DISCOVERIES OF THE FUTURE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8896, 16 August 1907, Page 4

DISCOVERIES OF THE FUTURE.

What this century may bring forth, by the discoveries of science is the theme of three famous European savants, who have been contributing their opinions to the public press. Sir William Precco,ouo;of the leading electrical authorities in Great Britain, writing on his special subject, says:— The first great desideratum is a safe aud economical medium tor the transmission of power. The third' rail is a constant menace to life, aud lam persuaded that it will ho abolished as soon as something better can be found. We are experimenting iu Loudon witli an overhead system, and it is more than 'possible that wo shall have to work back aronml the circle to the abandoned , overhead trolley. In telephony the problem or trims- ; mission of the voice clearly to a dm- ; tauce without the enormously heavy , copper wires is on the point of solution ay that wonderful inventor, Professor Pupiu, of Columbia, v, hose induction coil promises to overcome I mauv existing difficulties. In'electric lighting the best prospect of lasting brilliant outdoor lighting is presented by the filament mido of that rare and expensive metal, tungsten, of which so largo lan amount is being discovered in the n tt Qfifnu O. nffm-ds a bright.

U ultod Srates, it anoras a origm., white light, aud deteriorates very slowly. . The improvement of the telegraph by increase of .speed and automatic operations goes on apaoo, and it is hardlv possible for it to be superseded hv tlio telephone. Sir William Hall, the most popular of modern writers on astronomy, dismissing the still unsolved problems of his science, says: — The discovery of now planets ano comets is the solution or the Irio.i.d astronomical question, “Vihafc tills f;o interplanetary spaces?’ ’ and ii u'dly a week passes that there 1 aocs not conic from some observatory too announcement of some now discovery of this kind. How soon it will bo before _wo know that there arc other sentient beings on other planets is one of trie most interesting problems to the lay mind—aud none can say how soon wo shall have proof of such beings. It will then be another problem, perhaps for the electricians, to enter into' communication with these other thinking creatures. Professor P. S. Archouqld, the well-known Gorman scientist, and director of the observatory at Treplow. asks: — What influence have the sun aud its spots upon the earth first, and upon other phmsts afterwards? This, to my mind, is the most important problem that faces us. If a telescope of the now construction used at Troplow, but very much larger, together with a proper spectroscopn and other apparatus, lie erected either on the summit of Kilimanjaro, ortho Kamanin -i oe.;u ah c . Both' of which ere at the equator, elevated more than 3000 metros («000 feet), the solving of this very important problem must follow. I havo'uo doubt- that tin influence of the sunspots upon the earth is electrical, end Hint in their influence .lies the key to establishing a basis of really' scientific meteorology. When wo'understand the relation of the snub-pots to the earth, wo shall bo able to predict weather conditions with absolute certainty ; we shall oe in a positioon to warn the mariner of storms that will come within a few days, but we shall know in advance whether the seasons will he eary, late, severe or mild, and thus lie of real service to the fanner all the world over,. All too lillio use is made of Hie “rainbow spectrum’’ in the study of these sunspots, and ,1 hope to ‘ carry the i nvestigations much further, both at Tv,-plow and in the new observatory wliu-lp I expect some day to erect in the Kamcrun mountains.