NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12483, 9 March 1909, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Modern Occultism. In the "Nineteenth Century" Professor Simon Newcomb, the foremost scientific manin.America, publishes an article on "Modem Occultism," in whieli. he gives the results of his investigations carried on at intervals during a 'long life.. Professor. Newcomb begins by recalling an important incident in the history of spiritualism which" happened about. so years ago, A large reward was offered in Boston to any mediums who would, in the presence of a committee, perform any |- of their pretended feats — move a table 1 without touching it, read a., paper in ! a closed envelope, or prodwce a rap the cause of which oould not^^ be traced. The offer was accepted, and some of themost famous mediums in the country made the attempt in the presence of Professor Agassiz and. two other eminent scientific men. The result was a complete failure,. the mediums performing nothing but/some elementary tricks, of legerdemain. Many years later a Miss Lulu Hirst, 7 of Georgia, who was considered very wonderful, gave a performance before Pro- 1

fessor Newcomb and others, but she did nothing, he says, that could not be produced by the efforts of a muscular and dexterous young woman. Professor Newcomb next inquires whether there are not known causes at work which we* should naturally expect to result in phenomena that seem to indicate telepathy. He concludes that there are, and enumerates the following : — The omission of important features, from the narrative * unconscious , exaggeration ; the faculty of remembering what is striking and for getting what is not* illusions of sense ; mistakes of memory; the impressions left- by dreams ; aiid, finally, deceit and trickery.'; , Several striking stories that seem tq_a#ord conclusive evidence nf occult influences are examined, arid showii on close inquiry to be of no import by reason of sbme of the causes .mentioned. Taking into account all these things,' and coincidences which in. the doctrine of chances are far more jommon than isV. generally supposed, Professor Newcomb is convinced "that jveiything that happens, however extraordinary, can be explained without having "recourse to .occultism. Qravitatisn. i All scientific Germany is talking of the remarkable experiments of Profes- - .or Arthur Korn in the mysterious domain of gravitation, says a correspondent of the "Westminster." Modern .cience has ascertained that all matter s-in a state of external vibration. Tlie ibration, according to the professor, s analagous to the vibration of a vioin string. Of such complex character, assumed Korn, are the vibrations "if all "particles' of matter, and it is hese vibrations which lead respective7;riot only to the attractive form.of ■ravitation, but also to the repulsive "oi-ce which, in the case of the heayeny bodies, is observed at the same time. Jhe machine constructed by the pro:essor to produce-such graitatipn" is extremely simple. A netallic globe, fitted with a .window cor observation of what is going on in;ide it, is united by tubes witii; a cylinder, one end of which is closed.^only by a membrane. To this membrane is* attached an electro-motor which by lushing and pulling the membrane xlternately, iriakes rapid pulsations, fhe. metal globe- contains two air-fill-jd indiarubber balls of different sizes. The larger one is fixed firmly toXthe '.nside wall of the globe. The smaller one is free to move whither it likes, fhe whole apparatus 7is then filled ■.vith water, and the motor set to vork. Each time the membrane is iressed in, the increased water-pres-iure causes the .rubber balls to conract, and each time the membrane ■eturns to its Original position the re.axed pressure of the water causes he two balls to expand. The motor is set working so quickly that these .' mlsations become inconceivably rapid ibrations, and the contraction and ■xpansioii of the balls is invisible lo rhe eye. -As water is practically inompressible,_Pr6fessof Korn thus. obtains the conditions he needs— he has ;wo elastic bodies vibrating in an elastic medium. Then the phenomenon ooked for occurs. When the vibrations attain a certain speed the smaller 'mil, impelled by a mysterious force, begins slowly to move through the vater to the'-larger ball, and- gradually ncreases its speed, exactly as the vpple observed by Newton increased Its sneed as it fell nearer and nearer to the ground. So far this was-mere-ly a puzzling phenomenon. But that it was gravitation, and no other force, .vhicli drew the balls together was soon ployed. Measurements showed that ;he bigger ball attracted the smaller exactly in accordance with Newton's aw, or in inverse ratio to the square f the distance between them. ..It lecame, therefore, possible to con.truct an exact working model of the ;olar system in water, in which plants should all move in their appointed 7>aths without any visible support, or axternally applied power.