Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-31
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.


By Thomas r. Henry.
Discovery between the stars of cos
mic gas, perhaps the mother gas of the
universe, has just been announced by
astronomers Of the Carnegie Institution
Of Washington.
Composed of mixtures Of carbon, n.y.
drogen and nitrogen it exists in vast
clouds which dim the faces Of the stars.
AS triumph of cosmic exploration
and because of the light it sheds on the
structure of creation the discovery ranks
among the major astronomic events of
the decade.
The stars, which seem to be grouped
so thickly in the September sky, actually
are separated by such enormous dis
tances that light, moving at about
100000 miles a second, requires years to
pass from one to another. The nearest
star to the sun is about five light years
away.
Until recently 1t was assumed
that these spaces were empty, except
for occasional great rocks torn loose
from the stars themselves, which might
be hurting through them. Some Of
these fell to the earth as shooting
stars" But star maps showed vast black
voids in which there were no stars at
all. There seemed to be enormous tun-
nels Of emptiness in the skies pointed
toward the earth for which astronomers
could give no adequate information.
nr,e Nf "a astronomical
ments of the past decade has been the
discovery that space is not empty
that it is filled with atomic dust. This
is revealed by the fact that light from
a bright star behind a dust cloud shin
ing upon its atoms causes them to be-
come luminescent. Thus they can be
identified with the spectroscope.
This finding has reduced by as much
as third the supposed dimensions Of
the $4,000. 900 000-star Milky Way gall
axy, of which the sun and the earth are
part. Distances can be calculated by
analysis of the light of celestial bodies.
Light passing through dust clouds natu-
rally is greatly diminished and this,
unless the obstructing matter is taken
into consideration, leads to exaggerated
estimates. UP to the present astron-
omers have been able to identify from
their spectrum lines the most abundant
elements in space-calcium, sodium,
titanium and potassium. These were the
lines of their elementary particles, the
atoms. The general assumption was
that they existed as pure substances.
uyora 1nac in, fI,a eyootr,,,,, .
the light from the sky. however, which
could not be identified. They did not
correspond with the wave lengths of
light emitted by any Of the 80 elements
known as the building blocks Of the uni
verse. Also no lines were found for the
most important of all elements-carbon,
the substance of life and oxygen, the
breath of life and nitrogen. which COM
prises major part of the air we breathe
The possibility was then considered,
according to the announcement of the
discovery Just received here from the
institutions Mount Wilson (Calif0 OBJ
servatory, as to whether the unidenti-
fed lines could arise from nolecule in
stead OF an atom. Under ordinary con.
ditions molecules of compounds produce
bonds or Fittings consisting of hundreds
or thousands of closely packed light lines.
Under the conditions of interstellar
space, however. with extraordinary low
densities and temperatures, it was CAL
culated that the molecular spectrum
might not be much more complicated
than that Of the atom.
The investigation remained at stand
still, however, until some experimental
calculations were received from the Ca.
madam Dominion Observatory, at Vic
toria, British Columbia, which greatly
simplified the problem The observations
were taken on bright star, Zeta
Ophiuchi, in the Southern Milky Way,
whose light shone through darkened
space in the sky. Photographic plates
were exposed in the 100-inch telescope
for four hours.
The results, according to the an
nouncement from Mount Wilson, have
been conclusive. The lines of hydro
carbon and cyanogen gas both appeared
in exactly the positions predicted at the
Dominion observatory. This makes the
existence of these gases certain.
Says the Mount Wilson announce
ment: "Our present conception of the
space between the stars is that great
volumes of it are filled with clouds of
fine dust and Of gas containing many,
If not all, OF the elements known on
earth. This gas can exist in the form
of atoms, either with or without their
full quota of electrons, or as combina-
tons into molecules.
so extremely low. however, is the
density of this gas that all the molecules
and atoms in path between us and a
star hundreds of light years distant
could be gathered in q little tube no
larger than fountain pen. It's actual
temperature is about 465 below zero
Fahrenheit-about degrees above the
absolute zero where all motion ceases.
These recent observations have given
the first direct evidence of the presence
between the stars Of three of the most
important building materials of the uni
verse-hydrogen carbon and nitrogen"
CONSUMPTION Held Essential
In Changed World.
To the Editor Of The Star
In connection with CONSUMPTION, some
ask what is the emergency requiring it
and imply hidden motives on the part
of supporters of universal compulsory
military service. It matters little wheth-