THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. SEEING PEOPLE AT A DISTANCE.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1212, 25 December 1882, Page 2

THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. SEEING PEOPLE AT A DISTANCE.

During the course of a lecture at Phillipstown, (Canterbury.) recently, •the llov H. J. Gilbert (says the ' Tres-i) said that since the day when Galileo adapted the telescope to sicentific purpose very marvellous had been the advancement in that direction. They had probably heard of the man who, on i\v,b looking through, a telescope at a distant church, exclaimed, 'Wonderful! I c;m even hear the organ playing V That was. of course, imagination on the mail's part. But since than it had been discovered how, by the use of a simple instrument and an electric current, to convey vibrations of sound from place to place. The telephone enabled us to speak with a i/ur.id at a distance. Would they be astonished if ho were to tell them that it was not proved to be possible- to convey in a similar manner vibrations of light — to not only speak with your distant friend, but actually to see him. The electroscope — the name of the instrument which enabled us to do this — wa^ the very latest scientific discovery, and to Dr Guidrah, of Victoria, belonged the "proud distinction. The trial of tins wonderful instrument took place at Melbourne on the 31st October last, in the presence of some j forty scientific and public men. and was a great success. Sitting in a dark room, they saw projected on a laige disc of white burnished metal, the racecourse at Fleming Con, with its tvyvnid hosts of living active beings. Each minute detail stood out with perfect fidelity to the original, and as they sat looking at the wonderful picture through binocular gtassps it was difficult to imagine that they were not actually upon the course itsolf jukl moving among those whose actions they could so completely scan.