Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-08-03

There are only thirteen. OF us VINO
understand the Einstein ftheory-but
no matter.
DIR. Paul r. Hey1 Of the United
States Bureau of Standards may be
one-but no matter. jDr. Heyl has
been testing it. to discover whether
ity hold good. Was that Newton
pippin. which fell on his head, sweet
or sour? But, no matter. for it's only
pure science"
DR.. HeyI has a, bunch that If by
laying a long crystal fiat on the
scales, or by standing II up. he can
note a differen oe in its weight, he
will prove that, the apple which ex-
posed what holds the sun. moon and
stars in their orbits. was sweet or
sour. II the crystal weighs more
when fat on the scales, than when IL
stands up, ttsan Newton was right and
Einstein is wrong-but. no matter.
This won't change the weight OF ten
is only pare science" 1t won't help
the farm bloc one whit. No matter.
What yis really interesting is the
extreme delicacy of the scales used
by DR.. Heyl. They are enclosed in
three inches of cork and a wooden
blanket and kept in one room. while
the operator stays in another room
separated by brick wall. through
which he peers with a telescope at the
scales pointer. The separation is to
prevent the operators breath from
affecting the temperature Of the
scales or of the crystal he is weigh
ing
When. with long iron rods. reaching
from the operators room 'to the
scales in the other room. he shifts
the position Of the crystals, the scales
pointer oscillates for two hours be-
fore il comes to a Quiet decision
Up TO date, DR. Heyl. has found no
difference in the weight of the crystal
no matter at what angle II lies
hence Einstein is right. and the New
ton apple was sour. That is as clear
as crystal.
ing of the crystal and its negative
results. in spite Of all lima ginable pre-
cautions against extraneous inhu-
ences. bring to mind the efforts taken
within the last year or two by an
American practical scientist" of
Worldwide fame. He sought 10 dis
cover the weight Of a human soul by
weighing the body Of a man imme-
diately before and after death The
theory was that nothing could leave
a. body. and yet the body weigh
exactly the same: therefore, by nicely
weighing before and again after
death he could prove or disprove the
existence of "A soul
His tests came TO naught. Even if
they had shown a change of weight
that would have proved nothing. for
the soul is n spirit, and a spirit is no
matter to be weighed
IF his scales had shown varia-
ion. that might have been due to the
natural gas of the body. and there
would have been no identification Of
soul.
The remarkable part Of the test
by the practical man" lay in the fact
that a man. very great in his way
should nave reasoned himself into
such an undertaking. SO far is the
practical man" from comprehending
the scope and range of pure
science"
What practical application will
ever come from the Einstein theory?
viii water run uphill, under the Elm
stein theory, any better than it docs
under Newton's laws Of gravitation?
That does not concern the scientist
Franklin knew nothing about the
application of the fire which came
down his kite string. but he proved a
new fact in pure science" showing
that lightning. which could rend
mountains and shake the dome Of
heaven. was electricity
The science OF aviation was made
known and was demonstrated in the
first century after Christ. Its mathe-
NAUTICAL principles were worked out
by Leonardo da Ninci about the time
Am erica was discovered by Columbus
but II was not made practical until
the Wright brothers glided twenty
years ago. How il has changed the
deStinies OF the world. in it's practical
application during the world war. has
not yet been comprehended. Within
the next decade it will supersede