So that if we compare the repulsive powers of two planets on each other in the solar system, say the Earth and Jupiter, then, according to the third law of motion, the repulsive action of Jupiter on the Earth is exactly equal and opposite to the repulsive action of the Earth on Jupiter. If we compare the Earth and the sun, the repulsive action of the sun on the Earth is exactly equal and opposite to the repulsive action of the Earth on the sun, that action or force being caused directly by the electro-magnetic Aether waves, which are generated by each electric, or electro-magnetic body.
Thus, as the third law of motion is true of the centripetal force, whether in relation to the atomic world, or in relation to the solar system, or even to the universe at large, seeing that the centrifugal force is the exact counterpart in every way of the centripetal force, exactly fulfilling all the laws which govern it, it follows as a matter of absolute necessity that the third law is also applicable to its complement or counterpart also, or else it would cease to be the complement and counterpart of the centripetal force.
ART. 101. _Why Planets revolve from West to East._--In Art. 99 we have seen that the revolution of the planets around the sun is produced and maintained by the electro-magnetic Aether currents, which are generated by the axial motion of that electro-magnetic body. There is, however, another effect produced, and another scientific fact which can be accounted for by the circulating motions of the Aether medium, viz. that the orbital direction of each and all the planets would not only be in the same direction, but they would also be in the same direction as the sun"s rotation on its axis.
So that, whichever way the sun turns upon its axis, that way, and that alone, should be the orbital direction of all the planets in which they are circled round the sun by the circulating electro-magnetic Aether currents. It is the sun"s axial motion that partly gives to the Aether currents their circling motion, and it is the circling motion of the Aether currents that gives rise to the orbital motion of the planets, literally carrying them round the sun by their kinetic energy and power.
Therefore, if this be true, whichever way the sun turns upon its axis, that will be the direction in which the Aether currents must circle round the sun, and in that direction the planets should travel in their orbits. As must readily be seen, it is the inevitable result of the established working of the electro-magnetic Aether currents. If the sun rotated on its axis from east to west, then the electro-magnetic Aether currents would also travel in the same direction, from east to west, and the planets would then revolve round the sun from east to west.
If the sun, however, rotates on its axis from west to east, then, if there are such electro-magnetic Aether currents in existence, as those we have already proved to exist, they, too, would travel from west to east, and as a natural result the planets, which are carried round the sun by the currents, would also possess the same orbital motion, that is from west to east.
As is well known, the sun rotates on its axis from west to east, therefore the Aether currents also rotate from west to east, with the result that the orbital directions of all the planets should also be in the same direction, from west to east. Now, as is well known, all the planets without exception, Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Ura.n.u.s, and Neptune, all travel round the sun from west to east.
Here, then, we have indisputable evidence of the existence and mode of working of the electro-magnetic aetherial currents, whose action alone can produce the phenomena with which we are so familiar, and for which there must be some physical cause. I am not aware that any reason or explanation either mathematical or otherwise has ever been given, or even suggested, as to the cause of the phenomena which we have just endeavoured to explain.
Indeed, there can be no other physical explanation of the fact, that all the planets revolve round the sun in the same direction that the sun rotates on its axis, than the one here given, viz. that the cause is to be found, and alone found, in the circulating electro-magnetic Aether currents which are generated in the Aether by the electro-magnetic body, the sun. Again, in order to confirm the existence of these Aether currents that exist in s.p.a.ce, not only those generated by the sun, but also by all the other electro-magnetic bodies, as all the planets (Art.
88), we will consider the working of the same upon the satellites of those planets which possess them.
The Earth we know has one satellite, the moon, Mars has two satellites, Phobos and Deimos, Jupiter has five satellites, Saturn has eight satellites, while up to the present Ura.n.u.s has been found to possess four, and Neptune one. There is, however, little doubt but that both Ura.n.u.s and Neptune possess more than those already discovered, as it is inconceivable that Jupiter and Saturn, which are nearer to the sun, should possess a greater number of satellites by which the nights of the respective planets are illuminated, while the further planets, which need the increased lighting, because of the decreased intensity of the aetherial light waves at the increased distance, possess apparently a less number of satellites, and therefore less illumination for their respective nights.
But what have these satellites to teach us as to the existence of the electro-magnetic aetherial currents that circulate round the planets? We have to apply a similar course of reasoning to the planets, as we have done in the case of the sun. If the sun is an electro-magnetic body, by its axial rotation it generates rotating Aether currents, and those Aether currents partake of the same rotation as the revolving body, that is, from west to east. In a like manner each planet, being an electro-magnet, generates electro-magnetic aetherial currents which also possess the same rotation as the planetary body which gives rise to them.
So that if the planets rotate on their axes from east to west, the Aether currents will also rotate from east to west, but if the rotation of each planet is from west to east, then the rotation of the Aether currents a.s.sociated with each planet will also be from west to east, with the result that each satellite will be carried round its primary planet by the circulating Aether currents in exactly the same way as the planet rotates on its axis.
Now if this is the case, then we have further evidence of the existence of the circulating electro-magnetic Aether currents, not only those a.s.sociated with the sun, but those also a.s.sociated with each of the planets, as explained in Art. 91. It might have been urged in the case of the planet"s revolution round the sun being in the same direction as the sun"s axial action, that such a fact was merely a coincidence, but such an objection loses its force if it is proved that the same principle or truth when applied to other bodies equally holds good. When we come to a.n.a.lyze the direction of the satellites round their primary planets, we find that each satellite has an orbital motion, or is carried round its central and controlling planet by that planet"s Aether currents in exactly the same direction that the planet rotates on its axis, viz. from west to east. So that we have in the orbital direction of the satellites, as we have also in the orbital direction of the planets, conclusive evidence of the existence and mode of working of the Aether and of the electro-magnetic currents generated in that aetherial medium by the electro-magnetic bodies which rotate in it.
CHAPTER XI
AETHER AND KEPLER"S LAWS
ART. 102. _Aether and Kepler"s First Law._--In Art. 26 we learned that according to the First Law of Kepler, each planet revolves round the sun in an elliptic orbit, with the sun occupying one of the foci.
We also saw that that elliptic orbit was produced according to Newton by the conjoint working of the centripetal and centrifugal forces in a.s.sociation with the three Laws of Motion, to which laws had to be added a corollary, which is termed the Parallelogram of Forces, before the First Law of Kepler could be fulfilled.
In making any hypothesis as to the physical cause of Kepler"s Laws, if it can be shown that the same aetherial medium that gives rise to the centrifugal force, also gives rise to the centripetal force, and that the same medium by its rotatory motions also fulfils the three laws of motion, and gives a satisfactory physical explanation of all Kepler"s Laws; then, according to our three Rules of Philosophy, we shall have found a physical medium which, by its motions and pressures and tensions, can give rise to all the phenomena exhibited in the celestial mechanism. Such a physical explanation will be philosophically correct, in that it is simple in its conception, is entirely in harmony with observation and experiment, and satisfactorily accounts for, and that on a physical basis, all the phenomena a.s.sociated with the whole of the celestial mechanism.
We have therefore to apply the motions of the Aether medium to the solar system, and by so doing reveal the physical explanation of all Kepler"s Laws, in the same way that Newton revealed their correctness from the mathematical standpoint. Let us review the conception of the solar system as given in Art. 99, so that we may be able to proceed from that physical conception of a stationary solar system to a moving system.
Thus we see the sun in a stationary system occupying exactly the centre of that system. The solar energies are in full play, generating electro-magnetic Aether waves which are radiated forth into s.p.a.ce with the velocity of light. Then, as there is given to the sun a rotatory motion on its axis, that rotatory motion imparts to the gravitating aetherial medium a circulatory or rotatory motion which spreads out through s.p.a.ce with ever-increasing intensity.
By their radiating motion the Aether waves would repel all planets from their central body, the sun, if they were not counterbalanced by the centripetal force; and the two forces, the centrifugal and the centripetal forces, find their equilibrium at the mean distance of each planet, thus fixing and regulating permanently the distance and orbit of each planetary world.
At the same time, the rotatory motion of the electro-magnetic Aether currents, according to the second law of motion, would act on the planets by their kinetic or moving energy, and so circle them round the sun, their controlling centre. As long as the sun was quite stationary, while still possessing a rotation on its axis, if such a thing were possible, so long would the conception of the ancients be fulfilled, and the rotation of all the planets would be strictly circular in form, and their orbits would be that of a circle only, as proved by Sir W. R.
Hamilton (Art. 99).
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig: 24.]
But, as is well known, the sun itself possesses an orbital motion of its own, so that, while all the a.s.sociated planetary system is revolving round it, the sun with all that system is being carried along through s.p.a.ce in an orbit which is also elliptic in form, as we shall see later on.
According to Herschel, the sun is moving towards the constellation of Hercules with a velocity of about 18,000 miles per hour, and the problem to be faced is, what is the effect of the sun"s...o...b..tal velocity upon the circular motion of the planets? By solving that problem, we shall arrive at a physical conception for the first time of Kepler"s Laws, and shall see that the first of Kepler"s Laws is solved simply by giving an orbital velocity to any central body, the result of which will be that the circular form of any planet"s...o...b..t will be changed from the circular into one of elliptic form.
Let me ask the reader to perform a very simple experiment to confirm this fact. Take a piece of string and a lead pencil, and start to draw a circle on a piece of paper (Fig. 24). When, however, one quarter of the circle has been drawn, viz. _D_ _F_, move the end of the piece of string representing the centre of the circle along the paper, as represented in the diagram, from _A_ to _B_. The result will be that the pencil will now travel parallel with the moving centre for a time from _F_ to _G_, and then, when the centre is brought to rest again, the other part of the half ellipse _G_ _H_ may be completed. In the same way, by reversing the motion, the other half of the ellipse may be completed. So that it is possible for an ellipse to be formed simply by moving the central point of a circle, and the motion of that central point will change the form of a circle into an ellipse. It is something like this that takes place in the planetary world, with this difference, that the central point which represents the sun does not return from one focus to another, but continues to journey on through s.p.a.ce, with the result that the orbit of any planet is not strictly an ellipse, as we shall see later on. We have, then, the sun occupying the centre of the solar system, with all the planets revolving round it. We will take the sun and the Earth as examples. Let _S_ in the diagram represent the sun, and _E_ the Earth at its mean distance of 92,000,000 miles away (Fig. 25).
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig: 25.]
The Earth we know is moving with a velocity of about 64,800 miles per hour around the sun, or an average velocity of 18 miles per second, so that while the Earth is moving 64,800 miles through s.p.a.ce to perform the half-circle, _E_ _D_ _C_, the sun is also travelling 18,000 miles towards the point _D_.
What, therefore, is the effect of this onward movement of the sun towards the Earth as it tries to complete the half-circle _E_ _D_ _C_?
We have seen that the centrifugal force due to the pressure of the electro-magnetic Aether waves is exactly equal to the centripetal force exerted by the sun on any planet, and if that be so, it can be readily seen that as the sun journeys towards the point _D_ of the Earth"s...o...b..t, it tends to approach nearer and nearer the Earth. Thus the intensity of the aetherial pressure owing to the decreased distance will be greatly increased, and the effect of the increased pressure of the Aether upon the planet will be to push it away from the sun, so that the two forces may be equalized, and its mean distance, which is definitely fixed, be maintained as far as possible.
The result will be that, instead of the Earth describing the half-circle _E_ _D_ _C_, it actually describes the part of the ellipse _E_ _F_ _C_.
Thus it can be seen that while the sun is travelling through s.p.a.ce, it is at the same time giving rise to the electro-magnetic Aether waves, which, by their repelling power, repel the Earth from the sun in the direction that the sun is travelling, and hence the half-circle is elongated into that part of the elliptic orbit known as the perihelion, which is that part of the orbit where the distance of any planet from the sun is the least.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig: 26.]
The repelling power of the Aether waves is not, however, sufficient to overcome altogether the centripetal force in conjunction with the Earth"s motion, with the result that when the Earth arrives at _F_, its distance is only 91 million miles, that being the least distance between the sun and the Earth. We shall see the result of this decreased distance when we deal with Kepler"s Second Law.
We will now proceed to notice the effect of the sun"s...o...b..tal velocity upon that part of the Earth"s...o...b..t which includes the aphelion, or that part in which the Earth occupies a position of the greatest distance from the sun. Proceeding on the same method of reasoning, if the sun were stationary, with the Earth being circled round it by the electro-magnetic Aether currents, then the path described by the Earth would be that of a circle, being represented by the half-circle _C_ _G_ _E_ (Fig. 26).
But it has to be remembered that while the Earth is being circled round the sun by the rotatory electro-magnetic Aether currents, the sun is still travelling on towards _S_ _F_ at the rate of 18,000 miles per hour, while the Earth is travelling in almost an opposite direction towards _C_ _G_, so that by the time the Earth has got to _G_, which we will suppose is one quarter of its ellipse, the sun has travelled millions of miles in that time.
Thus it can readily be seen, that by the time the Earth has got to its aphelion, it is at its furthest distance from the sun, simply because the sun has been travelling onwards through s.p.a.ce all the time, while the Earth has been receding from it; and as the motion of the Earth has been in an opposite direction, the mean distance has been exceeded, and instead of the Earth being now at its mean distance from the sun, its distance is now 94,500,000 miles. At that part of its...o...b..t, its...o...b..tal velocity is at a minimum, because the rotating Aether currents have there a decreased flow and a decreased ma.s.s and density, and therefore possess a decreased kinetic energy or motive power.
Thus by the rotating Aether currents working in conjunction with the centrifugal and centripetal forces, can be accounted on a physical basis the first of Kepler"s Laws in a manner which is strictly philosophical, as the explanation is simple in conception, does not violate experience or experiment, and satisfactorily accounts for, on a physical basis, the law which it is required to explain.
If we consider the rotating Aether currents as purely currents of electricity, then exactly the same results follow. For, as we shall see later, Professor Lodge in his _Modern Views of Electricity_ proves that electricity possesses both inertia and momentum, and if electricity possesses these properties, then it also possesses the requisite properties to enable the currents to propel or push any planet around its central body, or a satellite round its primary planet. Therefore the same course of reasoning that applies to the rotating Aether currents, equally applies to the currents of electricity that circulate round each satellite, planet, and sun and star, and by that circulation gives rise to the electro-magnetism a.s.sociated with each body, while at the same time they supply the kinetic energy which enables any dependent or a.s.sociated body to be propelled round their controlling centre.
ART. 103. _Second Law of Kepler._--According to Kepler"s Second Law (Art. 27), we learn that the radius vector, which is the imaginary straight line joining any planet to the sun, describes, or sweeps over, equal areas in equal times. So that, while Kelper"s First Law describes the path which a planet takes in revolving round the sun, the Second Law shows how the velocity of that planet varies in different parts of its...o...b..t.
While, however, there is a difference in the velocity of any planet at various points in the orbit, there is still a proportion existing between its various velocities, in that equal areas are covered in equal times. We have now to apply the hypothesis of our rotatory Aether currents, in conjunction with the centripetal and centrifugal forces, in order to see whether the Second Law of Kepler can be explained on a physical basis, in the same way that Newton explained it from the mathematical standpoint.
We have again to conceive the sun as the centre of two equal but exactly opposite forces, and also possessing a rotatory motion on its axis, with the electro-magnetic Aether currents ever circulating round it. If the sun were stationary, it will be manifest at once that Kepler"s Second Law would be literally and strictly fulfilled, for in that case the orbit of all the planets would be perfect circles, and the motion of planets in their orbits would be perfectly uniform, and therefore equal areas would be covered by the radius vector in equal times. Thus any quarter of the orbit would be described in exactly a 1/4 of a year, 1/12 in 1/12 of a year, 1/40 in 1/40 of a year, and so on, the time being exactly proportional to the proportion of the area covered by the radius vector.
The area covered would always be uniform, because the radius vector would always be uniform in length. But, as we have seen in the previous article, the distance of a planet from the sun, that is, the length of the radius vector, is not uniform, as the Earth is nearer to the sun at perihelion, and further away at aphelion, its distance gradually changing as it pa.s.ses from each of these points to the other.
Now what is the effect of the decreased distance upon the circulating or rotatory Aether currents? We have already seen (Art. 99) that the closer these Aether currents are to the central body, the sun, the greater is their velocity and the greater their ma.s.s, so that the total impressed force which they exert over any planet is greater the nearer that planet is to the sun. This is proved by the fact that Mercury has a greater orbital velocity than Venus, Venus than the Earth, the Earth than Mars, and so on right through the whole of the planetary system. In view of these facts, let us again consider the effect of the sun not being stationary, but having an orbital velocity of its own through s.p.a.ce.
Thus let the sun be at _S_ and the Earth be at point _D_ of its...o...b..t (Fig. 25).
The circulating Aether currents are ever acting upon the Earth, carrying it round the sun with them, while at the same time the centripetal force is pulling it towards the sun with a certain intensity, but the centrifugal force is repelling the Earth with exactly the same intensity, and if the sun remained motionless the two forces would exactly balance each other, while the Earth would describe the half-circle _E_ _D_ _C_. But while the Earth is moving towards the point _D_ with a velocity of 64,000 miles per hour, the sun is also moving at the velocity of about 18,000 miles per hour towards that point.
Thus the repelling power of the radiating electro-magnetic Aether waves has to overcome, not only its exact counterpart, the centripetal force, but also the onward motion of the sun as it rushes on its course through s.p.a.ce. This the centrifugal force is unable to do, with the result that the distance is gradually lessened, and instead of the Earth describing the arc _E_ _D_, it describes the arc _E_ _F_, at which point its distance is at the minimum, or about 91 millions of miles.
Or, to put the same fact in another way. When the Earth is at _E_, the centripetal force and the orbital velocity of the Earth and the sun are acting conjointly, with the result that they overcome the centrifugal force, and the distance is gradually decreased. This decreased distance means an increased aetherial density and an increased velocity of the aetherial currents, with the result, that as the distance is decreased, the orbital velocity of the Earth is gradually increased, so that by the time the Earth gets to _F_, at its perihelion, it has now acquired its greatest orbital velocity, and is carried round the sun by the electro-magnetic Aether currents at its maximum velocity.