Note 11 — Front matter (continued 3)

In 1876 Reitlinger & Urbanitzky before the Vienna Academy of Sciences published a report on their experiments on artificial comets. A tube containing hydrocarbon has been pumped out till the pressure has fallen to 0.1 millimeter. If connected to an induction coil, a blue sphere will be formed at the positive electrode after a short time, which "hangs" suspended freely. Connected to the sphere is a tail, fig. 1. One is struck immediately with the close resemblance between this artificial comet and that of Henry's Comet of 1873, fig. 2. If a

conductor (a brass ball) as seen in fig. 1 is brought near the tube, the tail flees from the conductor as far as the tube allows. This again proves that the artificial as well as the real comets are subject to the same natural laws. As is known, the tails of all comets are repulsed strongly by the sun, which latter is nothing but a conductor.