The Washington times. [volume], November 23, 1919, FINAL EDITION, The American Weekly, Page 4, Image 30

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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Do the People on Mars Look UkeThis ?
Prof. Gernstack Explains Wky Science TLinks tke Peculiar
Conditions of Life on Tkat Planet Would,
Theoretically, -Produce a Higkly Intelligent tut
Grotesque Looking Giant 12 Feet Tall
An Anrtfe American, If He Li red on the Planet
Eros, Wwld Be Able to Lift e Big Mogul
Locomotive Weighing 262,200 Pounds.
By H. Qernsback,
Editor of Electrical Experimenter and
Radio Amateur News.
IN oar ptenaUry system there are prob
ably only three planets now capable
at beating organised life. They are
(fee aarth. Venus and Mars. It haa been
Ann conclusively that the major plan
eta, each a* Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Meptuna, are all still in a plastic or molten
rtata. And Ufa aa we know It cannot exist
am a pis?t ahuaa surface has not as yet
pooled to a firm crust, and whose tempera
tare la Car above the boiling point ot
Tfcoae large planets are still in their
early chtMbood, vhile the earth may bo
termed in its "teens." it being a tew steps.
afcaad of the evolution of the major plan
ets. Venus 1s probably abreast of tbo
earth's progress, or perhaps Just a stop bo>
hta?f*us.
We know verj little about Venus because
ao human being has ever seen its surface.
It Is constantly enshrouded In vast masses
<4 -loads making it impossible to see the
lasd or^oceans. Being twenty-Are million
miles nearer to the sun than our earth, It
receives twice as much heat. This gives
rise to a much greater amount of evapo
ration?hence the constant clouding.
We may be sure, however, that organ
ised life exists on Venus. Where there
are water and clonds. which must givp
Van as a similar atmosphere to our owl
organized life must exist without a shade
of a dohbt.
-But now what of Mars, that interesting
planet with which scientists dream of
some day communicating?
Being much smaller. Mars cooled down
hundreds of thousands of years before
the earth did. If the earth is in its'
teens Mars is well along In the eighties.
organized Ufa there must have begun
eons before it did here.
To form say fdequate conception of what
Ufa on Mars is like we must first under
stand the conditions under which It exists?
esadltions radically different from those
aider which wo on this earth live.
Our teiescopee reveal a very great scar
city of atmosphere on Mars. We know this
Dsn the exceedingly rare cloud forma
tfsna. The air is so thin theft that a man
saddeeiy transoort^d from the earth to
Mars would suffocate in a few minutes.
Aad Mars la losing its atmosphere Into
space much quicker than the earth be
cause of Its lower gravitation.
One terrestrial pound walffhs only about a
third of a pound ou Mars. Therefore Mais
does not hold down its air aa strongly as
la the case oa earth, and the air eacar>es
more quickly Into the outer space. While
this process is slow, requiring millions >f
years. It la steady and inexorable.
The accompanying diagrams, reproduced
from a recent issue of the Electrical Ex
perimenter. show the wide differences in
the amount of gravitational pull found be
neath the earth's surface and on Mars and
Eros
If you were to descend a shaft drilled
right throngh the centre of the earth you
would steadily lose weight until you
reached the earth's centre, where you.
would weigh nothing at alL
An average American living oa Mars
would be able to lift and carry about with
ease a safe weighing 554 pounds, and on '
Bros be would actually be able to lift a big
mogul locomotive weighing K2.M0 pounds.
But to return to the condltlous life haa
to face on Mars. Scant air, as every avia
tor knows, lowers the temperature. How
raach colder is It then oa Mars with an
atmoephere thinner than an aviator ever
breathed oa earth? Also It most be rw
membered that
Mars Is forty-eight
million miles fur
ther away from
the tun than the
earth, and that on
this account alone
it receives bnt half
the heat we do.
Bearing these
facts in mind,
what sort of life
does Mars sup
port? How ha3
nature accustomed
the Martian to his
changing en Tirol*
ment down through
the tens of thott>
of centuries
of Ma htotory? I?
he a biped or a
quadruped? Is be
a mammal or ft
highly cultured fish
or a sort of think
ing bird? We dont
know. We can only
speculate.
Nature always
does the surprising
and biaarre thing
? If yon dont
think to look at a
devil fish or a
giraffe or a chame
leon or a bat. Any
one of them could
hare been equipped
with a human
brain nad nature
thought it expedi
ent. But for some
reason they were
not. On the other
hand, ants and bees
probably "think'"?
Due to the very rare Martian. atmosphere the
Martian's chest moat be enormous to accommodate
his ponderout lungs, necessary to supply his
oxygen. Rare atmosphere conducts sound very
poorly, hence the large ears, necessary'to catch the
very weak sounds. Due to the poor atmosphere it
ia exceedingly cold on Mara, except at (he equator.
Hence Martians are covered with a white polar fur
from head to foot A rare atmospheris conducts
odors but poorly, hence die elephantine nose, which
goes to die odor, as the odor can't come to the
Martian.
Gravity on Mars being much less than on earth
?i lb. on earth weighs 0.3s lbs. on Mars?the pu}l
on his body ia very small. Therefore his height is
from 10 to is feet. To support such a tall body
where gravity ia small, better footing ia necessary.
hence the big feet. The tremendously civilized
Martian always rides or flies from place to place;
his lags are tiros almost .melees, hence devoid of
muscles, consequently thin.
The Martian stopped all physical work millions
of years ago; machines do his work. His arms thaa
are weak and thin. But the hands and eyes?the
Martian's moat important organs, are used and
worked constantly?hence are developed wonder
folly. As his food is all taken in highly concen
trated form and as he does not talk, the Martian's
mouth has shrank very smalt
Talking in a rare atmosphere being almost ia>
possible, die Martian communicates by his telep*?
thic organ, a sort of sensitive skin stretched be
tween antler-like prominences on top of his head.
The same organ sends out the telepathic waves.
perhaps better than we do. Contrawise. If
the? do, they probably think that all of
out acta are due to "Instinct." In their way
they are probably right It depends only
upon the point of view.
But given like conditions evolution will
progress alike In widely separated spheres.
The Indians on the American Continent
developed about the same as the Euro
peans, although they had not intermingled
for thousands of years. It is not even ab
solutely certain that they have not sprung
into being on their own accord.
Following this line of reasoning?and the
writer admits it may be all wrong?there
Is a strong chance that the Martian has de
veloped In s manner similar to that of man
on earth. As a matter of fact, the chances
are greaJy In Its favor. If w? grant this
truth. It should be easy to form a mental
picture of the Martian under his present
unfavorable conditions upon his planet.
To begin with, the Martian race, millions
of years older tuan the terrwitrlal, must
have advanced tremendously. The Mar
tian's head, due to his greatly developed
brain, must be enormous. On account of
the low gravitational force on Mars, where
his body is pulled downward with only one
third of the weight as that on earth, the
Martian must be of great height. He is at
least ten or twelve feet tall. Geotropism
on earth proves this amply.
To support such a tall body where grav
ity is so small, better footing Is necessary,
hence the big (eet are required. The tre
mendously civilized Martian always rides
or flies from [la to place; his legs are
thus Mnjpst unless. Just l'u* a sto'V's, for
instance?d oid of musdies. thin and
sinewy.
Due to the very rare Martian atmos
phere, the Martian's cheat must be enor
Pious to accommodate the ponderous
lungs which are necessary to supply air
and oxygen to his large body. On the
other hand, rare atmosphere conducts
sound very poorly, hence large ears are
required to catch the exceedingly weak
sounds.
As already mentioned, due to the poor
atmospl^ere, it is exceedingly cold on Mars,
except at the equator. Even here it is
freezing. Hence Martians are probably
oovered from head to foot with a white
polar fur. A rare atmosphere conducts
odors but rocly. We thus nay expect the
man on Mars to have an elephantine nose,
which goes to the odor, as the odor can't
com* to the Martian.
The Martian must certainly have
stopped all bodily work millions of years
ago; machines have done his work for
ages. His arms thus are weak and thin.
But the hands and eyes?the Martian's
most Important organs?are used and
worked constantly and therefore are de
veloped to an undreamed of degree.
He probably has six or more fingers on
his hands Even on earth we have already
?ix-flngered human beings.
His eyes probably can be extended from
their sockets at the end of a sort of ten
tacle, the same as a snail's. This gives the
Martian a larger range of vision, without
the trouble of moving his head about As
his food is all taken In highly concentrated
form and as he cannot talk, the Martian's
mouth has shrunk to very small dimen
sions. Talking in a rarificd atmosphere
being almost impossible?for there are no
sound waves in a vacuum?tbe Martian
communicates by means of his telepathic
(O) MIS, International Feature Barrier. Inc.
organ, a sort of sensitive skin stretched
between antler-like prominences on top of
bis huge head. This organ sends out the
telepathic waves/ The antlers protect the
sensitive skin asrainst blows, etc.
This statement need not be ridiculed.
Certain animals, each as our ants, havo a
highly developed telepathic orean. Stu
dents of ants know that the killing of one
ant will be Immediately sensed by others,
although ten or more feet distant. And
within a few seconds they will hare ar
rived at the spot where the death occurred.
The possibility that Mars is inhabited
by strange creatures like that pictured on
this page it itrengthened by the fact that
in other parts of the universe life persists
under the moat extreme conditions imag
inable. Certain species of fish may be
frozen stone hard for days, and will revive
after thawing out.
Thirty years ago it was strenuously de
nied that there could be living creatures
at the bottom of the ocean, where such
tremendoul pressure exists, as well as in
tense cold. It was argued that no living
thing oould withstand suoh enormous pres
sure as 12.000 pounds tf? the square inch,
or exist in the inky darkness of the ocaan
depths. But our deep sea expedltiona
brought up flah from these tremendous
depths as signal proof that nature some
how manages to implant life in the most
impossible placea, under the most unfavor
able conditions.
Life-bearing apores have been frozen in
a vacuum almost down to the absolute
zero They have been subjected to tre
mendous hydraulic pressures. Still life
continued to be evident after the experi
ments. This led Svatte Arrheniua to be
Orett Britain Sights Iwml
Here that
such llfe
bearing
spores pro
pelled by
the i pres
sure exerted by
the sunllg ht,
may float
through tnter
stellar space ?
a vacuum where
the temperature
is 459 derreea
Fahrenheit?till
they are ot.po?
ited upon a ce
lestial body
where. In t. fer
tile soil, they
are capable of
rising to organ
ized life from
1
If You Lived on
the Planet Mar*
You Would Be
Able to Lift with
Ease a Safe Weigh
ing 564 Pound*.
the lowest and most humble beginning
The history of evolution throughout na
ture shows Invariably that antmai life Is
the direct product of Its environment. h>
order to survive, nature equips each animal
with the necessary organs best edited for
its particular environment. Thus the ca
terpillar is colored green to match the
color of the leaves on which he feasts
If be were red In color the birds would
prey upon him sooner. The camel can go
for weeks without water, there being nonn
or little tn the desert. Nature eqntpped tho
camel with certain organs so that be needs
less water than other animals of hie site.
The elephant, due to his big site, round it
difficult to drink water, which he likes and
needs. It m imprac
tical to lengthen hts
huge bead or neck,
lnsteat, b's nose grew
into a trunk which
reaches down to the
water, so that the ele
phant does not have
to bend down on his
knees.
This all goes to
prore thst nature, in
Its effort to accus
tom life to its envtr
onment, will develop
t^e mart a-ton'shin*
and grotesque forms
of animkl physique
and >t maVes the at
tempt to picture what
tlye people of Mars
are like a re-fectly
le?"it!nnte gub'ect for
scientific speculation.
Such a be*n(r as has
been described here is
the sort of one Natura
would find *t neceesary to dezelop in order
to meet the peculiar conditions existing
on Mars.
Some Interesting comparison* given in
a recent issue of the Eectrical Experi
menter he'p to make clear the wide differ
ence between the conditions prevail ng on
Mars and the e*rth and show how certain
it is that the Martian must be a very dif
ferent sort of creature from mm.
If a man who weighs 150 pounds here
could be suddenly transported to Mars be
v ould find on reaching there that he
tipped the scales at only S3 pounds. The
shrinkage would be .due ent rely to the
lesser gravitational pull on Mjrs.
But in return for this reduction In his
avoirdupois the visitor to Mars would bsve
certain compensations. He would be able
to leap a distance of eleven feet into the
air without the slightest difficulty, as com
pared with a mere four feet here He
would be able to pick up and carry off ?
weight of 564 pounds as easily as he could
200 pounds here on the earth.
A cannon flred from this earth would
have to attain a velocity of five miles a
second in order to shoot a project.le into
the air so that it would never return. But
a projectile fired from Mnrs at the rate of
only a small fraction more than a mile a
second would never return to the planet
but would become a new satellite.
What scientists term the low velocity
of escape is believed to have an impor
tant bearing upon the possibility of the
planet's possessing and holding stmoe
ph??re. Even if Mars were originally
clothed with ao extensive atmosphere it
is believed, according to the pinetlc theory
of gases, that It is losing It molecule by
molecule.