also, and a man--were his vision immeasurably keen,
not to say telescopic--could see the back of his own head! It is not
worth while to give this question of negative parallax too much
importance, by reason of the probability of error, but in this
connection it should be stated that there appears to be an undue
number of negative parallaxes recorded.
GRAVITATION
Gravitation remains a puzzle to science. The tendency of modern
physics is to explain all material phenomena in terms of electrons
and the ether, but the attempt to account for gravitation in this
way is attended with difficulties. In order to cope with these, it
seems necessary to assume that our universe is only a portion of a
greater universe. This assumption readily lends itself to the
conception of our universe as a three-dimensional meeting place of
two portions of a universe of four dimensions--that is, its
conception as a "higher" surface. This is a fundamental postulate of
higher space speculation.
One hypothesis advanced to explain gravitation assumes the existence
of a constant hydrostatic pressure transmitted through the ether. A
steady flow of ether into every electron in a gravitating system of
bodies would give rise to forces of attraction between them, varying
inversely as the square of the distance, according to Newton's law.
But in order to avoid the conception of the continual destruction
and creation of ether, it is necessary to assume a steady flow
through every electron between our universe and the greater universe
of which it is assumed to form a part Now because the electrons, in
order to receive this flow, must lie on the boundary of this greater
universe, the latter must be four-dimensional. Every electron, in
other words, must be the starting point of a pathway into--and a
terminal point out of--four-dimensional space. Here we have another
familiar higher space concept.
THE ETHER OF SPACE
The ether of space, because it has at last found entrance, must be
given a grudging hospitality in these pages, even though the
mysterious stranger prove but a ghost. The Relativists would have it
that with the acceptance of their point of view the ether may be
eliminated; but if they take away the ether, they must give us
something in its stead. In whatever way the science of the future
disposes of this problem, it must take into account the fact of
light transmission. On the theory that the ether is an elastic solid
of amazing prope
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