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Show I ; 1H B WW 1 1 V B I Scientists Tell How We May Signal Mars With Light , " I , .n,,.;:. - Dn Hewitt and Other Authorities, Doubtful o'f ' ,. 1 I I JlUHL " '. jir Radio's Power to Transmit Interstellar Mes-ii ., pj, K I iWPlfWIrfKl sages. pin Faith to Flashing Greeting That " 9 ' I I ilifll the Martians Might See-Many New ' 1 . !i " I " m ISSH ' Ml, Prated in Next Decade jff ftpOSSIBLE? Yes; but hardl prob TQ r able." Such is tl.e way Peter, Cooper Hewitt, Hie eminent physicist, sunn up the' much discussed topic of wireles-. MAGNETIC messages from Mars., . AvMPLIFIEP2. "Don't misunderstand me," he contin. ued.-'T am sceptical only so far as it 'MMi Ituuvvma inc lwuruaii i rigin 01 me signals Signor Marconi , has recently iulcrceptnl To me the ciiat.:cj arc-inauy tiiiies jrroator that they had a terreslriaJ s--urcc. :i:jc? tla hel:ef does not rob the topic of a oausp fur Tvondernienl. "We are at the threshold of iimaziii" tilings, and the pnientTnluy' of signals tlcs-p:.tciied tlcs-p:.tciied at will acror 'ntrrsipllar snau' i by no means the :niost startling of -llifts.ct,;, Jn Uie next five or ton vears '.vp shall 1m doing tiling that now spem. inconcciyahle-to inconcciyahle-to the average person. Science ;ind .imeii-:Ion .imeii-:Ion are co-ordinating: bringing lo a.fm-u? scattered knowledge, diversifieil efforts. ' snd powers of ijnairitmtio., Mini will' make' mii-acles. veritable eominonplni'os. And if vrc wish, we shall be able u span the ;an oetweqn this world and planets millions of mi!e.s '.away bv jmearis: of impulaa5. radiations, radia-tions, which shall utilize ns r. ronductor the medium through whiHi ud- in whirl) ihf entire stellar ?!ein moves; the universal ether. "Per5onallv 1 do nol thinK wireless m-is would brst sen-e !o carry our irrpp tings tr othej planet?. I am satisfied that it would b.'-far, easier to accomplish i,j5 Un-outrh ligHtiijp' rrtY.T.of wlijiil) now give us visib'e c-r -iousi'pss' 'of (fie existence of other eilestial bodies. But apitrt from tlii; promise prom-ise of the future, let us see what it is (hat : ' is going n right he-e u-uin (his globe? of' ours wiiich mav be diifcllv or indirectly rv sponsible for the unexplained action ' ' Signnr Mavoni's rpepivin" nppnratus - --' II U-Boat Detector Develobed. 4rDuring our partie.m:ri ii ia the world wnV ss a incnihe' of the Vaval Consulting Mo-in! ( J gave a good deal of time lo experiment? having to do with the dpvelopmenl of an , electrical submarine der-enr Witboni con- " fusing the present snb.jec matter, il "will be enough if I explain tha the rreording i instrument traced upon smoke coaterl iHes - 1 1 paper .'g.ag or wnvicv lines indicating i' " the degree and varintion of received im- pulses. At times, and. periods of ap- ! proximalclv identica1 intervals, the needle would trace an exaggerated wave or 'peak indicating nrs exceptional electrical disJurb-rnce. disJurb-rnce. Urton examining these record sheets recpnlly T have lieen stmcA by the fact that I they had an average period of thirtv minute? from peak tc peak, in this resembling the venrrenr-r Slgni Mnrconi's signals al-j al-j irjbned to another world. " I "Again, it ha Ipop brought to mv atten- i tion that an ordinal". compass needle here ,i in "New York will deflect . degree or more :r. the coprse of a fjw minutes, and will do this repeatedly, moving back and forth a-if a-if affected by a shiflng magnetic field. Indeed, In-deed, this is the cause of the needle's action, and indicates unmistakably the change of direction cf our local magnetic field. "Now the compass needle does not measure in-H in-H tensity, but only (be direction, of this shift- B imr magnetism. However, we have other H 1 instvnmen!? that eac evaluate Ihe force in- volved: and thi force is of a magnitude that could exercise a far reaching effect. H perhaps half wav across the Atlantic. "True, this is infmUosimal compared with he trpmendous void between us and Mar?. H' 1jU fhe iihenomnnon is significant when we H, realiV-e that, it is the cumulative and the' Hi ljnexpectcd eonscquence of our civilization j a5 expi'Cccd bv oinc phases of metropolitan activities. That is to say. our multiple H (.Jcctrical g:r.eralor-5 hereabouts are setting p reflex n.'rturbationE o'f suffieient strength o r'adiote broadcast throughout a wide flung 'Similany London is the-centre of an-rtlier an-rtlier xone of such disturbance; and there 1$ ample "'arrant ''or the assumption that this artificial modifying of the earth's dis- Ifribulion of magnetism may be one of Ihe j.gencie? of wircle? 'strayt.' In Ihe fame wav other great cities am! foci of inlenp B industrial activity may conlribute to the sum total of' magnetis derangement." H The logical inference is that-lhis 'stale of nc ' " ' rq ; i 'I'Jaii-s. inore or less periodically, may in-''t'W' in-''t'W' imul(aiieously otherwise, uuexplain-"ble uuexplain-"ble signals at rcmotelv separated; wireless stations . - AMifc laboratory In .u- Vork City Dr. Hewitts exquisitely sensitive receiving apparatus ap-paratus pick? up sounds emanating from all sorts of sources' within Manhattan's linufs. For instance, he can identify the "note" of ihe distant electric motor' of a hotel elevator: he can distinguish the labored la-bored pffeorl of an electrically driven pump many blocks away, and, still furthci;ofT. the measured pulse of grant synchronous gene-rafors, gene-rafors, which have for the moment got out of stride with one another, are audible by reason of his wonderfully responsive instruments. As Dr. Hewitt explains: "The manifold noises of our thousands of dynamos and electric motors combine "to produce a certain characteristic 'note.' and the pitch of this is an index of our-demnnd for power, light and heat agreeably lo our ' uses of the energizing current. ,rI merely mention this fact to bring out the possibility of man made electrical dis- ' lurbanccs contributing unexpectedly to wireless impulses other than those deliberately deliber-ately despatched for "inlercomnimi!f?if !nn Of course we all know that there are atmospheric at-mospheric conditions wherein (he sun, thunder thun-der storms. &v.. not onlv interfere with the transmission of ' wireless signals but induce the equivalent of dots and dashe op their own account. These, have a dis-tinctive dis-tinctive sound or nualitv which any trained operator should recognize. Earth Essential to System. "But to return to the possibility of signalling sig-nalling to Mars or any other planet by means of wireless let us first consider some of the underlying conditions which make radio intercourse, as we have il, feasible. Notwithlanding Ihe fact that wireless waves loop their wav through the atmosphere.' touching Ihe earth successively agreeablv to their length, and finally are picked up hundreds or thousands of miles off by .suitably .suit-ably a ttuned mechanisms, si ill t hev reach their destination by reason of jheir ier-leslrial ier-leslrial contacts. In nlher words'!, ihe earth 'h an essential element in bridging the space between station and station. , JJy earth, of course, I mean both-land and water. . .:',,' PETER Nov irZF3 .COOPER JM- ' ' ' HEWITT. Xy::i:; "In principle the controlling circumstances circum-stances do not differ where the despatched waves emanate from an aircraft, because these radiations must come lo earth and then go rolling on much after the fashion ot kindred impulses originating from a ship or shore stal:on. Now, inasmuch as the earth is so essential n element in present-day wireless, how then could we hope to reach another planetary body 7 In other words, how could we expect lo span he vast gap of spneo ljy this means, knowing Hint the radio ' waves would have no 'footing' on the wsyV I don't dare prophesy what the solution will be. but' we have an inkling of a possible agency in a veil known 'demonslratioa .: phvsics. "If a stick ofccalii.g wax be rubbed with a piece of flannel and thereby electrified, ami is then brought rear to a 'small ball of pith uspcfided by a ;ilk thread trom a glas sumiprt. the pitn-bn!! u-ill lie insiaully attracted to ihe sealni"' wax : hut if the two ci.me in contact ihe !alj vu be quifikly repelled. re-pelled. The, latter indicates (lint by" this s l . . ; it. '-iiX.'.-u , J V"',tf:icu.i - tench the surface of the ball has been locally local-ly charged with electricity of I lcs same sign. The point I want to bring out is that the surface of the pith ball can be oppositely charger) at different points, and also that Ihe attractive and repelling forces set up between the sealing wax and the ball exert tl emselves over a relatively wide gap. "Now, let us suppose that man could similarly sim-ilarly transpose or aller the positive and Ihe negative charges, i. eM the polarity, at two widely separated places on Ihe surface of. the c'arth, and do Ibis in nn extremely brief interval of time. "Manifestly, if this could lie accom-. pl'islied" the 'result would undoubtedly be lo s- I afar ' into space 'idiations. ether waves, that might reach to t.ne or the other of the planets, s'.yjfy as. Mars or Venus, let. nc. say. Again, if we coy.lil rrpeo' these nn-' pulse? at will. Ihe o.frjh being. Ihe basic i.eduim X ee perlj' - 'Jous. tbep wp ir'ght fV II v ttr.ct tin". l:o- o'f f.'ie i).;ilH;.iiihqbi:ants of t'lie' icuiite cclesrtal l.-' v-rind; build up u e"dc iuc cammim uti- . Cerslr-d g. Ul c.Mir, Itis p-esuppo?cs that intelligent beings on the sphere millions mil-lions of miles off will have the means of pieking up wireless waves anil be able ultimately to interpret cur signals. "The staggering part of (he fundamental l roject lies in profoundly affeeting (he earth's electrical charge. Mow can we do this? Frankly, I don't profess to know, out -Mr. Nikola Tcsla is satisfied that the needful efTect can be realized through the medium of a suitable oscillntor patterned after the type which he has already evolved. Iii substance, he would rock the earth electrically elec-trically not actualry. If Ibis be practicable practi-cable then we need not trouble much about the outcome so far as communication ;.cross instellar space is concerned, pro-vTdcd, pro-vTdcd, of course, Hint the beings of (he other world are likewise able (o send an- swering signals. . """As a mailer of fact we don't know wlml mav be Ihe-langunge of Ihe denizens of M ars: but if an exchange of signals be possible we have plenlv of people here endowed en-dowed wilh the pepuliar gift of dpciphering "rode? and gelling at the meaning of seemingly snsele?? Tumbles of lellers and numbers. Starting wilh a simple basis of conimuniealion and adding lo this fep bv step, a common purpose lo arrive at an un derslanding would soon produce an inlel-ligiblp inlel-ligiblp kev. or svslem. NTeedis lo remark, in Ihe beginning, if the Mnrlians are taking the initiative, thpre is nolhing lo warrant the belief that (hey would n?e the Morse code, which is n purelv arbilrarv alphabet of dots and dashes of man's fn?hinning and known onlv to a comparatively few of us here" . Msgbt Disturb tbp Compass. GeMing in touch will) Marc bv so rarliesl r melborl might nof prove an umillovpd blessing. We mighl all loo easilv inVit" dis- ' isler Ihrongh Hip reflex uron Ihe mariner's compass and plav havoc wilh Ihe surveyor's i-tTforf? lo run new line?. ' , ' Pr. L. A flaiier. direct.i of (he deport- ment of Inrreclriiil :va.'no!iin of Ihe Cnr-.I'l'gic Cnr-.I'l'gic Ijjtjtijtiiin, o- V'ainoon. ha? Ihuv I descrihed onie.'nf ihe lunclioning of" tii'e I Virlh, a? a inagne't' anil svh:il Ihev mean, lo U.eJ geophysic"istk; seeking to .unravel this i liewildering puzzle. To quote this eminent 'H "Fortunalely for him, however, nature flflfl conies to his relief somewhat and performs '1 !Hfll experimenls for him on his great magnet on f iIkS a worldwide scale by producing in an in- ' f !Hj iredibly short lime manifold and at times 4 jUtt j startling variations and fluctuations in the i apparently fixed magnetization of the earth. " H P ! "Thus. or. September 25, 1000. there oc- mmW fk curred the most rem irkablc magnetic storm i A JE on record, during which, within a few jB S minutes, the earth's magnetic movement. IjH - or intensity of magnetization, was al- C: U- W$ tered by about one-tweclieth to one- iMs thirtieth part. The earth's magnetic con- ; IBiH dilion was I clow par for fnll.v three months IHl thereafter. This severe storm was accom- v :'B4:: panied by a brilliant display of polar uW Sl Have wo thus already managed unintcn- ' UmWW (ionally. to lei Mans hear from us? Or was '4 ' TmW Pfe that npseliing of Ihe earlh'f magnetization ; , Bg- too punv to send its othereal reactions ' Wfe across the universal gap? iliJ There am recognized authorities in elec- " ife-4 Jrieify who are satisfied that we are insu- v PPu luted by wha( Js known as (hP 'TTeaviside t 5 WeBF'-- layer." a conducing blanket of rarified, ? ' ft ionized gases which lies upon the upper f mmmB limits of our atmosphere something like i Hf Bj fifty miles aboyp lhP surface of the earth. mW& k'I?S The thporv of Ihe "Heaviside layer" i? that ? j fe :: would aliorb anv wireless impulses prop- igaled from anolher planet and thus pre-" ' j-ent their reaching cur receiving apparatus. hmWw Similarly :t is arguco that waves of radio WW Vequencies emanating from us would not LW ie able to pierce this screen and travel mW j 1 Lcn J)e Forest, one of the exponents of , iPBlg wireless, is salisfied (hat the "Heaviside' ' W'R layei-" doe- exist, and (heK'fore Mint Signor ' BS Arareoni h..s nof been "hearing from Mars." ' ; 7 "wkK As he puts it: ' V- jvC "All of this discussjon in favor of Martian . LBi conimuniealion by radio is simply bo'h. V IBflBli The signals whieh have puzzled that dis- mWwS' fingnNhed- Italian are in no wise uninue. x PBlfcj I?ndio engineers have had lo contend with' ' (hem lime and time ngain and T can see lf no conneetirn befw?en their particular : re-. , BB eurrence :,t hi ease and Ihe fact (haf Arars 'i Hll is now aporoaehirig, its opposition; i. c, its.- v t, Hlfi shorfesl distance from the earth. WWwW' 'Tf Ihe Martians havo given heed at all' HC lo Ihe "likelihood of our existence and pos- ' S 1 BH' ?e? Ihe lM2I,Pr intelligence born of an older . BmIT world for Mai-?. bp?ng tiupJi smalpr (ban .; - HBl our own globe. mu,i have become fit for IK hnbifalion long before (he earth whv MB?' would Ihev frv to uliliz. wireless instead ,v BhP$! r lishl nc a medium or eommunicafon 7 V. HSTP Whoever -.nay be Mi'-ir nhvsical gefup. it h ' BEV safe lo say (he Martians. If (hey now exist. , ' HK1 are endou-l with organs of vision, and Ihev V IBM have prn'onblv more compleelv malered - BPSB;'! manv of fli ?cience. of which our grnsn is jv BBr onlv Ihe vrnmmar school sfage. With Iheir ' if KBpI malnrer wisdom T don'f believe. Ihev would . . W&Wa& .onander their energies nnVl material suhi: I' W, Bai s'aocp bv J:-rrin-. to adi" fo rnanb n u-l.on ' , M WjLmwM .eam of light could be mulerpd more ' "M" P"! ecopnmicnlly and more efifectivelv lo ti-at. ; C ' ijl WWuVW1 'T.ct U5 suppoe they ha'-p produpd fele- Kf Mai neiglhor. near and rrniolp, nc Ibe ' - M WWw term goe in nlronomv. and Pt n furYbor - ' ., jHi '4. imagine lhal their fraternity or star gaVen 'f. VV'.Jrj HKp 'r- '0 have bnen Inoking onr wav for somp Mmp. l' 'jVt HU' ' ' TIlPV prp nol likelv 'In ip irtnirnl !l.P,... H) ' '"r- In rn lUr limit in a dnsirp r cippI ik. t.r, .'..Ai ; v Bfir MiN globp of oui-c probably fail- In ir?nit .- "i H ' lo Ihe Martian a piclure anything like as . N ' iBt-K ' alluring as their own planet seems lo us." ' V -Hj. B |
