Aether and Gravitation

by William George Hooper

For in the phenomena of electricity we find a law which runs thus: “The force of repulsion” (which is the part of electricity we are now dealing with) “between two electrified bodies is equal to the quantities of electricity with which the body is charged.” This law was established and proved by Coulomb by means of a delicate instrument known as the Torsion Balance, with which he also established the law of inverse squares.

It will be seen at a glance that there is a slight difference between stating the law of proportion with reference to the centripetal force, and the centrifugal force or motion. In the former we state the proportion is equal to the product of the masses, while in the latter we say that the proportion is equal to the product of the quantities of electricity.

In the one case we deal with the mass of the body, whether it be atom, molecule, planet or star; in the other case we deal with quantities of electricity. At first sight it may seem that there is little, if any, connection between the two laws, but a careful reflection of the hypotheses laid down with regard to the aetherial medium will show that there is not only a close connection between these two laws of proportion, but also that the law governing the repulsive power of the aetherial electric waves is the direct outcome of the law of proportion governing the centripetal force. Let us restate our case in regard to the aetherial medium.

We have learned that the Aether is gravitative, and that it also has an electro-magnetic basis is proved from Maxwell's electro-magnetic theory of light. Let me ask the reader this question therefore. If the Aether be gravitative, what must be the rule governing the extent and density of the aetherial atmosphere surrounding any planet or sun or other body? If the Law of Gravity teaches us anything at all, it distinctly teaches us that the gravitating power of any body is regulated by the mass of the body, as the law states that the attraction is proportionate to the product of the masses. It states nothing about volume or condition of a body.

The exact size or state of a body has no direct result bearing on gravitation attraction; the underlying principle being that the attractive force is dependent on the mass, and only on the mass of a body. So that if the volume of any body, whether atom, planet, satellite or sun, be doubled, its attractive power remains the same, simply because the mass of the whole body remains the same. Mass, we are told by mathematicians, is equal to the volume multiplied by the density, and whenever we increase the volume of a body we decrease the density, the total mass of the body remaining the same.

If the volume be doubled, then the density of the body would be halved, and vice versâ, but through all the changes of volume and density that may arise from the addition of heat or diminution of heat, the total mass of a body always remains the same. Looked at from the atomic standpoint, taking hydrogen as unity, an atom of oxygen would always weigh sixteen times an atom of hydrogen, and this principle applies throughout the whole realm of the atomic world. Further, the same principle or law, that the mass is equal to the volume multiplied by the density, is true of the planetary or even the stellar world. Thus the great regulating principle of the attractive force of gravity is mass, and not volume, or density, or any other condition.

Now as Aether is subject to the attractive force of gravity, the extent of the aetherial field, and the density of the Aether near the surface of any body, must be subject to the same law regarding mass. That is, the aetherial atmosphere of any atom, or molecule, or satellite, or planet, or star is dependent upon the mass of the atom, the molecule, or the planet, or the star as the case may be.

Thus an atom of oxygen would have a larger or denser aetherial atmosphere than an atom of hydrogen, exactly proportionate to their respective masses. A planet whose mass was represented by 1,000,000 tons would have twice the quantity of Aether around it, compared to a planet weighing only 500,000 tons, and so on, the aetherial atmosphere always being proportionate to the mass of the planet, or the satellite, or the sun, or the star. The fact which we learn from these considerations is that the quantity of Aether, which is attracted by any body, is always proportionate to the mass of the body attracting it.

But we have learned from [Art. 78] that Aether has an electro-magnetic basis, and that the density of the Aether is co-equal with electric density, so that the quantity of Aether which is attracted and held bound by any body is really equal to the quantity of electricity that such a body is covered with, or is charged with. If the quantity of Aether around any body is doubled because its mass is doubled, then the quantity of electricity is also doubled, but as long as the mass remains unaltered, the quantity of electricity held bound by that mass remains unaltered also. The area of the mass may be doubled, and in that case the density of the electricity would be halved, but as long as the mass remained the same, the quantity of electricity would remain the same also. So that we learn from this reasoning that the mass of a body, and quantities of electricity on that mass, are always proportionate to each other, because of the fact that Aether is gravitative, and also has an electro-magnetic basis.

If we wanted further evidence of the hypothesis that has just been advanced, such evidence is to be found in the hypothesis suggested by Faraday as to the electro-chemical equivalents of all elements. According to this hypothesis every element has its exact electro-chemical equivalent, or definite quantities of electricity are to be found in association with each and every particular atom of each element. Writing on the subject in his Exp. Res., par. 852, he says: “The theory of definite electro-chemical action appears to me to touch upon the absolute quantity of electricity or electrical power belonging to different bodies. Although we know nothing of what an atom is, yet we cannot resist forming some idea of a small particle which represents it to our mind, and though we cannot say what electricity is, so as to be able to say whether it is a particular matter or matters, or mere motion of ordinary matter, yet there is immensity of facts which justify us in believing that the atoms of matter are in some way endowed or associated with electrical powers to which they owe their most striking qualities, and amongst them their chemical affinity.” Further, in Art. 857, he states: “I can have no doubt that, assuming hydrogen as 1, and dismissing small fractions for the simplicity of expression, the equivalent number or atomic weight of oxygen is 8, of chlorine 36, of bromine 78.4, and of lead 103.5, etc., notwithstanding that a high authority doubles several of these numbers.”