Evening star., 1926-11-26
TESTS SUPPORT
E|NSTE|N THEORY
Scientist Uses Tiny Mirror to
Prove Opponents of ReIa-
tivity Wrong.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

PASADENA, Calf, November 26.-
The failure Of a tiny mirror. half an
inch in diameter, to turn when DR..
Carl T. Chase Of the Norman Bridge
Laboratory of Physics here was per-
forming an experiment may prove to
be strong evidence in support Of Elm
STEMS theory of relativity 1t differs
from results obtained by DR.. Dayton
c. Miller and which have been inter
preted by authorities on the subject
as antagonistic to Einstein's ideas.
In DR.. Chase'S experiment, he re-
peated one performed by two English
physicists about 20 years ago, and
which was repeated in Germany with
in the last two years. According to
the older ideas, which relativity has
changed, all space Is filled with a hy-
pothetical medium called the ether,
which is stationary, while the planets,
including the earth, and other astro-
nomical objects move through it.
If this were the case and a small
condenser, similar to that used in
radio sets, were on the earth, moving
through the ether and were hung free
ly so that it could turn, the motion
through the ether would tend to twist
1t. In the previous attempts, no such
rotation was found.
Experiment Blocks Twisting.
According to DIR. Chase, however,
the way the experiment was done pre-
viously was such that even If the con-
denser had been moving through the
ether no twisting could have taken
place. In the German experiments,
conducted by DR.. r. Tomaschek of the
University of Heidelberg, says DR..
Chase, connection of the condenser
with the electrical apparatus required
to charge 1t was made through the
fine upper wire by which it was hung
and through wire hanging from it
and dipping into an acid solution.
He has repeated this arrangement
and has found that the friction Of the
wire in the liquid is SO great that the
top Of the suspending wire can be
deliberately twisted through two or
three complete revolutions without
turning the condenser, or the mirror
attached to it, and by means Of which
the rotation is measured.
In DR.. Chase's apparatus the con-
denser and the mirror are hung on
a wire Of phosphor bronze a yard long
and two thousandths Of an inch in
diameter. A duplicate of this wire,
fastened at the bottom, provides the
other connection. while the condenser
itself is inclosed in a steel cylinder
9 inches high. 3s inches in diameter,
with walls fve-eighths Of an inch
thick.
Tubes Contain Wires.
Long brass tubes from the top and
bottom contain the supporting wires.
The steel cylinder prevents heat cur
rents within and electrical disturb
ances from without. The condenser
was about an eighth Of an inch thick,
weighed about third Of an ounce and
had a capacityt Of .04 microfarad.
To make the observations, readings
had to be taken of the apparatus,
by means Of light reflected from the
tiny mirror. every minutes for "a
hours at a stretch. No evidence Of
any turning corresponding to O. mo-
ton Of the earth through the ether
was found. says DR.. Chase, even
though he has estimated his apparatus
delicate enough to have detected a
motion Of 23s miles a second, much
less than the motion was supposed
~ N