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This is what one might call taking things on trust, aye, even to ''blind faith. ''But ''exact ''Science is not to be questioned, and he who rejects the hypotheses imagined by her students — gravitation, for instance — would be regarded as an ignorant fool for it ; yet we are told by the just cited author a queer legend from the scientific annals. “ The comet of 1811 had a tail 120 millions of miles in length and 25 millions of miles in diameter at the widest part, while the diameter of the nucleus was about 127,000 miles, more than ten times that of the earth.” He tells us, “ in order that bodies of this magnitude, passing near the earth, ''should not affect its ''motion or change the length of the year by even a single second, their actual substance must be inconceivably rare. ” It must be so indeed, yet : — | This is what one might call taking things on trust, aye, even to ''blind faith. ''But ''exact ''Science is not to be questioned, and he who rejects the hypotheses imagined by her students — gravitation, for instance — would be regarded as an ignorant fool for it ; yet we are told by the just cited author a queer legend from the scientific annals. “ The comet of 1811 had a tail 120 millions of miles in length and 25 millions of miles in diameter at the widest part, while the diameter of the nucleus was about 127,000 miles, more than ten times that of the earth.” He tells us, “ in order that bodies of this magnitude, passing near the earth, ''should not affect its ''motion or change the length of the year by even a single second, their actual substance must be inconceivably rare. ” It must be so indeed, yet : — | ||
“. . . . . The extreme tenuity of a comet’s mass is also proved by the phenomenon of the tail, which, as the comet approaches the sun, is thrown out sometimes to a length of 90 millions of miles in a few hours. And what is remarkable, this tail is thrown out against the force of gravity ''by some repulsive force'', probably electrical, so that it always points away from the Sun (! ! !) And yet, thin as the matter of comets must be, ''IT OBEYS THE COMMON LAW OF GRAV ITY ''(''! ?''), and whether the comet revolves in an orbit within that of the outer planets, or shoots off into the abysses of Space, and returns only after hundreds of years, its path is, at each instant, regulated ''by the same force as that which causes an apple to fall to the ground.''” (''Ibid'', p. 17.) | “. . . . . The extreme tenuity of a comet’s mass is also proved by the phenomenon of the tail, which, as the comet approaches the sun, is thrown out sometimes to a length of 90 millions of miles in a few hours. And what is remarkable, {{Style S-Small capitals|this tail is thrown out against the force of gravity}} ''by some repulsive force'', probably electrical, so that it always points away from the Sun (! ! !) And yet, thin as the matter of comets must be, ''IT OBEYS THE COMMON LAW OF GRAV ITY ''(''! ?''), and whether the comet revolves in an orbit within that of the outer planets, or shoots off into the abysses of Space, and returns only after hundreds of years, its path is, at each instant, regulated ''by the same force as that which causes an apple to fall to the ground.''” (''Ibid'', p. 17.) | ||
Science is like Cæsar’s wife, and must not be suspected — this is evident. But it can be respectfully criticised, nevertheless. At all events, it may be reminded that “ the apple ” is a dangerous fruit. For the second time in the history of mankind, it may become the cause of the ''FALL'' — this time, of “ exact ” Science. A comet whose tail defies the law of gravity right in the Sun’s face can hardly be credited with obeying that law. | Science is like Cæsar’s wife, and must not be suspected — this is evident. But it can be respectfully criticised, nevertheless. At all events, it may be reminded that “ the apple ” is a dangerous fruit. For the second time in the history of mankind, it may become the cause of the ''FALL'' — this time, of “ exact ” Science. A comet whose tail defies the law of gravity right in the Sun’s face can hardly be credited with obeying that law. | ||