Evening star., 1937-06-24
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,

Possibility of anything like terres-
trial life on earths sister planets,
Venus and Mars, became DINNER with
for the Advancement OF Science in
Denver, Colo, today on the atmo-
spheres of these heavenly bodies.
If there are MARS men" they must
get along almost entirely without wa
ter it was brought out in a report
urements conducted by Drs. Walter S.
Adams and Theodore Dunham, jr, Of
the Carnegie Institution of Washing
ton.
This question long has perplexed
astronomers. During the Martian
Winter white caps form over its north
ern hemisphere. These have been at
tributed to ice. When Spring comes
these caps rapidly decrease in size
and greenish color appears which
can be attributed to vegetation.
No Water Traces.
The Carnegie Institution astron-
omers studied the spectrum of re-
flected sunlight from the surface Of
the center Of Mars for traces of wa
ter vapor in the atmosphere. The
absorption of light by different types
of molecules through which it passes
produces characteristic changes in the
spectrum. They exposed Photographic
plate chemically treated to catch the
invisible infra-red wave lengths to
light from Mars through the 100-inch
telescope at Mount Wilson, Calf,
when the planet was rushing toward
the earth at the rate of IA kilometers
a second. They could find no lines
at all, due to water vapor, except those
accounted for by the passage Of the
light through the atmosphere of the
earth.
If there is no water in Mars atmos-
phere there can be none on the plan
cts surface and water is a sine qua
non for almost all forms of living
things known on earth. This does not
preclude the possibility, however, that
there may be on the planet some low
and very hardy form of vegetation
The gravitational attraction of the
planet is so small that it is likely all
the water it possessed originally has
escaped into space. The Carnegie
astronomers were unable to get salts
factory observations of the poles
where the supposed ice forms. but the
indications are that it must be some
thing else than water ice.
Lack of Oxygen on Venus.
Some years ago Drs. Adams and
Durham found in the spectra OF re-
flected sunlight from Venus-the
earth's nearest neighbor and closest
physical duplicate-traces Of carbon
dioxide. Mathematical analysis, it
was reported today by Dr. Arthur
Adel of the Lowell Observatory at
Flagstaff, Ariz., shows that the
amounts of this gas must be quite
considerable. To produce the lines
recorded it would be necessary for
light to pass through the equivalent
of about 400 meters of carbon dioxide
at a pressure density Of about Is
pounds per square inch.
All light from Venus is sunlight
reflected from a dense cloud layer
which forever bars all knowledge Of
the actual surface of the planet. All
the calculated carbon dioxide must
be above this rejecting layer. The
existence of such quantities Of this
gas, together with very little oxygen,
indicates strongly that there can be
nothing on Venus comparable to ami
NAL life on earth, although there
might be rich plant growth
Diamond Making Reported.
Making true diamonds out of
starches and sugars was reported to
the association by Dr. j Willard
Hershey of Mcpherson College, Kans
These carbons were converted to
charcoal which was mixed with molten
iron at temperatures of between 5000
and 1000 degrees centigrade. obtained
with an electric furnace. They dis
solved in the white-hot liquid Then
the mixture was cooled S quickly as
possible by contact with ice-cooled
brine, liquid nitrogen and dry ice,"
or solid carbon dioxide.
In this quick cooling process, DR..
Hershey estimates, internal pressures
as high as 10000 pounds to the
square inch were obtained. The heat
and pressure situation may have been
roughly like that OF the surface of the
earth when natural diamonds we're
formed.
The iron block which resulted from
the cooling was subjected to powerful
acids which dissolved the metal.
Further refining processes left
residue in which, in many cases,
actual diamonds were formed Sonne.