Jacques Wardlaw Redway

“ Ether and Matter.—It is not necessary to assume that the universe and space are one and the same; nor that the universe is boundless; nor that space is without limits. So far as that part of the universe with which human knowledge comes in contact is concerned, the existence of two factors is assumed. Matter is perceptible to the human senses. ”

“ That the universe is pervaded by an invisible, intangible, but measureable something is conceded. It is assumed that the manifestations to the senses known as heat, light, magnetism, electricity, and radiant energy traverse the known part of the universe by the means of the ether. ”

“ The telescope and the spectroscope have shown that the matter entering into the composition of other visible bodies in the universe does not differ from that which composes the earth. Many of the chemical elements that compose the earth have been discovered in the sun and other heavenly bodies, and no chemical element has been discovered in any heavenly body that does not occur in the earth. Air and water vapor occur on the planet Mars, and it is not unreasonable to assume that the meteorology of this planet has much in common with the meteorology of the earth. ”

“ In solids, the cohesion is usually strong, so that more or less force is required to sunder the mass—that is, to separate the molecules. The resistance of cohesion is usually expressed in such terms as tension, torsion, shearing, etc. In the liquefaction of a solid, or the vaporization of a liquid, the force employed to overcome cohesion is measured in terms of heat. For instance, in the liquefaction of ice, about 147 times as much heat is required to change ice at 32° to water at 32° as will raise the temperature of the same weight of water one degree Fahrenheit in temperature. ”

“ Inasmuch as the science of meteorology is chiefly a study of the air, a mixture of gases differing in their specific properties, a clear exposition of these general properties is necessary to an understanding thereof—more especially to the solving of the problems of weather, climate, and habitability. ”

“ The conditions which surround the liquefaction of ice and snow, the evaporation of water, and the condensation of the water vapor of the air are fundamental factors in the science of weather. The distribution of precipitation—that is, rain, snow, hail, and the floating forms of fog and cloud—affect the habitability of the earth and human activities to a very great degree. ”

“ Magnetism is a property pertaining chiefly to iron and steel, but possessed to a lesser degree by other metals. When in the condition known as magnetized, a piece of iron or of steel attracts and holds other pieces of iron and steel. ”

“ Expansion-contraction is a property of matter true in its ordinary forms. The volume of a substance increases when it is heated and contracts with cooling. Thus, iron will increase 0.00000648 of its length for each degree F of increase in temperature, this being its “coefficient of linear expansion.” ”

“ Steel retains its magnetism permanently; iron is sensibly magnetic only when within magnetic influence—that is, a “magnetic field.” Nickel, cobalt, certain manganese alloys and tungsten alloys exhibit magnetism very sensibly. A bar of magnetized steel, suspended by a thread attached at its center of gravity, comes to rest pointing nearly or quite north and south, the negative or marked end pointing in a general way to the earth’s north magnetic pole. ”

“ In recent years, doubt as to the necessity for assuming the existence of an ether has been expressed by some who claim that it is sufficient to attribute the power of transmitting radiation to space itself. ”

“ That is, equal volumes of gases expand equally with the same increase of temperature.
If a given volume of gas—say 1 cubic foot of oxygen—be introduced within a container, its pressure or tension noted, the same volume of another gas having the same tension may be introduced without an increase of tension of the mixture. Thus 1 volume of oxygen added to I volume of nitrogen will make but 1 volume of the mixture, having the same tension as each of the two gases. That is, one gas is practically a vacuum for another. This property has its limitations ”

“ Crystallization is a form of molecular attraction which indicates that the molecules possess a certain kind of polarity, usually assuming regular geometric forms. Frost and snowflakes frequently exhibit marvelous forms, infinite in variety but regular and similar in construction. ”

“ Nevertheless, they are held together by a powerful force. Thus, the heat used in converting one pound of water at 212° F to a vapor at 212° F would raise 967 pounds of water one degree in temperature. Measured thus, in terms of heat units, great power is required to overcome molecular attraction. ”