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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1957)
EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Wednesday, Norember 20, 1957 FDynimg PDomie'fc Hleeded If Trips Long o G G Q Original Crew Would Replaced in Space ie By WILLIAM TERRY United Pres Correspondent Berkeley, Calif. (HI Man can explore his stellar backyard the solar system with relative ease. But to chart a course out ward bound to the nearest star he would have to construct a spa tial Noah's ark that would fly for more than 200 years. If he harnessed the power of a nuclear bomb and started out tomorrow for Pluto, the most distant planet at three and a half billion miles, he would arrive in about 18 days. But if he sailed on by Pluto heading for the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, 30 thousand billion miles away in hope of find ing another planetary system, it would be 2182 before he saw earth again. - . It would be a battle against .time as well as the unknown and the original crew would be replaced by new generations born in space. Such a spine-tingling plan would require the creation of a fly ing planet, populated with people and animals, to survive on this lonely journey through a dark and eerie space. They would be trapped in this perhaps forgotten world moving at a stellar snail's pace through distance startling to the imagi nation. Soon after takeoff all radio and radar contact would be lost for man does not have a signal powerful enough to penetrate the tremendous distance even of solar space. Telescopes would be useless as the ship receded into the darkness of space and solar light dimmed on the sur face of the ship. The trip to Pluto, says Uni versity of California astronomer Dr. John Crawford, "will soon become feasible, and the trip to Proxima with rockets of much greater size will some day be possible-" "Under ideal conditions and traveling at four percent the speed of light or 27 million miles an hour, in two weeks' time you would leave the solar system and begin drifting through space for 225 years on the round trip to Proxima Centauri four (nd a half light years away." Crawford says that man will have no trouble tolerating such speeds. In space, time and dis tance would be relative and he would not be aware of his mo tion through the stars just as we are not aware on earth, of our motion around the sun. The speed of four percent that of light (light travels at 186,000 miles a second) could be at tained by harnessing nuclear en (frgy, Crawford says. The ship would build up speed rapidly and in two weeks would have attained maximum veloci ty. Power then would be shut off and the ship would drift the remainder of the way to the nearest star. Two weeks before orbiting around Proxima the rnrkets would be reversed for deceleration. Such a space ark consisting jnostly of fuel would dwarf the Empire State building. But it would lose most of its mass dur ing tbf short periods of accele ration and deceleration. Crawford estimates the ship would be only one fiftieth of its original size after the flight to Proxima. "You can compare the return ing ship," he says, "to the Sput niks, tinv beside the massive rockets that hung them in space." The biggest problem is time. "The onlv wav to beat time the 225 years it would take you is to construct a space ark. It's the onlv conceivable way be cause it is impossible to harness a rjewer source that will take you there much faster," Craw ford savs. "Tn view of this, clearlv vou would need a small-sized village inside the ark, reproducing its inhabitants and producing food during the spatial exploration One way of supplying food would be the breeding of ani mals continuously during the trin" Also, says Crawford, the pilot or captain of the original crew would die along the way as well as the doctors, the navigators and a crew of scientists. "You would have to provide a school and persuade some growing up on the ship to be teachers. You would of course, need several generations of crews who would have, to learn the tricks of space travel and carry on. "You would need a hospital; recreation facilities would be mandatory; a village-type gov ernment would have to be in stalled by election," he says. Food such as vegetables would be artificially produced, perhaps in test tubes or in some other similar "garden," because there would be no sunlight unless this too were produced by powerful machines. The ship would probably be shaped like bicycle wheels, Crawford says. Except during periods of acceleration it would spin in space. This motion around the ship's axis would solve one of the greatest diffi culties. The passengers would live on the outer rim. Under neath, shielded by huge ram parts of metal, would be a hot core of exploding atoms. "Something like a hopped- up merry-go-round," Crawford says. It might be possible, says Crawford, to cut down the time required for the Proxima trip. But the fewer years allowed for the trip, the larger the ship and if one tries to cut too much from the time, he would need impossible ship sizes. Crawford believes that a take off to Proxima will become pos sible, perhaps in 50 or 100 years. But the world would have to wait two centuries for the ship's return. , 40 Persons Leave Theater in Fire Portland (IP! Persons watch ing the movie "Operation Mad ball" at the Orpheum theater here shortly after noon Tuesday suddenly saw flames on the stage. Then the theater began filling with smoke. The patrons, about 40 in all, left the theater with out panic. ' The fire, which started near the main curtain, caused about S20.000 damage. Firemen said it may have started in stage wiring. The theater will reopen tonight. Astrophycist Prompted to Write Down Notes on 'Statement of Conscience' Editor's note: The notion of the U. S. launching a shining "Christmas satellite" as a peace gesture to the world has cauht the fancy of Dr. S. Fred Singer, a University of Mary land astrophycist. It also set him to thinking about the great space race wiih Russia. On a Nov. 16 train trip he was prompted to put down on paper a rocket scientist's re vealing "statement of conscience." BY S. FRED SINGER Washington OP) I am not a pacifist, and I, like many others, recognize that war is preferable tn living under neace which can not be endured. But I don't think we are doing enough to promote peace. Tn the nhonev Soviet neace of fensive their hypocritical use of the word peace has maae me very word one which we should avoid lest we be called 'Reds.' If one believes sincerely as I do, in the fundamental moral superiority of the individual are paramount, then I think the course to follow is clearly mark ed out. You may ask why scientists should concern themselves with moral problems. I would answer that concern with, the law of na ture doesn't disqualify one from considering many " other ques tions. Perhaps even scientists who now-a-days have the awful responsibility to design new wea pons have a special reason to consider moral matters. I think it is very essential that the U.S. inaugurate the space program which will surely lead to man's mastery of the solar sys tem, in a spiritual and moral way. The Russians have chosen to begin it by launching a metal ball void of any spiritual signifi cance, indeed of little scientific significance. What an opportunty for us. I can't think it's necessary for us to demonstrate any technical su periority. Even if we could and did rattle our sabers louder than the Russians, even if we did enter a 'rocket shooting contest' sug gested by Khrushchev, what could we gain? There are millions of sincere people in our country who want peace, who strive for it and pray for it. Their voice should be Try and Stop Me By BENNETT CERF- GROUCHO MARX is one of the most faithful and articulate adherents of the Hollywood Stars, a baseball team not given to winning too many championships. Not too long ago, in fact, the Stars finished last, a mere 60 games or so be hind the champs of the cir cuit. The players were prop erly apprehensive when they heard that Groucho not only was arranging a dinner in their honor, but proposed to be the principal speaker. "In the early spring our prospects looked pretty good," recalled Groucho, "but then came the first disaster: all our regular players reported. By May, we faced a crisis. Luckily we had the kind of management that was equal to the emergency. The price of parking was raised to thirty-five cents." The manager of a burlesque show parried his wife's telephoned demand that he come home pronto for a delayed supper with a sooth Ing, "Take it easy, hon. I'll be home in two shakes." C 1957, by Bennett Cerf. Distributed by King Feature Syndicate. ' heard, and it should be heard around the world. What better symbol for ex pressing this deep felt urge than a peace and goodwill satellite which spells out our Christmas wish of peace on earth and good will to all men. How can such a sincere demon stration not make an impact on the millions around the world who have been waiting for this message for 2,000 years. It is only today that this message has truly a world wide meaning. Surely these men of good will will respond to this message and applaud it. Yes, even inside Rus sia tnere are minons wno wm applaud is even though they cannot answer back, people whose minds cannot be poisoned by Communist propaganda, peo ple who admire the achieve ments of the U. S. and despise their dictators. Recommend Closed Season Be Continued Portland A recommen dation that a closed season on the ocean troll salmon fishery be continued from Dec 20 to April 15 was made Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Paci fic Marine Fisheries Commission here. The recommendation was joined in by research specialists of state fish bodies of Oregon, Washington and California. Bi ologists said stocks of fall Chi nook salmon have been alarm ingly lower in recent years and that steps must be taken to bring back the runs. Commercial fishermen have asked that the ocean troll season opening be set a month earlier at March 15. The opening has been postponed to April 15 for the past two years to give fall Chinook a better chance to es cape to spawning grounds. Jftazoli featured at SAFEUflT n n ...the golden oil fromgofden corn Quart Jj ' 1 PROSPECT Land Purchased For Park FIRST RUSSIAN JET LANDS London (IP) Budapest Radio said today that the first Russian jet TU-104 airliner has arrived in the Hungarian capital from Moscow. The broadcast said the plane landed Tuesday to inau gurate a regular weekly sched ule between the two Communist cities. By GENEIL SPRUILL Prospect The Prospect Lions' club recently purchased from Copco 6.47 acres of land for the purpose of building a commun ity park. Price for the acreage was $647. The Prospect Com munity club donated $200 toward the purchase of the property. Gary Powers of Enterprise, Ore., is a guest at the home of his brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Powers of Pros pect. . . The 22-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Burge was treated at Shady Cove clinic re cently after the youngster had poked; a bobby pin into his ear. It was feared the eardrum had been punctured but tests proved otherwise. Miss Kathleen Snyder, daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sny der, is convalescing from a tonsillectomy. Mr. and Mrs. James Herring ton are the parents of a 7 pounds baby, daughter born to them Nov. 15 in the Sacred Heart hospital.Also parents of a baby daughter are Mr. and Mrs. William E. Han, former Prospect residents, now of Shady Cove. On Nov. 11 Mrs. Nell Goode celebrated her 72nd birthday. Mrs. Allen Valentine was hon ored Wednesday evening with a stork shower at the home of Mrs. Lewis Robertson. Mary Ann Hubbard and Linda Robertson were co-hostesses. Mrs. L. E. Clevenberg was hostess at a luncheon and bridge party in her home Nov. 14. Those attending were Mesdames Lou Rogers, John Gartman, W. W. Dinkens, Lee Carson, Mel Ro chester, Steve Larson and Mrs. Hazel Ulrich. The junior girls of Prospect High school held a slumber party Friday night at the high school gym. Miss Gould and Miss Pa tricia Lull were the chaperones for the evening. The Pepsters are having a food sale at the Prospect store Nov. 25. They also plan to have a candy sale each Tuesday of the week. The money from the food sale is to help buy their letters. Paul Mather -underwent sur gery for an injured back last week in a Medford hospital. AT mm TB3m GDOGD IN NEW DECORATOR COLORS 1.00 WEEK Other Models up to $49.95 POWERFUL SUPER HET CIRCUIT WAVEMAGNET ANTENNA TELECHROME ELECTRIC CLOCK RADIO ALARM; TIME SET CONTROL PROVISION for HEAD PHONE or EARPHONE 122 I. Main Street Phone SP 3-5348 STORE HOURS: :30 a.m. te 5:30 p.m. MONDAYS 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. 117 SOUTH CENTRAL PHONE SP 2-6241 FREE PARKING LOT (mm 035) for quality and value v MONTGOMERY WARD ijT hilS PATTERNS g Wl T,L fiW&$ SAVE $10 TO $18-ENTIRE STOCK REDUCED 25 USUAL 59.95 TO 79.95 QUALITY All pure white, translucent! 4 or 6 extra cups included I Guaranteed open stock on all I f r f r 111! It II 66 pes. for 8 ng. 39.95 Wards greatest china sale! Save 25 more than usual and set your loveliest holiday tablel All fine quality all with 22K gold or platinum trim. New patterns included. Other 66-pc. and 100-pc sale sets... 32.44 to 51.44 100-PC. SET, SERVICE FOR 12 "Maytlme", "Most Rose'M above), 14 00 lust 2 of 9 patterns at this price, " "OO BEAUTIFUL IMPORTED STAINLESS 24-PC. SET SERVICE FOR 6 1.88 "Grope" rtg. 5.50 6.88 "Erika" rtg. 7.95 Gleams like silverl Never needs polishing; won't rust, stain or pit. 50 PCS. GRAPE for 8 - has salad forks, extra teaspoons, serving spoons; In chest. Sale : -9-83 ETC cm ROASTER-REG. 2.89 Aluminum. Holds 9 O 22 lb. fowl, 15 lb." roast. BAKE 'N' TAKE PAN Reg. 1.59, aluminum. J 22 Sliding cover 9" iq. 3.95 CARVING SET 3-pc set in lovely gift chest. Catalin Elhorn hand- n mm les. Forged knife, fork. JHf 19c EA. 9' pie and cake pan. Pure aluminum. 2 for BAKEPANS 28c ANGEL CAKE PAN Reg. 1.89. 9" square. J 4Q Rustproof Aluminum. 5-LB. FRUIT CAKE Bakery fresh I Light batter, well filled with nuts, fruit. In gift car- 1.99 ton. If I
