Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-10-04

-~ HE diameter of the universe is the
1onoth of 10000 Milky Ways. Ana
L This Milky Way yardstic1 IS 30,ooo
times the distance that light, traFeIlhS LoO.
600 miles per second, covers IN 0lIo ,.t} IN
Ijobt comes from the sun to the earth IN
about eight minutes.
This is the conclusion of Professor ArcII-
bo1d Henderson. of the University OF North
Carolina. given in a communication 10 az
Doar in the next issue Of Science, the Official
organ of the American Association 1or tn9
Advancement of Science. lie assumed Ule.'
space and the universe are conSVrucIo4
cording to Einsteins general relaIl'lty
theory
"T+ won7d take a ray of light, travelling
81 tho ratn Of $4,000 miles per second, one
hil1ion wears to go around the UNIVERSE
Professor Henderson says. 40 90 aIou!I"
the universe it would take the 1aSIest "I
plane three quadrillion years; the Ia9LeSC
ppIrtonobi1e five and one-haIf quadrillion
voars. and an express train, travelling at
the rate Of GO miles an hour, eleven QuaCIll-
lion years.
eff it is assumed that the average den
sitv of matter in the universe IS the SaHlV
as that of the Milky Way, the RADIUS VI
the universe is at least 15O,00O00O HSnI-
voars. or. since the distance from the earth
n The sun is 93.00O,0O0 miles, the radius
of the universe is / 100000 times 10,OOO'-
600 times the distance from the earth 10
tho sun The weight of the universe III
erammes would be + followed by 1lfty-IouF
ciDhers, which would carry us INTO the
nOnilIons of grammes
ssThe weight Of the Einstein universe
hears the same relation to the weight OF the
whole earth as the latter bears to hlogr2m.
The weight of the earth to that OF the sun
is as 1 to $4,000. Hence we should nave
to take a triIIion suns to get the weight or
the universe.
Space, according to Einstein, has seeming
ly queer properties, Professor Henderson
says:
'Einstein has advanced the view that the
universe is finite, but unbounded. This
statement sounds paradoxical, but brlet re-
Election will show that thing may be I'M
bounded without being infinite. A being
which moves on the surface of the earth.
or indeed of any sphere, may travel over
it Indefinitely without ever reaching any
boundary or limit. Similar considerations,
extended to the three-dimansiOnaI curved
space, enables US to show how the universe
may be at the same time finite and I'M.
bounded. Assuming further the existence
of pressure inside the electrically charged
particles of matter in the universe, Einstein
showed by elaborate calculations based on
general relatively that space is spherical IN
structure.
"This spherical space is curved space
which means that according to Einstein the
geometry of our universe is not Euchdean'
The universe, moreover, does not have the
shape of a sphere. 1t is not a three-dimen-
sionaI space cut out of four-dimensional
space. 1t possesses the following proper
ties: All lines starting from a point in
tersect again in the antipOdal point meas
ured along any Of these lines. If q stellar
body move through spherical space its
size gradually increases until it reaches
its maximum at the universe's outer verge;
and there as it were, re-entering the uni
verse it gradually dminishes in dimen-
sions until it ultimately reaches its original
size and position. Every point stands in
the same relation to the rest Of space as
does every other point There is no bOun-
Diary to spherical space and no center"
Professor Henderson says that the Ques-
tOin what lies beyond" has no meaning
for Einstein because the foundation Of
general relatively is the doctrine that thoro
is no space without matter or energy. If
all the heavenly bodies we know belong
to our galactic system, it is possible &C
cOrding to Einstein, that other universes eX-
list independently of our own. They may
remain forever OFFICIALLY isolated from us
by the phenomenon Of the cOsmic absOrp-
ton of light.
I'VE are doomed to dwell within finite
universe a thousand million times greater
than the region now accessible to astronom-
ical observation" Professor Henderson SAYS.
"WhiIe other Universes may paIpitate be-
yOnd our own, no ray of knowledge could
ever reach us from them.'-Science Service.
SOLAR CORONA MYSTERY
The pearly glow Of the suns corona,
seen by man only during the few brief