Great Inventions and Discoveries Part 7

[Ill.u.s.tration: SIR ISAAC NEWTON]

The operation of this law of gravitation pointed the way to the discovery of the planet Neptune, which is considered the greatest triumph of mathematical astronomy since the days of Newton. Prior to the discovery of Neptune, Ura.n.u.s was the outermost known planet of the solar system. It was noticed that Ura.n.u.s was being pulled out of its proper path. It was being tugged away by some strange force beyond the edge of the known planetary system. As the result of a skilful and laborious investigation, Leverrier, a young French astronomer, wrote in substance to an a.s.sistant in the observatory at Berlin: "Direct your telescope to a point on the ecliptic in the constellation of Aquarius in longitude 326, and you will find within a degree of that place a new planet, looking like a star of the ninth magnitude, and having a perceptible disk." Leverrier did not know of the existence of such a planet. He calculated its existence, location, and ma.s.s from the fact that some such body must be there, to account for the disturbance caused to Ura.n.u.s. The telescope in the Berlin Observatory was directed to the place designated by Leverrier, and on the night of September 23, 1846, in exact accordance with his prediction and within half an hour after the astronomers had begun looking, Neptune was discovered within less than one degree from the exact spot where Leverrier had calculated it must be. Such are the triumphs of the human mind. Such are the failures of nature to hide her secrets from the inquiry of man, even behind untold millions of miles.

According to the principles of gravitation as unfolded by Newton, the power of attraction decreases directly as the square of the distance between the sun and a planet. Neptune, being on the outer rim of the system and hence farthest away from the sun, moves in its...o...b..t around the sun more sluggishly than any other planet. Life such as we know it on the earth could not exist on Neptune; it would be too cold. The light and heat from the sun on Neptune are only one nine hundredth part of what we get on the earth. But even so, the sunlight falling upon Neptune is equal in power to seven hundred of our full moons. It was thought that Ura.n.u.s was the last planet of the solar system until Neptune was found. Whether Neptune is the last, or whether other worlds are roaming around beyond it, is not known.

Ptolemy, who was one of the most celebrated astronomers of earlier times, was born in Egypt about a century and a half after Christ.

According to the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, which Ptolemy expounded but did not originate, the earth was considered the center of the universe, and around it the other planets and the sun were believed to revolve. A pa.s.sage in the Bible in which Joshua commanded the sun to stand still indicates that the old Hebrews believed the sun circled around the earth. The Ptolemaic theory did not account for all the facts observed by astronomers, but for nearly fifteen centuries it held practically universal sway over the belief of men, until another thinker set the matter right.

Nicholas Copernicus was born in Prussia, February 19, 1473. He studied mathematics, medicine, theology, and painting, but his greatest achievements were in astronomy. He made holes in the walls of his room, through which he might observe the stars. Copernicus did not believe in the theory of Ptolemy that the earth was the center of the universe, but held that the solar system had for its center the sun, and that around it the planets, including the earth, revolved. In working out this belief, which science has subsequently shown to be correct, he laid the foundations of the modern system of astronomy.

The book in which Copernicus expounded his theory was begun in 1507 and was completed in 1530. He could not be induced to publish it, however, until shortly before his death. On May 24, 1543, he lay dying in Frauenburg. A few hours before his death, when reason, memory, and life were slipping away from him, the first printed copy of his book was borne to Frauenburg and placed in the great astronomer's hands. He touched the book, looked at it for a time, and seemed conscious of what it was. Quickly afterward he lapsed into insensibility and was gone.

Johann Kepler, who was born in Germany in 1571, contributed several important facts to astronomy. He studied the motions and laws of the celestial bodies. Copernicus taught that the planets revolved around the sun in circular orbits, but Kepler discovered that their paths are ellipses. He also found that the nearer the planets are to the sun the faster they travel. Kepler's discoveries were embodied in three great laws of astronomy known as Kepler's laws. These furnished the foundation for Newton's discoveries and are the basis of modern astronomy. Kepler died in November, 1630.

Many of the wonderful discoveries that have been made in the field of astronomy could not have been possible without the telescope, the most important instrument used by astronomers. The first part of the word is the same Greek adverb meaning "afar," found in _telegraph_ and _telephone_; the last part is derived from a Greek verb meaning "to see." The telescope, therefore, is an instrument for seeing objects that are far off. It is a long tube With lenses so arranged as to make objects appear much larger than they would to the naked eye. The telescope was invented by a Dutch optician named Hans Lippershey about three hundred years ago. The Italian scientist Galileo, who was born at Pisa in February, 1564, heard of the invention, began studying the principles upon which it depends, and greatly improved it. Galileo was the first to use the telescope for astronomical purposes. With it he discovered the satellites of Jupiter, the spots on the sun, and the hills and valleys of the moon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GALILEO]

At the present time the largest telescopes in the world are made and owned in America. The largest is the Yerkes telescope, belonging to the University of Chicago and located on the sh.o.r.es of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Microscopes, opera gla.s.ses, and other magnifying instruments depend upon the same principles as the telescope.

One of the most astounding of man's tools is the spectroscope, an instrument used for a.n.a.lyzing light. Through a knowledge of chemistry scientists can establish scientific relations between different substances and the light which they emit. By a.n.a.lyzing the light from the heavenly bodies with the aid of the spectroscope, and comparing this result with the light sent out from different known kinds of matter, man can stand on this little flying speck of matter we call the earth and discover of what substances the stars are made.

One of the most interesting questions arising in a study of the heavenly bodies is whether or not any of them besides the earth are inhabited. Is there any good reason for supposing that our pigmy planet, so insignificant compared with many celestial bodies, is the only one containing life? On the other hand, life such as we know it could not exist on some of the other planets. Mercury would be too hot; Neptune too cold. Climatic conditions on Mars are most nearly like those of the earth. Within recent years the telescope has revealed on the surface of Mars a number of peculiar, regular lines. Many scientists hold that these are artificial ca.n.a.ls or irrigation ditches, and that the planet must be inhabited. The theory does not seem at all unreasonable. But the most that can be safely said is that if any of the other planets are inhabited, the most likely one is Mars.

CHAPTER IX

THE COTTON-GIN

Another great invention is the cotton-gin. It is great because of the commercial prosperity which it brought to the Southern states; because it cheapened and extended the use of an almost necessary article of life; and because of its effect on American history. The inventor was an American, Eli Whitney.

The word _gin_ is an abbreviation of _engine_, and in former days was often used to denote a handy mechanical device of any kind. The cotton-gin is a machine for removing the seed from the fiber of the cotton-plant. Its essential parts are a number of saws which tear the fiber from the seeds, some stiff brushes used to remove the fiber from the saws, and a revolving fan which blows the lighter substance of the cotton away from the saws and brushes. The original cotton-gin has been little changed by improvement since its invention. It seems to be one of those inventions which have been perfected by the inventor himself.

Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Worcester County, Ma.s.sachusetts, December 8, 1765. His father was a thrifty farmer. Nature bestowed upon the son marked ability in the use of tools. While he was yet a child, his inventive genius manifested itself. Before he was ten years old, he could use every tool in the farm workshop with the ease and skill of an old workman. He made a violin before he was twelve and later he came to be noted in the neighborhood as a skilful mender of fiddles. He also turned his attention to making nails, which in Revolutionary days were made by hand, and became the best nail-maker in Worcester County. When he was twenty-four years of age, a desire for a college education possessed him. His father agreed to furnish the money to pay for his schooling, with the stipulation that the son should pay it back. He entered Yale, where he was graduated in 1792.

After graduation Whitney went South to act as tutor in a private family. Upon arrival at his destination, he found that the position was already filled. At that time the widow of General Nathanael Greene, who fought in the Revolutionary War, lived near Savannah, Georgia. She had become interested in young Whitney and invited him to make her plantation his home. She noted his inventive skill, and one day when a group of Georgia planters was discussing at her home the desirability of a machine for removing cotton-seeds from the fiber, Mrs. Greene said: "Gentlemen, apply to my friend, Mr. Whitney; he can make anything." Whitney was called in and the planters laid the matter of the machine before him. At this time he had never even seen cotton fiber. But he made up his mind to try what he could do toward solving the problem.

He went to Savannah and searched among the warehouses and flat-boats for samples of cotton. Mrs. Greene encouraged him in his undertaking and gave him a room in the bas.e.m.e.nt of her house for his workshop. Here he shut himself up with his task, and was heard early and late hammering, sawing, and filing. No one was admitted to the room but Mrs.

Greene and Phineas Miller, the tutor of Mrs. Greene's children. At the outset Whitney had neither money nor tools. The money was supplied by an old college friend; the tools Whitney made himself. He could procure no wire in Savannah for constructing his machine, and was compelled to make his own, which he did with much perseverance and skill.

In 1793 the gin was sufficiently completed to convince the inventor that it would be a complete success. Mrs. Greene invited a number of distinguished planters and merchants to witness the working of the machine. The spectators were not slow in realizing the success and the significance of the invention. They saw that with this little machine one man could separate as much cotton from the seed in one day as he could separate by hand in a whole winter. With the gin the cotton grown on a large plantation could be separated in a few days; by hand, the separation would require a hundred workmen for several months.

One dark night some unscrupulous persons broke open the shed in which the unfinished machine had been placed and carried it away. Filled with rage and despair at the wrong which had been done him, Whitney left Georgia and went to Connecticut to complete his invention. But he had scarcely left Savannah when two other claimants for the honor of the invention appeared in Georgia. A few weeks later a gin very closely resembling Whitney's came out. His stolen gin was doubtless used as a model by these false claimants.

On March 14, 1794, Whitney received a patent on his gin. Phineas Miller, who had become the husband of Mrs. Greene, entered into a partners.h.i.+p with Whitney for managing the new invention. Whitney was to manufacture the gins in the North and Miller was to furnish the capital and attend to the interests of the business in the South. They planned not to sell machines or patent rights, but to make and own the gins, loaning them to planters for a rental of one pound in every three pounds of cotton ginned. They would have been wiser if they had manufactured and sold the machines outright. In the first place, it required a larger capital than the firm had to manufacture the necessary number of machines. In the second place, no one firm could make gins fast enough to supply the rapidly increasing demand, and consequently great encouragement was given to infringements on the patent rights. Unending troubles beset the new firm. Whitney himself was a victim to severe illness in the winter of 1794. Scarlet fever raged that year in New Haven, Connecticut, where the manufacturing was being done, and many of the workmen in the gin factory were unable to work. In 1795 Whitney was again seized with severe sickness, and to add to the vexations of the business, the books, papers, and machinery were destroyed by fire. Besides all this, rival claimants circulated a report that Whitney's gin ruined the fiber of the cotton, and that for this reason cotton ginned by the patent process was discriminated against in the markets of England. Another gin which did its work by crus.h.i.+ng the seeds between rollers and leaving the crushed seeds in the fiber was represented as superior to Whitney's machine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ELI WHITNEY]

In speaking of his troubles Whitney said: "The difficulties with which I have had to contend have originated princ.i.p.ally in the want of a disposition in mankind to do justice. My invention was new and distinct from every other; it stood alone. It was not interwoven with anything before known; and it can seldom happen that an invention or improvement is so strongly marked, and can be so clearly and specifically identified; and I have always believed that I should have had no difficulty in causing my rights to be respected, if it had been less valuable and been used only by a small portion of the community. But the use of this machine being immensely profitable to almost every planter in the cotton districts, all were interested in trespa.s.sing on the patent right, and each kept the other in countenance.... At one time but few men in Georgia dared to come into court and testify to the most simple facts within their knowledge relative to the use of the machine. In one instance I had great difficulty in proving that the machine had been used in Georgia, although at the same moment there were three separate sets of this machinery in motion within fifty yards of the building in which the court sat, and all so near that the rattle of the wheels was distinctly heard on the steps of the court house."

Whitney never received fair and proper compensation for his invention.

The machine itself was stolen; others sought to rob him of his honor; he was opposed by an unlimited train of vexations; and after the expiration of his patent he was never able to secure a renewal.

The effect of the invention of the cotton-gin was far-reaching, industrially and historically. In 1807, at a session of the United States District Court held in Savannah, Georgia, the inventor finally obtained judgment against the persons who had stolen his invention. In the opinion rendered in favor of Whitney, Judge Johnson said of the cotton-gin: "Is there a man who hears us who has not experienced its utility? The whole interior of the, Southern states was languis.h.i.+ng, and its inhabitants were emigrating for the want of some object to engage their attention and employ their industry, when the invention of this machine at once opened new views to them which set the whole country in active motion. Individuals who were depressed with poverty and sunk in idleness have suddenly risen to wealth and respectability.

Our debts have been paid off, our capitals have increased, and our lands have trebled themselves in value. We cannot express the weight of the obligation the country owes to this invention. The extent of it cannot now be seen. Some faint presentiment may be formed from the reflection that cotton is rapidly supplanting wool, flax, silk, and even furs, in manufactures, and may one day profitably supply the use of specie in our East India trade. Our sister states also partic.i.p.ate in the benefits of this invention; for besides affording the raw material for their manufactures, the bulkiness and quant.i.ty of the article afford a valuable employment for their s.h.i.+pping."

In the South "Cotton is king." The rise of the cotton industry dates from the invention of Eli Whitney's cotton-gin. Before its invention the labor of removing the seed from the fiber was so tedious that the growth of the cotton was not profitable. Partly because of this fact and partly because the Revolutionary War was just over, the South lay dormant; its plantations were heavily mortgaged, its people were moving away in streams. Then came a little machine that awoke the South from its sleep and made it rouse itself. It brought energy, hope, and prosperity, where before were languor, indifference, and stagnation. It increased the exportation of American cotton from less than 190,000 pounds in 1791 to 41,000,000 pounds in 1803.

From the historical point of view the invention of the cotton-gin was tremendous in its influence. This machine multiplied by many times the demand in the South for slave labor and made slaves far more profitable. One writer has said of Whitney: "He was, through his invention, probably one of the most potent agencies for the extension of slavery and the terrible struggle that marked the first half-century of our nation's existence. While he was quietly sleeping in his grave, the very earth was shaken with the tread of contending armies that he had done more than any other one man to call forth to battle; for there is little doubt that but for the invention of the cotton-gin slavery would not have lived out the century of the Revolution." Macaulay says: "What Peter the Great did to make Russia dominant, Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin has more than equaled in its relation to the power and progress of the United States." In the light of the wonderful, widespread material growth and prosperity that have come to the whole of our country in recent years, Macaulay's statement is overdrawn. But as matters were when it was written by the great Englishman, it was probably true.

Whitney achieved much success as the inventor of improved methods of manufacturing firearms. He was the first to conceive the plan of making the different parts of firearms by machinery, so that any part of a weapon would fit any other like weapon equally well. This principle has made possible the production of cheap watches, clocks, and sewing machines. He died in New Haven, Connecticut, January 8, 1825.

CHAPTER X

ANaeSTHETICS

If those inventions and discoveries out of which have come widespread safety, happiness, or prosperity to mankind are to be considered great, then Dr. Morton's discovery of anaesthetics and its application to surgery is ent.i.tled to a high place among the world's discoveries and inventions. The pain that has been destroyed, the lives that have been saved, the sorrow that has been averted, give their testimony to the value of this discovery to humanity.

An anaesthetic is administered to produce temporary insensibility to pain. At least something of anaesthetics was known to the ancients.

Homer mentions nepenthe, a potion which was said to make persons forget their pains and sorrows. The word appears occasionally in literature.

In "Evangeline" Longfellow refers to it in this line:

"Crown us with asphodel flowers, that are wet with the dews of nepenthe."

Virgil and other cla.s.sical writers mention a mythical river Lethe which was supposed to surround Hades. Souls pa.s.sing over to the happy fields of Elysium first drank from this river, whose waters caused them to forget their sorrows. Milton speaks of the mythical stream in the following pa.s.sage from "Paradise Lost:"

"Far off from these a slow and silent stream, Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls her watery labyrinth."

Herodotus wrote that it was the practice of the Scythians to inhale the vapors of a certain kind of hemp to produce intoxication. The use of the mandrake plant as an anaesthetic is spoken of as far back as Pliny, the Roman historian. The sleep-producing effects of the mandragora or mandrake are alluded to by Shakespeare. He also frequently mentions in a general way draughts that act as anaesthetics, without making clear their specific natures. An old Chinese ma.n.u.script indicates that a physician of that country named Hoa-tho in the third century after Christ used a preparation of hemp as an anaesthetic in surgical operations. Although the ancients had knowledge of anaesthetics of one kind or other, the practice of anaesthesia never became general, and surgeons of the ancient world appear to have looked upon it with disfavor.

When in modern times Joseph Priestley, the English scientist (born in 1733, died 1804) gave great impetus to chemical research by his discoveries in that science, the nature of gases and vapors was more and more closely studied. The belief soon sprang up that many gases and vapors would ultimately become of great value in medicine and surgery.

In 1800 Sir Humphry Davy experimented with nitrous oxide gas, called "laughing gas," and discovered its anaesthetic qualities. He suggested its use in surgery, but for practically half a century his suggestion pa.s.sed unheeded. Other scientists experimented with greater or less success, seeking to find something that would alleviate physical pain; but to Dr. William T. G. Morton, an American, belongs the credit for the practical introduction of anaesthetics into modern surgery.

Dr. Morton was born in Charlton, Ma.s.sachusetts, August 9, 1819. His ancestors were of Scotch extraction. He pa.s.sed his early years in farm work. At the age of thirteen he entered an academy at Oxford, Ma.s.sachusetts, where he remained only a few months, attending school thereafter at Northfield and Leicester. His father's financial condition caused him to leave school in 1836 and enter the employ of a publis.h.i.+ng firm in Boston. Deciding to engage in the practice of dentistry, in 1840 he took a course in the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. Two years afterward he began the practice of his profession in Boston. As dentistry at that time was in its beginnings as a distinct profession, Dr. Morton took up, in addition to it, the study of general medicine and surgery in the Harvard Medical School.

In the days prior to the use of anaesthetics, the operations of dental surgery were attended by much pain. Dr. Morton began seeking some means for alleviating it. In the course of his investigations he became acquainted with the effects of sulphuric ether as a local anaesthetic, and frequently used this drug in minor operations. On one occasion he applied it with unusual freedom in the treatment of a very sensitive tooth. Observing how completely the tissues were benumbed by the ether, he conceived the idea of bringing the entire system under its influence, thereby producing temporary insensibility in all the sensory nerves. The most serious problem with which he had to deal was the manner of applying the ether. Although the soporific tendencies of both ether and nitrous oxide gas were well known, it had not been proved that they could be inhaled in sufficiently large quant.i.ties, or, if so, that they would produce perfect insensibility. After a long series of experiments with various animals, Dr. Morton succeeded in fully establis.h.i.+ng the narcotic power of ether.

On October 16, 1846, he made his first public demonstration of the new discovery in the operating room of the Ma.s.sachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, when he painlessly removed a tumor from the jaw of a patient. This operation was wholly convincing to the medical profession, and created profound public interest. Dr. Morton was brought into immediate prominence. A meeting of the leading physicians of Boston was held to choose an appropriate name for the new process.

A long list of words was presented, from which Dr. Morton selected the term _letheon_, related to the Lethe of Virgil and the cla.s.sical writers. The words _anaesthetic_ and _anaesthesia_ were coined from the Greek by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the American poet and physician, who was then living in Boston. The words proposed by Dr. Holmes have become the established terms of the subject, superseding the _letheon_ of the discoverer.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DR. WILLIAM T. G. MORTON]