New-York tribune., 1922-04-23
BY DR.. Charles P. Steinrnetz


The radio waves and tho light are
the same thing. The only difference is
IN tho wave length. The average broad
casting station has wave length Of
$50 Meters, while the wave length in
beam Of light il only ore twenty
thousandth of u centimeter, and the
wave length o. tho X-ray still one
hundred times shorter. on the other
hand, the electro magnetic waves OF
Of our long distance traMsnission lines
have five million meter wave length.
The Only differences between radio
waves and light wave. Are those due
to the difference oF wave length A
radio wave passes through brick wall.
because the thickness Of the wal, is
only a small fraction OF the wave
length, while light wave is stopped
BY thin sheet OF metal, because the
thickness of even the thinnest sheet of
metal Is many time, the wave length
of light wave.
Ether Theory Unsatisfactory
For q long time we have believed
that light IS wave motion of some
Hypothetical thing, called the ether
This theory never was satisfactory. be
cause 1t required that the ether must
be so extremely thin. that the earth
and All bodies move through it with
terrific Fpeeds-l000 900 feet per sec
ond-Wlthout any trace OF friction. And
at the. same time the ether must be a
solid body Of high rigidity. This is
unreasonable. Finally the belief in an
ether had TO be abandoned 20 being
contradicted by Einstein's thcory o.
relatlvlty, which is now meeting GEN
eral acceptance.
The mistake which led TO the hypoth-
esls Of tho ether was that wave mo
tons were tho only waves known at
the time when the wave theory OF light
was proposed, and 50 the light wave
also was considered as a wave motion,
and the question asked. what moves in
tho light wave and this moving thing
called the ether? Since that time we
have long become familiar with waves
~ periodic phenomena. Thus the al
ternating current Is a wave, but moth
Ing material moves in It, Thus We
speak Of waves Of temperature, etc.
without meaning any material motion
The radio waves and light waves are
electro magnetic waves; that is. peri
odic variations Of the electro -nagnet etc
field in space.
The space in the neighboThood Of
magnet IS different from ordinary
space. 1t contains magnetic energy and
exerts magnetic forces on bodies sus-
ceptible TO them. 1t is called mag
Netic field. The space near an elec-
/ trified body is an electric field. That
is, it contains stored electric energy
| and eXerts electric forces on bodies
susceptible to them. An electric cur
| rent produces a magnetic feld \ vol
tage produces an electric field. and as
current and voltage usually occur to-
gether, an electric circuit gives a mag
netic and an electric field; that is, an
electro magnetic field.
Light and Radio Waves Same
If voltage and current are constant
their electromagnetic field is constant
If current and voltage vary the electro
magnetic field varies; if they alternate
the electro magnetic field alternates,
ard such an alternating electro
magnetic field We call an electro
magnetic wave. If 1t altcrnates about
million times n sccond the electro
magnetic wave IS radio wave like
that through which | speak to you; il
{ it alternates nearly hundred million
+ OF million times p second it is a beam
! of light.
! Thus the radio waves and the light
: rays are electro magnetic waves; that
Ia. alternating electro agnetic fields
Now, an electromagnetic field is 3
storage OF electric and magnetic
energy in space, which exerts electric
and magnetic forces. This cnergH
must be supplied from the source OF
the wave, and this takes time, so that
the electromagnetic field or tbs
electro magnetic wave cannot appeal