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I

Dr. Charles P. Stclnmctz, Famous

Electrical Engineer, Examining tho

Fragments of a Tree Destroyed

by a Holt of Lightning

He Manufactured.

9

ering

nary

oms

mm

11

it

m

Th

Solemn Warning of a

Famous

English

ran

Scientist Comes Just as an American 'Wizard

Steals Jove's Power and Manufactures

a Bolt of Great

Destructive

4

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WW

65

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orce.

IS

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NSW' (W5ffl

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THAT tlio earth might one. tiny go up in flumes because of houik mammoth

Internal combustion hns always been considered a scientific possibility Thnt

such ii comlmstinn might como nliimt, either by accident or deign, through

tho linnil of innn himself, was too fanciful n possibility even for the pages of

imaginative fiction.

Hut recent Bpoouliitions of i)iyloi3ts lmvo Tiot only Indicated Just that possl

uillty but have indicated it bo pointedly hn to call forth n wnrnmc from no less u

Kcientist than Dr. V. K. Aston, Follow of Trinity College, rnmbrulue, KiiRlnnd. Tho

dniiRer, as Dr. Aston sees it, lies in tho apparently harmless unit of matter known

as tho atom. Tho atom in t-eneral and tho hydrogen atom in particular, is n

reservoir of tremendous energy. So much bo, in fact, thnt n spoonful of water is

cnpablo of bciiiR translated into 270,(100 horsepower If somo dovlco for eausinc tho

suddon release of this enorpry could bo found.

It was against thu heedless and unrestricted M'nrchlni; for this relenslnc

device thnt Dr. Aston issued his wnrniiiR in n recent speech at I'hilndelphia.

"Should tho research worker of tho futuro discover some means of releasing

this energy in a form which could be employed," ho said, "the human race will hnvo

nt its command powers beyond tho dreams of scientific fiction. Hut the possibility

must always ho considered that tho energy once liberated will bo completely uncon

trollable and by its intense violcnco dctonato nil noiKhboritiR substances.

' If thnt happens all of tho hydrogen on earth might be tram-formcd at onco

and this most successful experiment might bo published to the rest of tho universo

in the form of n new star of extraordinary brilliance as tho earth blew up in ono

vast explosion."

Dr. Aston' warning against this heedless "tinkering with nngry atoms" camo

as a climax to his revelations regarding tho composition of tho hydrogen atom.

According to his statements hydrogen is cnpablo of being transformed into a

gnseous element known as helium. In tho act of making this transformation tho

hydrogen ntom would give oir energy which would furnish mankind with limitless

heat nnd power if H could bo controlled. Hut the problem of controlling that

extraordinary energy would be even more dilTicult than tho work connected with

its discovery. II two his wnrning.

Dr. Aston's contributions to tho growing body of evidence regarding tho prop,

crtles of tho atom fo ows logically tho experimental work already dona along that

lino by Sir l-.rnest Kutherford In Knglontl, Trof. W. 1). Hnrkins in tho United

States, nnd others.

Tho old conception of tho atom held thnt It was nn Indivisible unit. Chemists

This

Photo-

graph

of the

Destruction

of a 2-Story

JIOUHO

by Lignite

During

New York

Police Field

Games

Indicates the

Force of a

Comparatively

Small

Explosion.

and physicists spoko of ntoms ns if they wcro so

many bricks with which matter was built up.

Hut along In tho late nineties Sir Oliver Lodgo

foretold tho birth of a new atomic theory in sev

eral discussions which, while purely speculative

and philosophical, turned out to be physically

sound. He spoke of tho "breaking up" of atoms.

In 189fi, Alexandre Hccquerel, the French chem

ist, discovered in the element known as uranium

a peculiar quality which was afterward called

radioactivity. This radioactivity is defined as a

dynamic property found in certain bodies of high

atomic weight which causes it to givo off pecu

liarly characteristic rays invisible to the eyo but

cnpnblo of penetrating objects opaquo to ordi

nary light.

Science Exalains Energy

In 1808, Pierre nnd Mme. Curio discovered

radium an clement found to have an extremely

high degrco of radioactivity and a remarkably

high energy. This discovery amounted to a final

proof that tho ray given oir by certain substances

such as uranium, thorium, radium actinium, and

others was n form of energy. It also consoll

dated nnd gavo credence to tho growing belief

that this energy was caused by the breaking up

of atoms. An inevitable corollary of this lnttcr

belief was that nil other substances wero going

through a similar process of disintegration, but

at dill'erent rates of speed.

Tho definite acceptanco of this theory ex

plained many phenomena which had hitherto been

inexplicable. It explained how it was possible

for tho sun to givo off heat for its hundred mil

lion yoars of life. It also opened up stupendous

Reproduction

of Sir John

Martin's Famous

Painting, "Final

Judgment," Showing

the Pit Petwcen tho

Iilcsscd and the Damned

and the Heavenly Planes.

possibilities, the most terrifying of which was

recently suggested by Dr. Aston. For If rndium

possessed its tremendous energy becauso of tho

speed with which it was breaking up, any ordi

nary clement could bo given tho samo power if

some way could be found to make its speed of

disintegration equal to that of radium. And

once this way was found, it would then be simple

enough to so nccelerato tho "breaking up" spoed

of any group of atoms that the process would bo

virtually instantaneous.

Some of the stupefying possibilities thnt exist

in the unrestricted use of such nn invention ns

this were suggested in n pre-war novel by H. O.

Wells called "Tho World Set Free." Tho book

was in the nature of n prophecy.

Commercializing Atomic Force

Its central character, a chemist nnmcd Hol

stcn, suddenly hits upon tho key to ntomlc en

ergy. In tho opening passages of this book Mr.

Wells has Holsten listening to n classroom lec

ture being given by a celebrated savant. Holsten

has been speculating on tho theory of ntomlc

energy for a long time, so his interest Is im

mediately caught when tho professor tells his

class:

"Radium is doing noticeably nnd forcibly what

all the other elements nro doing with an imper

ceptible slowness. . . . Radium is an cle

ment that is breaking up and flying to pieces."

Then the professor holds up a small bottlo In his

hand. "This little bottle," ho says, "contains

about a pint of uranium oxide. And in tho bottlo

slumbers at least as much energy ns wo could got

by burning nbout 100 tons of coal. If, at n word

in ono instant I could suddenly release tha

energy here and now, it would blow us and every

thing about us to fragments."

His imagination fired by this, nolsten applied

himself to experimentation. Then ono day "he

set up atomic disintegration in a minute particle

of bismuth.

Confusion followed the commercialization of

Holsten's principle. No system for distributing and

controlling the energy had been worked out. Fac

tories shut down. Stocks went to nothing. Tho

rich mnde n mad rush to possess tho new ntomlc

automobiles nnd atomic aeroplanes. But tho

poor hovered about as under a cloud, not under

standing what it was all about. Finally camo a

world war in which the principal weapon was tho

atomic bomb. By means of this bomb cities

could bo wiped out in a very short while. And

ns there was no defenco against it, all of tho

princlpnl cities of tho world were soon in ashes.

At almost tho samo time that Dr. Aston was

sounding his warning a mere mortal was already

taking a fling at playing Jove. In his laboratory

nt Schenectady, N. Y Dr. Charles P. Steinmctz,

the world's most famous electrical engineer, was

producing and controlling nn indoor thunder

storm that had all tho characteristics of tho

slmon-puro heaven-sent article. The forked

tongue of lightning leaped through space with a

crash and shattered a miniature tree from tip

to base. Dr. Steinmctz's generator consisted of

a high voltage condenser of tho form of 200 glass

plates. These wcro arranged in two rows in

groups of GO and wcro capable of holding 120,000

volts of electricity.

Dr. Steinmotz declares that it is entirely pos

sible to produce an artificial lightning bolt that

will be as damaging as any ever mado by Nature.

It would involve a prohibitive expense and would

be too dangerous to observe at closo quarters.

But It plainly lies within the power of Science

to destroy cities and countrysides at a stroke in

such a mannr.

Ni'uMpT I'm turn Prrtlr, 103'i,