Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-07-16


Explanation Is Given on This Page.
In space from right 10 lot. Observers in
the tower At" ahou' 10 drop The ball and
10 calculate lis exact path as /, falls. with
the finest scientific Instruments
Imagine yourscl, of In space. NTH an.
other Sc, OF Observes equipped with high
powered telescopes and equally fine scicu.
tific instruments for measurement OF the
line tho ball makes when Il falls
You can sec tho ball ,all. just rs tho
people In the tower can-h but what YOU
can also see and what the people in the
tower cannot sec Is Tho revolving move
ment Of the earth which takes place while
the ball l. falling
In tho 'op panel tho observers in the
tower drop the ball lmpolled by gravita.
,on Il falls in an absolutely straight limo
TO earth. along the dotted line parallel ut
every moment with tho tower Itself They
have measured its movement and found
tho line absolutely straight.
Meanwhile. In the bottom panel. we have
been making observations OF tho falling
ball from our position out in space
AS the ball is falling the earth revolvcs
short distance from right 20 efr. and the
tower with Il. SO also docs the ball fall.
Ing in a perfectly straight line with rcla.
ton to tho tower and FOR this very reason
that IL does 'cnd 10 follow the tower and
fall In straight line with relation to II.
the ball falls in "A curved line with relation
TO our instruments out in space
Study the dotted lines. Us amazing.
but It's true. SO this is RELATIVELY!
And wha; Professor Ens'cln has done
is 10 apply this principle of relatively 10
tho problems o. physics astronomy and
higher mathematics.
He tells you that there may he a con.
ccivablc condition in which two and TWO
do not make fOur-n which a straight lire
may not be the shortest distance between
jwo points--in which two sides OF tr!.
angle may no, be longer than It's third side.
To explain this, he supposcs n "fourrn
dimension" aud curved space" Do no,
be afraid o. the phrases. You know whn,
tho three dimensions are-length. width
and thickness. And YOU know what space
= as conceived in these three dimensions
kinsteins contention is that space itself
may ne curved or bent" on some ggan.
tic scale. so that line which travels
straight by Euclidan geometry for a
distance approaching inhnity might event.
ualy come back 10 the point from which
II originally set out.
Still more extraordinary arc Einstcln's
conclusions about the speed OF light. All
scientists know that light travels AT the
rate OF $4,000 miles n second. Einstein' :
theory. according 10 some opponents, pre-.
sonts the amazing supposition that a ray
OF light Will travel past an object which
is itself moving rapidly either toward or
away from it at exactly the same rate II
would pass 1t If the object were standing
still.
The large black and.white drawing on
this page illustrates this idea. 1t repre-
sents an immense railroad bridge stretch
ing for billions OF miles through infinite
space On it is an electric train speeding
toward the reader At 1000 miles per Sec
ond. At each end OF tho train are two
mirror refectors. facing each other.
Fastened to the bridge is a scarchlight.
AS the front end of the train passes the
scarchlight the searchlight sends back a
ray Of light which strikes the rear mirror
of the moving train. This rear mirror
then throws the light forward to the front
mirror. The front mirror. being on the
moving train. Is speeding away from tho
ray OF light which is chasing it. You would
expect that the reflected ray OF light-the
first fash which dartcd from the rear mir.
Tor the instant the snarChlight first struck
it-woud. in order 10 reach The front mir
ror. have TO travel the milion-mile length
Of the train PLUS the distance which III.
front mirror has been carried by the NOV.
ing train during the time light takes Ia
catch IT. In other words you would SIM
pose by the rules OF physics. the raw would
have TO travel farther, and therefore, have
to take longer time. because of the trains
movement. than II the train had been
standing still But Enalein's theory, and
certain actual experiments seem to prove
that the ray of light would take exactly
the same time TO make the journey as II
the train were standing stIll.
From this the extraordinary idea ia de-
duccd that the speed of light between two
bodies is not affected ny the movements
of either body" In other words two
planets may be moving toward each other
or away from each other at an enormous
rate OF speed, yet tho time it takes for
light TO travel between them Is the same
as ifShcy were both standing still!
Is the Einstcin theory true? Nobody
knows. He doesn't know himself. But the
worlds greatest astronomers and mathe-
: matcans have discovered that IL seems 10
work practically in certain cases, ami
therefore they believe ii may he true ana
regard IIinstein as one of the worlds
greatest living men.