The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, October 26, 1921, Image 8
SCIENCE SEEKS
SECRET OF MARS
I
' i |
Star Sleuths Prepare to Solve;
Mystery When Planet Is
Nearest in 1924.
I ^________
MINT THEORIES ADVMCED
i.-.' '
New York.?The secret of Mars may
he read in 1924 when the red planet
znakes its closest approach to earth,
although astronomers are skeptical of
the theory of Marconi that the Martians
are signaling us by wireless,
and take 110 stock in the 60-foot whirling
dish of quicksilver which it is
promised will magnify the power of
vision * to 25,000,000 times its normal
y strength.
In 1824 Mars will come within about
35,000,000 miles of the earth. Because
of its eccentric orbit, compared
to the more nearly circular one of the
earth, Mars approaches that close only
once in fifteen years.
In 1924 observatories* will be much
better equipped to study Mars than
they were in ltK)9, when the planet last
appeared at its biggest and reddest in
,oor sky. In 1924 Ma;^ will be the
cynosure of telescopes all over the
earth. The 100-inch Hooker telescope
- at Mt. Wilson, and the marvelous
instruments and methods for analyzing
lierht which are in use there, may
definitely solve the question whether
Mars is inhabited.
. As the distance of Mars from the
: earth varies from 35,000,000 to 284,t
OO&GOO miles, the wireless signals from
that planet, if there are any, will have
a better chance to register in 1924
oyer the comparatively brief span of
35,000,000 miles.
Those "Signals" From Mars.
>For the last 20 years Mars has
been reported frequently to be * attempting
to signal to us by wireless
rays, by flashes of light, and even, according
to some imaginative speculatists,
by writing sign messages of
planet-wide size over the latitudes by
. teeans of the Mars canal system. It
has even been suggested that we acknowledge
receipt by forming words
in vegetation over the blank of the
Sahara desert
The Marconi wireless communication
theory is more plausible than
any of the others, because that great
inventor reports that he has picked
up wireless waves 100 miles long,
f while the greatest produced on earth
by artificial means . are about ten
miles long. Many ways of explaining
this have occurred to skeptics, but
the Mkrconi signals have more in
them to interest conservative scientists
than any of the previous types.
There was a sensation in 1900 when
it was reported that signaling from
Mars had been detected at the Lowell
"Observatory at Flagstaff, Ariz. This
was based on a misunderstanding of
a telegraph message concerning some
.projected lights over the rim of Mars.
Instead of presenting a perfect outline,
Mars fchowed slight excrescences
of light These were calculated to
be ftrom 17 to 30 miles above the surface
of the planet.
8imifar Projections From Moon.
Similar isolated projections of light
bad been seen on the moon, but this
was easily discovered to be the sunlight
tipping the mountain tops, an
effect visible on earth in mountainous
country when the rising sun gilds
the summits when the lower parts
of the mountains and the valleys are
still in darkness.
But Mars has no mountains, according
to general agreement among
observers. It was believed also to be
almost cloudless. The occasional
high lights, however, are now agreed
to have been clouds which are thought
to occur, though somewhat rarely.
Electric currents which apparently
wander through eternity hit the earth
here and there, causing a mysterious
hissing and crackling in wireless apparatus
and sometimes upsetting hu- j
mnr\ olor>tHr>nl rnntrivanrps. as the I
great magnetic storm of last May did
on an unprecedented scale. Such currents,
called "strays" or "atmospherics,"
have been occasionally interpreted
as signals from Mars, when
rfcey came with a regularity that j
seemed ,to be directed by a.human
intelligence. But they have been
shown most unmistakably to. be connected
with sun spots.
The scheme, attributed to D. David
Todd of Amherst, a well-known as*
tronomer, of using a great abandoned
mine shaft in Chile for the making of
a colossa' telescope, has been the subject
of no little scientific discussion.
This shaft, which is said to have a
GQ-foot diameter, is located near the
equator. It is, therefore, in the pfane
on which the earth and all the other,
planets whirl round the sun. The
shaft telescope has the disadvantage
that it could never be shifted, and
could only be used for that part of
the heavens which passes over It. But
it is calculated that Mars will pass
directly over it when it becomes a big,
red disk in 1924.
9
nrianjr n?i vhwim?>? ? ?...
Many astronomers have scoffed ai j
the theory of such a colossal telescope,
alleging that If the mechanical
difficulties could be overcome the
je&ormoue magnification sought would
jbe useless, because the observer would
see nothing hut a blur. On a small
\
&v '
tr.7-~
W.J
scato. Dr. JUobert Williams Wood of
Jdlms-Hopkins had built a practical
concave-mirror telescope 011 Long
Island by rotating a basin of mercury ]
until the 1 iquiti metal shaped itself into
the proper concavity* There are
limits to its use, however, according to
astronomers, if the attempt is
made to build the abandoned mine tel
escope. j
The greatest telescopes now in use
sometimes achieve a power of 3,000
times as great as that of the unaided
vision. This is only when the state
of the atmosphere is at its best. Or- 1
diuarily astronomers have to be content
with much less, sometimes with ,
a magnification of 200 or 300.
"The atmosphere fixes an outside
limit of magnification," said Dr. Frank .
Schlessinger, director of the Yale ob- ..
servatory. "Limitless magnifying
powers could not be used. Telescopes /
will probably be made larger than at
present for use on mountain tops and
especially favorable locations, but the '
tendency is to lose In distinctness as '
magnifying power increases. Eventually
the object gazed on becomes a
blur, as if seen through a heat liaze.
Only through great instruments like
i. ,1 iVlAM
uiui at iuuuui >v iisun, iinu iiicu vn'.>
under most favorable conditions have
objects magnified as much as 3,000
times been seen with an unblurred 1
vision.
If Mars Were a Mile Away.
The mine, telescope, if it met the
sanguine expectation of it projector,
would magnify 25,000.000 times,
which would bring Mars optically within
a mile and a half of the earth. At
first thought this would seem to give
the astronomers a sight of Mars equivalent
to that which an air pilot ob- 'a
tains of the earth as he flies a mile
and a half above it. At that height
an airman could see cities, towns ajid .
individual buildings,, farms, orchards
and a thousand marks of the activity
of man. Under the . same advantages 1
an astronomer would soon know all
about Mars, where the creations of intelligent
beings are believed to exist
on a much grander scale than on
earth. i
But here a difficulty arises. The i
airman is unconscious of the rota- ,
tion of the earth, because gravity pulls ,
the earth and air and the airplane
with a uniform motion. On the other
hand, if Mars were brought within a '
mile and a half of the earth it would 1
be whirling so rapidly that the fea- 1
tures of the landscape would be lost 1
to the eye, as are markings on the i
propellers of an airplane revolving at j
full speed. :
If a magnification of 25,000,000
times or anything li^p it could be accomplished
the observer could only see *
a small patch of Mars. Mars rotates 1
its 12,000-mile circumference once in '
a little more than 24 hours, so that <
at its equator it is making a speed <
of about ten miles a minute, or about ;
five times the speed of a racing car.
If the observers were content with see- 1
ingMarslo miles off, the portion visible
to them would still be streaming
past the telescope at the rate of a
mile a minute.
A camera of instantaneous action !
might take pictures at this speed on .1
earth, but it could not be made on :
Mars. A magnification of 25,000,000 ;
times would mean that the light of
Mars w'Qiild be diluted to one twentyfive-millionth
part of its brightness in
the sky, which would not be adequate
for rapid-fire photography oc even for '
ordinary vision.
WIRE HOLDS MILLION VOLTS
Plttsfleld, Mass.?Ai the Pirtsfield
plant of the GeneraF Electric company,
for the first time in history, the tremendously
high voltage of 1.000,000
volts was obtained, generated and
transmitted by engineers of the coaa.nnnv
wnrlrln or nnHor th? rlira/-l imi
^UU%1 ? M Viaiu^ UMVtVi bUV V*?* VVl?V?? VJ.
ihe chief engineers of the plant. The
pressure will carry electricity 1.000
miles.
Officials said that much valuable
data were gathered indicating the
commercial possibilities of such a high
voltage. An official statement said:
"The pressure of 1.000,000 volts and
over was generated by transformer
equipment designed along standard
linos, with a current at ordinary
household frequency <>f sixty eyries
per second. The physical laws applying
to the behavior of high voltages
were fouud to hoid good at this
enormous pressure."
City Gets Big Fund.
Manchester, England.--A pageant'
parade brought in $2f?,0P?) for the benefit
of Mezieres, France, winch has
been adopted by Manchester. Tin* rebuilt
PTeneli city is dedicating a
street to Manchester in reiurn.
f
; Huge Buck Deer 5
; Attacks an Auto j
J I'ittsfield, Mass.?Willi both J
# headlights smashed and the mud- *
\ guards of his automobile bent. *
* Walter C. ltoehelo of this city * i
f says his car was attacked by a J
9 great buck, estimated to weigh *
f 400 pounds, ltoehelo was pro- t
9 ceeding toward Pittsfield when *
t he saw the herd of deer in the 4 1
9 road. Four bucks and three ' ;
does jumped tp one siderbut the 4 1
' leader-snorted and, with horns ' i
t lowered, leaped at the auto, # ^
\ which was going slowly. The 9
* impact stopped the touring car #
\ and stunned the buck. '
9 4
Sparkles.
The man who is true to himself is
never a traitor to others.
A bis city juclcre declares that he
will not have any members of the
klu klux klan serving on his juries.
But that, however, may be only a ease
of judicial "safety first."
When we hear a fellow boasting
that he never changes his mind we
quite agree with him. It is difficult
to change something that does not
exist.
Look into the home life of the fellow
who claims that nothing over
worries him. Possibly his wife is
earning the living.
Many a self made man is tailor
made as well.
An honest effort that ends in failure
is better than no effort at all. Jt
supplies the experience that paves
the way to future success.
There is only one thing that preents
the average wife from saving
money. She can't save what she
doesn't get.
Many people are blessed with good
dispositions and cursed with an inability
to retain them.
That conference on universal disarmament
will soon be .in full swing
now. We hope the rope doesn't
break "Say
it with dollars" and you are
sure to be heard.
About C'oids.
Just because you have had many
colds and always recovered from
themr you should not presume that
colds are not dangerous. It is notthe
cold itself but the serious diseases? |
that it leads to that are to be guax-ded
igainst. Pneumonia often follows u:
bad cold because the cold prepares
the system for the reception and development
of the pneumonia germ
which otherwise- would not have
found losl&ment. It is the same with
many other germ diseases. You are
most likely to contract them when
you have a cold. Children who have
colds should be kept out of school un- '
til they recover. Get rid of every j
cold as quickly as possible. In other i
words take Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy. BS can be depended upon.
SALE OF LAND.
Xotice is hereby given that 1 will
offer for sale, on the first Monday in
fiurinir the Legal hours.
in front of the court house door at
Lexington, the following described
property:
Sixty-two acres more or less lying
on the waters of Scou&er and Congaree
creeks, being the head of the
John S. Schumpert old. pond and.
being part of the estate lands o.f.
Joseph Schumpert.
Terms of sale: Cash.
GEOP.Crl'l A. SH12AL.Y,
Administrator. Estate of .Joseph
Schumpert. . 2t-t-p
TREASURER'S SCHKDCLK.
This ollice will be closed on the
dates shown below, as 1 will be out
making the annual tax collection at
the various places in the county.
For Tax Collection Begins Tuesday.
November 15.
I will be at the following places on
the dates named for the purposes of
collecting State and County Taxes for
the fiscal year 11*21.
First Week.
C'hapiit?Tuesday, November 15.
Hates burg?Wednesday. November
1 o.
Loesville?Thursday, November 17.
Gilbert?Friday .November IS.
New Brook land?Saturday. Novem-j
ber 1-9.
i
Second Week.
tVlion?Tuesday, November 22.
Swansea?Wednesday. Nov. i':;.
W. J. SMITH, j
Treasurer, Lexington County, S. C.
NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION I
OF PARTNERSHIP BY
MUTUAL CONSENT.
We. i'. H. Gibson and 1/. i'?. Gibson,
heretofore doing a mercantile business
under the lirm name of P. L.
Gibson Co.. at Swansea. S. C.. as
parta i's, iter* by mutually Hpi tT I...
:Iissolw sai l partnership and appoint
K. .M . .Martin, as agent. o> collect all
3-:tstandin;c accounts owing said firm
and nay the proceeds arising' therefrom
to the creditors thereof so far as
:hey will go for the purpose of winding1
up said business. ,
P. E. GIBSON, J
L. B. GIBSON,
Partners, II
October 25, 1921.=rlt-p. ||
I MEET ME AT TAPP'S
fktnv
FAIRV
Considered From
For Fair Vv eek V
Values Obtainabl
New
Sale Continu
We can truthfu
Suits and Dressei
at corresponding
;
Unusual in ev(
Styles Most of tt
$15.9
?Coats of Rich Velour
?Coats of Fine Bolivia
?Coats of fcvora
?Coats of Gerona
?Coats of Normandy
?Coats of Finest
Duvet de Laine
?Coats of Ermine
?Coats of Suedine
?
; A dozen nev
$29.!
i ?Suits of Evora
?Suits of Duvetyne
?Suits of Silvertone
?Suits of Veldyne
?Suits of Velour
?Suits of Broadcloth
I ?
E
Twenty IS
Rich Satins
Charmeuse and
;
f Tricotine
.
I The Colors
The Styles
The Fine
Trimmings
5
The Ja
DEPARTMENT STORE
Corner Main and Blanding
THE GROWING STORE
tling Sale
I Frrr^fr v ww<r
VLLK VIZ
\
Every Angle These
risitors at Tapp's Of
le in
1 Fall App
ies Throughout
lly say we have n
3 of like quality or i
lv lnw r?rir?A?
AW I ? WA A VVW?
' f
COATS
iry way-Finest Mi
lem richly trimmed
LUXURIOUS COATS with large
rover or shawl collars of Nutria,
Mole, Squirrel and Opossum.v
and cuffs with same fur. Also
self collars. Elaborate embroidery
and cable stitching, j
fringes, etc. Bell shape, straight?/
i. -3 ? ^ W t
or set in mu.nuu.nr. sieevo.
THE NEW COLORS:
Zanzibar, Malay, Burro, Reindeer,
Peacock, Browns, Blues
and Black.
SUITS
7 styles with fine fu
>0And
The Colors are black, blue and
several shades of brown?also
taupe. All latest long and
semi-Ions: coats. Tailored models?both
loose and semi-fitting.
Collars and Cuffs of Fur, also
rovers of Fur and pockets with
patches of Fur, embroidery and
v/iiivi ii inmiias^.
)RESSE
few Styles-Favored
Approved Colors
?l.'nuuestionably tin- three predominat
Clue and ttrown.
?Distinctly ].?1:iin tailored and straighteffects
with tunic panels, hell-shape j
ete.
?Some in plain, l it h effects, others m
iH*uus. imiuuion pearls. cut steel, rm
ibbons, contrasting jroorsette, braids, m<
ry?red. grrcen, uold. silver, jet and a U
imes L. Ta
READY-TO-WEAR
Sts.
MEET ME ATTAPP'S '. Jj .-'IH
Far . ft
>ITORS
Sales Scheduled - df
'fer the Utmost
' r* < '
are/ I
/air Week *\
ever seen Coat I
newness offered j
s
m
"
????????
;
?
' i - ''M
'f';:
V'
aterials-Newest
with fine furs. 1
>4.75
Trimmed with Squirrel I
Trimmed with Opossum 9 ^
Trimmed with Nutria I .
Trimmed with Mole 1
Trimmed with Emb'd'y 1
Trimmed with Tassels 1
And Fringes in . Dozen a
Handsome Effects ' ^
r trimmings
15.00
Trimmed with Squirrel
Trimmed with Nutria
Trimmed with Mole s i
also Trimmed with
Opossum and Fringes,
Tassels and Finest
Embroideries
s
Materials I
Canton Crepes E
Roshanara Crepe fl
Poiret Twill I
iiipr shades < f the on;.r?Black. M
lino effects?the poi/ular blouse
doeves. mandarin sleeves,-sashos e
osi. elaborately trimmed with nj'
[>dallIons. fringes, tassels, bows. ?
L'dallions. wool and silk'embroid- G
o/.en rolors. 1
pp Co. I
SECOND FLOOR |
Columbia, S. C. 9
r H