Part 25 (2/2)
They said it would be one of two things: either Keely's experiments in this direction would continue to fail in the crucial point necessary, _or_ that if he succeeded it would be his own death warrant, lest any mischief should accrue from his making his methods public.
In view of these p.r.o.nouncements, the succeeding events in Keely's career are interesting.
_The Times_ (U.S.A.) of 6th March 1898 contained the following announcement, under Keely's own signature:--
After twenty-five years' labour I have solved the problem of harnessing the ether (which elsewhere he says is only the _medium_ of the force he discovered) and adapting it to commercial uses. I have finished experimenting.--My work is now completed.
(Signed) JOHN W. KEELY.
_On 18th November of this same year he died._
Within two months, his generous friend and patron, Mrs Blomfield Moore, followed him to another sphere. Keely's final discovery of the means of ”harnessing the ether,” as he calls it, was through holding it _in rotation_ instead of in confinement.
I am allowed to quote an extract from a private letter with regard to this statement.
”This instrument ruptures the luminous envelopes of the hydrogen corpuscles, liberating the mysterious substance, which is put into such high rotation that it forms its own wall of confinement at 420,000 revolutions per second, as calculated. Independent of this rotation in the tube, where it is projected, it could be no more held in suspension than a ray of suns.h.i.+ne could be held in a darkened room.”
I have been given to understand that a faithful account of everything that has occurred in connection with Keely's discovery has been compiled, and will be published ”_when the time comes for the truth to be made known_.”
It is, of course, possible that this disclosure may be antic.i.p.ated by the arrival of another ”crank and impostor” of the Keely type. Let us trust he may arise from _within_ and not from without, scientific circles, and thus avoid his martyrdom!
Meanwhile it may be interesting to quote from a published letter of Lascelles-Scott, the Government physicist from Forest Gate, who visited Keely's workshop in the interests of Science, and who was allowed to cut and bring away with him pieces of the wire Keely was using. (Said to be _tubes_ by the wiseacres!)
The following is the essential portion of Mr Lascelles-Scott's letter. I only omit courteous expressions of grat.i.tude to the editor and ”to the inst.i.tutions and individuals alike” of the ”beautiful city of Philadelphia” where he was able to carry out his investigations.
Letter from Mr Lascelles-Scott to the Editor of _The Public Ledger_, Philadelphia.
The only corrections of sufficient importance, to the general sense of my observations at the Franklin Inst.i.tute last Wednesday night, to call for notice in your otherwise admirable report, are the following:--
Although my observations were only put forward as ”preliminary,”
inasmuch as I have not yet _completed_ the outlined programme I had in view, no words actually used by me justified the expression that ”_I had formed no very definite opinions_.”
On the contrary, I stated more than once the very _definite opinion that Mr Keely has demonstrated to me, in a way which is absolutely unquestionable, the existence of a force hitherto unknown_. (The italics are mine.--E. K. B.)
The conditions under which the experiments were carried out (as I distinctly stated) _were such as to preclude the possibility of the results obtained being due to any ordinary source of power, evident or concealed_.
Moreover, I satisfied myself that the rotation of the ”vibrodyne” was neither due to, nor accompanied by, any traces of electricity or magnetism. So far my opinion is and was expressed as being of the most definite kind possible.
... I stated, and the statement was greeted by the audience with great and prolonged applause, that, after a little adjustment of the ”Sympathetic Transmitter,” it was found that by the sounding of one of the small English tuning forks I had brought with me from the other side of the Atlantic, upon the said ”Transmitter,” I could myself start the vibrodyne, and cause it to revolve rapidly, without Mr Keely's intervention, and I exhibited to the meeting, the fork actually used by me.--Thanking you in antic.i.p.ation, etc., I am, sir, yours obediently, W. LASCELLES-SCOTT.
One would have supposed that this testimony, in addition to that of other scientists and practical electricians, would have sufficed to disintegrate Atomic Stupidity and Calumny, and liberate the forces of Humility and Sane Investigation.
But prejudiced Ignorance dies hard!
To end my chapter on a pleasanter note than this, I will quote from a private letter which I have been privileged to read, the beautiful words in which Keely describes his own achievements.
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