientists Of Earth Want to Beat
Inhabitants Of Other Planets
in Communication.
Frederic J. Haskin.

professors and scientists plan communica-
tion from our end One astronomer Is
s,n,ny ,p I'm a balloon 10 observe the planets
more closely, and study ways of letting
other worlds know that the earth Is in-
hahited.
Another professor has invented n multi
ple-charre rocket which will explode at
various points IN its flight, thus providing
additi NAL motive power az each explosion.
With this rocket he believes that he can
test the character Of the air two hundred
miles above the earth while a similar rocket
built ON a giant scale. To weigh say 1900
pounds, would il properly directed reach
the moon.
Some wireless experts believe that we
shall soon he able 90 exchange wireless
messages with such OF the planets as may
n, populated. Five minutes was once set
bv AN electrical authority rs n reasonable
length of time for a radio impulse 60 Hash
between the earth and Mars. Compare
this five minutes with the amount of
time u would take AN airplane 10 reach
our nearest ncighboring planets. A plane
travelling steadily at 200 miles an hour
could go almost 5000 miles in twenty
four hours. and could cover million
miles in 200 days. Venus is at its nearest
approach twenty-five million miles from
US. and Mars is thirty. FIVE million. This
givrs some idea of the distance of space,
and also Of the speed of a wireless that, it
is estimated, could cross the void In
tive minutes.
NOT T,Rsr MYSTERIOUS SIGNALS.
Whether Some other wor, ,d has mastered
radio 70 a greater extent than the gcni,Ises
of the earth is the mercst g,icSs work.
But this Is not the first time that mySter
iols signals have been received hy wlre
less operators Signor Marconi reported
unaccountable disturbances a year ago,
and some wears before that another elec-
trical expert had a similar experience.
That these wireless disturbances might
possibly come from the planet Venus IS the
opinion expressed by DIR Charles G.. Abbott
Of the Smithsonian Institution.
We have not vet proved the existence
of life on Venus, says DR.. Abbott, but
conditions there sre more favorable for
life than on any Of the other worlds except
our own"
Mars" nc maintains. ''is absolutely
incapable Of supporting life, and therefore
could not be the outside party trying 20
sirnsl the earth
Students OF rs dio have attempted 10
explsln the queer sounds coming from
some great distance rs messages from
another planet As Mars has repeatedly
heen peoplcd by scientists and fiction
writers, IL Is usually selected as the planet
most likely TO he paging the earth. This
idea Is all wrong, according TO DIR. Abbott.
Mars" he states, rs as dry as any
desert In the world. In fact, the Sahara
would be quite damp IN comparison with
the fields of Mars. As water rs essential 10
human existence, tins precludes the pos
sibility Of life there"
The dryness of Mars is concluded from
the fact that there are no clouds surround
ing it TO create vspor. That there are no
SEES or rivers on the dying planet was
long ago decided by astronomers.
The idea of life on the planet was ad- |
vocated through the discovery of the so |
called canal Of Mars, IN 1877. Some /
astronomers Immediately deduced that I
the network OF straight hines discovered was /
a gigantic irrigation system by which /
an ingenious race of Martisns supplied
their fields with moisture in last stand
for existence.
The source Of the water supply, accord
ing to this theory. Is the snow and ice
fields at the poles. White circles are plainly
visible at the poles OF Mars at times, but
astronomers differ rs 70 their character.
Some say that they are deposits OF frozen
carbonic acid gas, which idea spoils en-
tirely the theory OF polar water supply
Others think that the white patches may
be ice. but even so, there may be only
thin skim hike frost, for IL is believed that
a layer a quarter of an inch thick would
make the surface appear perfectly white.
REJECTS MARrIANS CANAL THEORY.
Whether seas Of ice form at the poles OF
Mars or not, IL is difficult TO conceive
of sufficient water being obtained to
irrigate SIX hundred canals, stretching
over thousands of miles. Imagine canals
five or ten miles wide dug from Boston
t. Mexico City, and from Seattle to At
lanta, and then, with this as a scale,
imagine 600 such engineering projects,
and you have a vague idea of what YOU
must believe if you accept the Martian
canal theory.
Astronomers who refute the canal
story, say that the lines seen are optical
illusions. Occulists make various expert
ments to show that at certain angles or . !
distances crooked lines appear straight. ,
Dr a series of short lines seem to be one
continuous line. Something of this sort
nay be the explanation of the Martian
annals. At times, the surface of the planet
appears marked only with numerous
hort lines, and then again the long
straight lines can be seen.
Some OF these explanations are mere
theory, but DIR. Campbell OF Lick OBJ ?
ervatory made two convincing tests TO
,rove the absolute dryness of Mars
The general idea was that in the spectrum
he vapor of the earths atmosphere r
hows dark lines. DIR Campbell went up
N Mt. Whitney and found that there ,
vas not enough water vapor on Mars TO
,roduce any effect on the spectrum.
DR.. Abbott has weighed all this and =
'ther data relative TO Mars, and, states
hat the only reasonable conclusion is
hat Mars is a cold and barren world. .
Venus, on the other hand, may be re- >,
arded as a favorable place for habitation,
e thinks. Venus is a young planet Just ,
oming into It's own, and if there is anv- q
hing IN the belief that worlds were made
0 live In, Venus should be tenanted. =
he only trouble In building theories TO
{ Venus is that the planet is always \
nveloped IN a mass of clouds, so that :
ven though it is closer TO us than Mars. ,
ct its surfac is not so distinct. a
While we cannot get definite view of i.
MS mysterious and neglected planet. we a
now that it is only two hundred miles
SIS in diameter than the earth. and that :,
s temperature is similar To our tropics. ~
he cloud blankets reflect about seventy =.
er cent of the suns heat and cool the ~
which otherwise would be p
'uch too hot for life The clouds indicate ID
ater " por, and therefor both air and :,