I9I4.] "A KINETIC THEORY OF GRAVITATION." 123 



shadows cast by black spheres. Of course the shadows as here 

 represented are enormously exaggerated. Plate I., Fig. 2, represents 

 a single sphere and the adjacent parts of its spherical shadow. 

 (Obviously a body of any shape will cast a shadow substantially 

 spherical.) Plate I., Fig. 3, shows two neighboring spheres with 

 their shadows interblending. The greater depth of shadow between 

 the spheres is clearly indicated, and it is into this deeper shadow 

 that the two gravitating bodies are supposed to be pushed by the 

 superior energy flux from right and left. 



Some curious and interesting secondary phenomena are sug- 

 gested by this conception of the mechanism of gravitation. One of 

 these may be described as follows : Imagine two bodies, such as 

 those of Fig. i or Plate I., Fig. 3, falling toward each other by reason 

 of their mutual attraction. They are continually accelerating, and 

 absorbing energy from the ether waves or energy flux pushing them 

 toward each other, whereby these waves pass through and beyond 

 each body slightly depleted of their energy, and thus oflfer less than 

 normal resistance to the advance of the other body ; that is to say, 

 the energy shadow between the bodies, into which they are pushed, 

 grows deeper and deeper as they approach, not only because of their 

 lessening distance from each other, but also because of their increas- 

 ingly rapid transformation of energy as they gain velocity. And it 

 does not matter if the two attracting bodies differ greatly in mass, 

 like the sun and a planet or the earth and a tennis ball, because they 

 will ecjually accjuire momentum, and each will affect the other in the 

 manner described. Stated concisely this means, if my premises are 

 tenable, that Newton's law of inverse squares is not rigidly true for 

 accelerating bodies; but that for positively accelerating (approach- 

 ing) bodies the force of attraction increases a little faster than the 

 inverse square of distance. The force of attraction instead of vary- 

 ing as i/D- as it does for bodies at rest or in uniform motion, varies 

 as i/D'---'^^ for bodies accelerating in the line of attraction, wherein 

 .r is a very small quantity which appears to vary with the rate of 

 energy transformation or velocity of fall. When acceleration is 

 negative, that is to say, when energy transformation is from the ac- 

 celerating body to the ether, x becomes positive. 



