DYNAMIC THOUGHT/PART 7
CHAPTER VII
THE PARADOX OF SCIENCE
IN
the days of the ancients, when the philosophers found themselves unable to
account for any particular class of phenomena, they bundled it together and
referred it to a suppositious Something that they called "The Ether."
Finding this an easy way to get rid of vexatious questions, they fell into the
custom—and the habit grew upon them. Soon there were a dozen or more different
kind of Ethers in vogue, each explaining something else—the "something
else," by the way, being things that Science now feels
that it understands pretty well. These Ethers grew to be like the various
"Vapors" of the ancients—a dignified term for "We don't
know"—a respectable road for retreat under the semblance of an advance.
These
Ethers became a scientific scandal, and caused a lax mode of thinking among
students of those times. And so they were finally abolished and relegated to
the scrap pile of Science, where they lay for many centuries until a
comparatively recent period, when at least one of them was hauled forth,
dusted, freshened up a little, and placed upon its old pedestal. This revamped
Ether, referred to, was the "Ether of Aristotle." Aristotle, as we
know, was a famous Greek philosopher who lived about 350 b.c.—about 2250
years ago. He was a good man and a celebrated philosopher, but was somewhat
deficient in scientific knowledge. Although he knew many things, and uttered
many wise thoughts, he was under the impression that the breath of Man entered
the heart instead of the lungs—that the back part of the skull was empty, and
so on. He was without the advantages of a modern training—which, was not his fault,
however.
Well,
Aristotle conceived the idea of an Universal Ether, which he thought pervaded
all space, and with which he accounted for the passage of light from the sun
and stars; the movements of the planets, and various other physical phenomena.
It is not known whether Aristotle really believed in this
Ether, or whether he merely used it as a speculative hypothesis, following the
Ether Habit of his contemporaries. At any rate, his theory served its
purpose—lived, flourished, declined and died—at least seemed to be dead. But
its corpse was resurrected in modern times, and used to account for divers
things.
This
does not mean that modern thinkers really "believe" in the Universal
Ether—they merely assume it as a working hypothesis until something better is
offered.
Its
principal modern use is to account for the transmission of Light from the Sun
and Stars to the Earth. It was held that a thing could not act "where it
was not," and so it became necessary to account for the transmission
either by the theory that small particles of substance were thrown off from the
Sun, and travelled to the Earth, or else that there was some medium of
communication by means of vibrations, etc. Newton held to the first theory, but
his hypothesis went down before the Ether advocates, who advanced the
"wave-theory," although it seems that, like Banquo's ghost, Newton's
theory will not stay down, and is now taking on a new lease of life, owing to
the discovery of the Corpuscle and Radiant Matter.
The
Wave-theory philosophers asserted that the Light and Heat of the Sun were
thrown off in the shape of Force or Energy, and transformed into
"waves" in and of a hypothetical Ether (Aristotle's own), which waves
were carried to the Earth, where, meeting Substance, they were again transformed
into Heat and Light.
It
was known that Light and Heat travelled at the rate of 184,000 miles per
second, and therefore the "waves" of the Ether were considered to
have that speed. The Wave-theory seemed to fit the facts of the case better
than the Newtonian Theory of Corpuscles, although the latter has always been
considered as better explaining certain phenomena than the new theory. And so
the Ether Wave became generally accepted, and remains so to-day, although
recent discoveries are causing a disturbance in the scientific camp regarding
the question.
Later
it was discovered that the Electricity travelled at the same rate as Light and
Heat, and the Wave-of-the-Ether theory was thus thought to have additional
verification, and Electricity came under the Law and remained there until the
Electron discovery, which is causing much disturbance, among those interested
in the study of Electricity.
Briefly
stated, the theory of the Universal Ether is this:
That
pervading all Space in the Universe—not only between planets, stars and suns,
but also "filling in the cracks" between molecules, and atoms as
well—there is a subtle Substance in and through which the waves of Light,
Heat, Electricity and Magnetism travel at the rate of 184,000 miles per
second. This Substance is said to be "Matter that is not Matter"—in
fact, Science does not venture to say just what it is,
although it freely states just what some of its properties must be, and, alas!
these properties are most contradictory and opposite to each other, as we shall
see as we proceed.
This
Universal Ether is purely hypothetical. It has been called a "necessity of
Science"—something assumed for the purpose of explaining or accounting for
certain phenomena. It is undemonstrated and unproved—in fact, may truthfully be
said to be undemonstrable and unprovable. Some have gone so far as to say that
its claimed properties and qualities render it "unthinkable" as well.
And yet, Science finds itself compelled to assume that the Ether, or
"something like it" exists, or else cease speculating about it. It
belongs to the realm of pure theory, and yet, many writers treat it as if it
were a positively demonstrated and proven fact. Let us examine into the nature
of Science's problem, and her attempted solution, and the trouble arising
therefrom.
Light
travels at the rate of 184,000 miles a second. Remember, that Light and Heat
are that which we call by those names only when considered in connection with
Substance. According to the theory, Light in the Sun's atmosphere is transformed
into a Light-wave of the Ether on its travels to the earth, and only when the
"wave" comes in contact with the Substance on the earth's body or
atmosphere does it become again transformed into Light as we know it. In its
travels through space it meets with no Substance, and has nothing to "turn
into light"—consequently Space (between worlds) is in a state of absolute
darkness. The same is true of Heat, and inter-world Space is absolutely cold,
although passing through it are countless heat-waves of great intensity, which,
later on, will be transformed into Heat when they reach the Substance, the
earth. The same is true of Electricity and Magnetism.
Although
the Ether, as we have seen, is a purely theoretical substance, yet Science has
found it reasonable to conclude that it must be possessed of certain attributes
in order to account for certain known facts. Thus, it is said to be
frictionless, else the worlds, suns and planets could not pass freely through
it, nor could the light and heat waves travel at such a tremendous rate. It
also is thought to have something like Inertia, because Motion once started in
it persists until stopped; because it is at a state of rest until Motion is
imparted to it; and because it takes a fraction of time to impart motion
to it. It is thought to be different from Substance in any of its known forms,
for many reasons, among such being the fact that no known form of Substance
could carry vibrations through space at the rate of 184,000 miles a second. And
Light and Heat waves travel at that rate, and have forms and shapes, and
lengths of their own. Light for instance, vibrates on two planes, and a
light-wave is something like a Greek cross, thus (-|-), having a horizontal and
a vertical line, or plane of vibration. And the Ether cannot be a fluid of any
degree, because a fluid cannot transmit cross vibrations at all. And it cannot
be a Solid, because a Solid could not stand vibrations at such a terrific
speed, and still remain a Solid. And yet, to transmit the two-plane light
waves, the Ether must have a certain degree of Rigidity, else the waves could
not travel. Lord Kelvin estimated this degree of Rigidity as about
19,000,000,000th of the rigidity of the hardest steel. So, you see, Science is
compelled to assume that the Ether is "a continuous, Frictionless medium,
possessing both Inertia and Rigidity." Some scientists have thought it to
be a kind of "elastic jelly."
Of
the Ether, Prof. Oliver Lodge has said, "We have to try and realize the
idea of a perfectly continuous, subtle, incompressible substance, pervading all
Space, and penetrating between the molecules of ordinary Matter, which are
imbedded in it, and connected to one another by its means. And we must regard
it as the one universal medium by which all actions between bodies are carried
on. This, then, is its function—to act as the transmitter of motion and
energy."
To
give you an idea of the wonderful thing that Science is compelled to think of
the Ether as being, by reason of the qualities it is compelled to ascribe to
it—although it confesses itself unable to "imagine" the nature of the
"Thing" which it has created in bits by the adding and bestowing of
qualities which were made necessary by the logical requirements of the case—let
us take a hurried view of the Thing as the several departments of Science say
it must be thought of.
To
meet the requirements of the case, Science says that The Universal Ether must
be Substance infinitely more rare and evanescent than the finest gas or vapor
known to Science, even in its rarest condition. It must convey Heat in the
manner of an infinitely Solid body—and yet it must not be a Solid. It must be
transparent and invisible. It must be Frictionless, and yet Incompressible. It
cannot be a Fluid. It cannot have Attraction for Substance, such as
all Substance has. Nor can it have Weight—that is, it is not subject to
Gravitation. It is beyond the reach of any known scientific instrument, even of
the greatest power, and it refuses to register itself in any way, either to
senses or instruments.
It
cannot be known "of itself," but may only be recognized as existent
by the "things" for which it acts as a medium or transmitting agent.
It must convey Energy and Motion, yet it must not take up any part of either
from the Matter in its midst. It must not absorb any of the Heat, Light or
Electricity. It must fill up the spaces between the worlds, as well as the most
minute space between the Molecules, Atoms and Corpuscles, or any other minute
particle of Substance, either known by name to Science now or which may be
discovered or imagined later as a necessity of some conception regarding the
nature of Substance. In short, The Universal Ether, in order to do the things
attributed to it, must be more solid than Solids; more Vapor-like and Gas-like
than Vapor or Gas; more fluid than Fluids; infinitely less rigid than steel,
and yet infinitely stronger than the strongest steel. It must be a substance
having the qualities of a vacuum. It must be continuous and not composed of
Particles, Atoms or Molecules. It must be an "everything"
in some respects, and yet a "nothing" in others. It must not be
Substance, and yet it must carry Substance within its ocean of dimensions, and,
besides, interpenetrate the most minute space between the particles of Substance.
It must not be Energy or Force, and yet Science has been considering Energy and
Force as but "interruptions of rest" or "agitations"
within, and of, itself.
So
you see that this mysterious, wonderful Universal Ether—in order to
"be" at all—must be a "Something" possessing certain
qualities or properties of Substance—many of the properties of qualities being
exactly contradictory and opposed to each other—and yet it cannot be Substance
as we know it. It is a Paradoxical thing. It could only belong to another and
an entirely different order of existence from that of Substance as we know it.
It must possess characteristics and properties of an order as yet unknown to us
by name—for which the material world contains no analogy—for which Substance
has no analogues. It must be a far more complex thing than is even the most
complex thing we call Matter, or that which we call Force or Energy. And yet,
it has been claimed that it would explain both—yes, contain within itself the
possibility of both.
And
yet, in face of what has just been said, the writer must confess, humbly
and with a full realization of the enormity of the offence, that he supposes
advancing a theory, a little further on in this book that will attempt to
identify this Something—this Universal Ether—with a Something else that we
know, although not through the senses or by means of instruments. Bear with him
kindly, he begs of you, while he proceeds gradually along the path that leads
to the theory.
Scientists
have compared Substance moving through the Ether as a coarse seive moving
through water, the latter making room for the passage of the seive, and then
closing up behind it. If this be amended by the idea that the moving seive,
while allowing the water to pass through it freely, still carries along with it
a thin film of water which clings to the wires of the seive by adhesion—if
there be admitted this "clinging film" as well as the body of the
water through which the seive moves—then the illustration answers quite well as
a crude illustration of Substance and "The Ether." This fact is
important in view of the theory that will be advanced, further on in this book.
Prof. Lodge, in his interesting work, "Modern Views of Electricity,"
mentions a number of experiments tending to prove the above mentioned fact,
which is not so generally known as other facts relating to the Ether.
Until
the discovery of Radiant Matter (bringing with it the new theories of the
Corpuscle or Electron, etc.), brushed aside into the dust heap many generally
accepted scientific theories regarding the nature of Substance, the favorite
and most popular theory was what was known as the "Vortex-ring"
theory of the Atom. This theory held that the atoms of Substance were but
vortex-rings of the Ether, having had motion communicated to them in some way,
and which afterwards acquired other motions, and which finally become apparent
to our senses as Substance. In other words, the Atom was supposed to be a
vortex-ring of Ether, acted upon by Force, in some unknown way, the character,
nature and properties of the Atom being determined by the shape and size of the
vortex-ring; the rate of motion; etc., etc.
The
new discoveries of Science, however, have set aside (at least temporarily) this
"vortex-ring" theory, and at present Science seems to find its
"latest thing in Substance," in the theory that Substance—at the
last—seems to be the Corpuscle or Electron. In other words, after many years of
fancied security in a settled theory regarding the nature of Substance, Science
once more finds itself compelled to take up the search for the origin of
things. But the theory of the Ether remains—and is likely to—although the names
applied to it will change. By some it is still believed that in the Ether, a
little further removed, rests the origin of Substance and that the Corpuscle
may be the "vortex-ring" product, instead of the Atom.
It
will be noticed that Science has made no serious attempt to connect the
phenomenon of Gravitation or Attraction with the Ether. Gravitation stands
alone—an "outsider" among the Forces, responding to none of their
laws—needing no time in which to travel—needing no medium like the Ether in
which to transmit "waves"—fearing no obstacle or interfering body,
but passing right through the same—different, different, different. And we
shall see why this difference, when we reach the point where
our theory brings us to the point where we must substitute "something
else" for that Great Paradoxical General Solvent of Modern Science—the
Ether of Aristotle. We shall reach the point after a brief consideration of
Motion, Force and Energy.
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