WONDERS OF ETHER.
; ' , «» -; -—- ■ < i . , At the municipal concert chamber, hi; Wellington, Mr. J. W. Poynton gave aw 1 address, under the auspices; of the City Council, on " Ether." • Th« lecturer explained 'the connection between 1 sound and atmospheric; vibrations, andide--* scribed hew sound waves were measured, the short .-waves giving a high, tone , and '] the long waves the deep notes. As the '•.•; velocity of sound through the air '.was i ; known it was an eaey thing to determine. the length of each wave giving a-particular," ' note. By analogy the disturbances of ; the 4 luminiferous other, 'Which was supposed; to ' be" a kind of fluid pervading all space- and 1 penetrating the - densest kinds of matter,' were explained. Just as the disturbances in the air caused sound waves, so the i movement of.: true ether gave rise to the forces of electricity, :~ J magnetism, heat, ,; light, X-rays, and probably gravitation.; •• Colour; was due to.the particular length of ft '~ the wave on the scale of light. ';? Red light' corresponded to .the > : deep . notes f ins music, green to the intermediate ones, and blue Ito the treble notes. ";. The* lecturer ess' J plained how _ these waves "could be- separate { ed from ordinary white light and expert- , . mented with.' Red light consisted ,'6i i". waves measuring about 50,000: to the inch, r and the ; deep violet s ones,' the " shortest s visible waves, : measured about 70*000* to the - inch. Above and below this there were t enormous . areas invisible ito } the * eye, < bun I which were the source of many forms of 1 energy. Heat and electricity were longer waves than the, light waves, 1 and >thef<■<; lrays wore much snorter than the shortest visible light rays. It ', was explained how one force could be converted '. into: anothef * by alteration in the wave length. ': The enormous importance of - this ; ether; in the? ; > scheme of the ' .universe '-. was dwelt "upon at r considerable S length. ;: Possible SfutureJ'dis4 ■* coveries \ by accumulating nerve force peril' haps, in the form, of batteries, and the discovery of a force which would neutralise . that ; cf; gravitation were suggested.' Wire-'" ii less telegraphy, which is: made possible by a s getting control of a particular kind of eth«« . wave, was described in .; detail by Mr. 4 - Poynton. - • > - -
WONDERS OF ETHER.
New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13796, 8 July 1908, Page 5
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