Evening star., 1938-04-25
orch-Bearing Particles of
Matter Give Evidence on
Time Theory.
By THOMAS r. HENRY.

vision and color photography pioneer
inventor
At about the beginning of this GEN.
tury was made the Michelson-M Morley
experiment, which was turning point
in the history of physics and of mans
whole conception OF the nature of the
universe in which he lived. 1t showed.
supposedly beyond much possibility OF
contradiction, that two beams of light
moving at the same speed covered
different distances in equal times.
At that time, space was supposed
to be filled with ether" an hypo-
thetical substance which permeated
all things and whose chief function
was as a medium through which light
and other electromagnetic waves
could travel, just as sound waves
travel through air The earth also
was assumed to be moving through
this sea Of ether.
Balls of Light.
Supposing a rubber ball is thrown
straight ahead from the top of
moving train and bounced back from
some object straight ahead. The
train is moving toward the returning
ball. Consequently the thrower is
hit by it sooner than If the train
had been standing still. or if the ball
had been bounced against some sign
board beside the track.
The late DR.. A. A. Nicholson ex-
pected the same thing to happen
when he bounced balls OF light
against mirrors in the direction Of
the earth's motion and at right angles
to 1t. He and every one else was
astounded when two light beams,
sent out simultaneously against mir
rors in the direction Of the earth's
motion and at right angles to it
bounced back" and hit their starting
point at precisely the same instant.
The alternatives were to assert that
the experiment was in error or to
formulate a picture Of the universe
in which such an apparently con-
Trajectory happening could take place.
The validity of the experiment it.
self was widely, if not universally
recognized. One way of explaining
the weird results was by the cele-
brated "Fitzgerald Contraction" hy-
pothesis. This assumed that all d.
mensions Of moving object contract
ed with the speed until at the speed
OF light they were reduced to zero.
A yardstick. moving head-on at 100
miles an hour, would be trifie
shorter than a yardstick standing
still and-the crucial point in the
experiment reported by DR.. Ives-a
clock moving at 100 miles an hour
would keep slightly slower time than
a clock standing still.
Dimensions Are Diminished.
This would be apparent to a sta
tionary observer able to watch the
moving objects. It would not be
apparent to an observer moving at
the same speed as the yardstick or
clock. because all his dimensions also
would be diminished Everything he
measured would have the same di-
mensions as before because both it
and the measuring instruments would
have shrunk exactly the same amount.
Thus the Nicholson Morley expert
ment was bound to have given a null
result because it took place on a mov-
ing platform-the earth.
The theory was that this contraction
OF dimensions was proportional to the
square OF the ratio between the speed
of the moving object-yardstick or
clock-and the speed Of light.
The speed Of light is approximately
10000 miles second. Supposing
watch, keeping perfect time, could be
shot from some super-cannon at a
speed of 10000 miles a second, and
that its dial could be observed con-
tinuously through super-telescope.
The ratio between the speed of the
watch and the speed of light would
be l to 9, its square l to 81. Con-
sequently, according to the Iarmor-
Lorenz theory. the watch at the end
Of one hour should be one-eighty first
OF an hour slow, or about seven-tenths
Of second. compared with a similar
watch in the hand of the observer at
the telescope.
Time Element Cancelled.
Assume the speed of the watch to
be 10000 miles second, or one-half
the speed of light. Consequently, fol-
lowing out the formula OF the square
Of the ratio, at the end of one hour it
should be one-fourth Of an hour, or
Is minutes, slow. From this point on
the rate of slowing down of the watch
goes on very rapidly. When its speed
is $4,000 miles q second, or three
fourths the speed of light, it is nine
sixteenths Of an hour slow. When the
speed is 144,000 miles a second, or
four-f1fths the speed of light, the
watch should be sixteen twenty -f1fths,
or more than half an hour, slow. Push
the speed of the watch to Ito, 900 miles
a second and 1t is 299-324 of an
hour slow-practically standing still.
Finally the speed is increased to
10000 miles a second, where the
ratio Is l to /. The watch records
no time at all. The time element has
been Cancelled out Of physical phe-
nomena.
1t was impossible, of course. actually
to shoot q clock at any such speeds