WORLDS IN THE MAKING.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 204, 27 August 1909, Page 3

WORLDS IN THE MAKING.

faOFESSOR BICKERTON'S LECTURE. Professor Blckerton lectured on his partial impact theory to an interested Judience in the OCA. Hall last evening. His Excellency the Governor, Lord Plunket, was present. Professor Bickerton's subject for the evening was the romantic story of the jeneais of the solar system, and incidentally, of the earth. In order to introduce the'subject, or rather, to begin the story gt the beginning, the lecturer had of necessity to traverse some of the fundamental ideas, dealt with more fully in his previous lecture. One of the fundamental ideas was that two cosmic bodies gieetlng would meet almost invariably ill a curve, and so produce a grazing impact, for the reason that all bodies moved in curves under the influence of gravity. The effect of this graze seemed to be in all cases like the effect of the itrikin" of flint and steel—they struck off a spark. The energy of the impact Iras almost wholly expended ir. striking pf! a third body, and imparting to it heat »nd motion. In even a minute graze of two gaseous suns the energy was so great that there could be no thought of cohesion- The two bodies that dime into Oollision were not greatly heated, howover but an immense scar was produced in each, and the energy expended in imparting heat and motion to the third Body. This third body was so hot ns to he above the temperature of stability, which caused it to expand at r. terrific rate until finally the brilliant new star dissipated in space and became invisible. By and by the atoms of the mass became parallel in space, rotnting in the same direction without collision, and so the whole became stable. So originated the solar system, in the impact of two bodies extremely rare, not nearly ?o dense as the sun now is, and there was formed gn immense meteoric nebulous swarm, extending probably outside the orbit of Neptune. The lecturer went on to tell of the formation of planets, and more especially of the earth. He described graphically the cooling of the mass into the consistency of a white hot molten fluid; and then into a solid cool enough to allow water to rest on its surface. Later came the age of heavy vegetation and immense amphibious saurians. These, as the forests released more oxygen, became smaller, shorter lived, anil faster in their motion, until there -came in their stead another class of saurians and winged reptiles, which later became birds. He suggested also that as the habitable earth shrank still more there Would come an age once more of amphibious mammals, and so the process of evolution would retrace its steps. "But the more we learn," .concluded the lecturer, " the more convinced we must become that there is no error in the cosmic mechanism. The cosmic ruler is perieet, and perfect in his work, and we ire in a cosmos which shows no trace of 0 beginning or promise of an end." At the close of his address Professor Bickerton warmly thanked his Excellency the Governor for having attended at the lecture. He mentioned also that he had received most courteous kindly consideration from his Excellency, who had manifested a lively interest in his theory.