248 FROM NEBULA TO NEBULA 



of collision, not by the sum, but by the product of these 

 amounts, whence the probability against our premiss is, 

 say, fifty to one. 



We will now suppose both the star and sun to possess 

 diameters of a million miles (to make computation easy), 

 whence it would follow that (excluding the factor of 

 gravitation) they would be able to pass each other with- 

 out touching through a square or circular opening of 

 4,000,000,000,000 square-miles. Obviously, the chance of 

 either sun or star striking a particular spot on our dia- 

 phragm would be in the like ratio as the area of 

 the spot bears to that of the diaphragm or as 2,000, 

 OOO 2 is to 26,000,000,000,000 2 , i. e. as 1 to 169,000, 

 000,000,000. But not only this the sun and star must 

 both strike the same spot and they must do so at the same 

 instant of time, consequently we are obliged to square 

 the terms of our ratio a second time, the arithmetical re- 

 sult of which, for the sake of emphasis, I will write at 

 length, at the same time multiplying it by 50 for the rea- 

 sons before given. The chances, then, of the sun and 

 this particular star, by far the nearest of all, meeting and 

 colliding is only 1 in 1,428,050,000,000,000,000,000,000. 

 000,000, and even this is an underestimate. 



At this juncture it is possible that Professor Bicker- 

 ton or his supporters may seek to fall back upon the aid 

 of gravitational attraction to bring the stars into touch. 

 To this position I offer three objections, namely; (1) It 

 is contrary to the traditions of the science, traditions to 

 which Mr. Bickerton, along with Newtonians in general, 

 presumably acknowledges fealty, to the effect that unless 

 the approaching star is lay its proper motion headed 

 straight at the sun, it cannot strike the latter, but instead 

 must whirl round it in a conic-section orbit. (2) For the 

 star to come fortuitously within even Neptune ? s distance 

 of the sun, the chances would still be found only one in 

 many quadrillions ; altogether too remote a possibility to 

 support Mr. Bickerton ? s claim to this theory being a 

 "general order or plan of Nature." Lastly, if, in very 

 truth, the star and sun should collide, not because of their 



