All About Inventions and Discoveries
The Romance of modern scientific and mechanical Achievements

6 All About Inventions which Hertz followed. His work was thorough and conclusive. His achievement was so sensational as to stimulate scientists throughout the world. One and all picked up the threads of research at the point to which they had been carried by Hertz. Now the curious point is that the German philosopher had no idea of apply- ing his discovery to the conveyance of signals, corre- sponding to sounds, through the ether. He pursued the subject in the effort to solve the problem of light, and at the time his results were considered to be the most valuable contributions to this subject. The term ether is one which is misunderstood by the average individual. Generally speaking, it is assumed to be a synonym for atmosphere, but this is a serious mistake, as it has nothing to do with the atmosphere surrounding this earth. As is well known, the air we breathe constitutes a layer or invisible blanket covering this globe which, as one ascends, grows thinner or rarer in its composition, until at last, at a certain height, it is no longer encountered. But from the edge of our respirable air to other worlds a certain subtile medium exists which fills all the apparent empty space. This is the medium which scientists have designated ether. More than this, it is claimed to permeate all matter even in this atmo- sphere-covered sphere. That this is so was demon- strated by Marconi when he sent his signals, corre- sponding to the dot and dash of the Morse alphabet, through hills and buildings upon Salisbury Plain, although the selfsame phenomenon had been pre- viously observed in the laboratory. Now these electro-magnetic waves, when thrown