Benjamin Silliman
Published: 2015-09-27
Total Pages: 434
Get eBook
Excerpt from The American Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. 33 Art. I. - Examination of the Theory of a Resisting Medium, in which it is assumed that the Planets and Comets of our System are moved; by R. W. Haskins, of Buffalo, N. Y. In all ages, when astronomy has been cultivated, the opinion seems to have been entertained, in some one or more of its numerous forms and modifications, that the regions around us, beyond our atmosphere, and to an indefinite extent, are supplied with a rare, invisible medium, of unknown composition and character, in which all the bodies of our solar system, and perhaps the bodies of all other systems also, in executing the several motions assigned them, are necessitated to move. To this substance the name of ether has usually been applied; and by this name we propose to designate it, while we examine into its history, the evidences of its existence, and its effects. The period at which this celestial etber was introduced into the science of astronomy, no less than the race of people by whom it was effected, is probably beyond the reach of inquiry: we know only that in the most remote periods of the history of that science, we find it constituting a prominent part of the celestial mechanism. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.