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श्रमण कथाएँ
२१३
vessel there are no solids, liquids or gases : that all of these things have been removed including the air as well.
If I were to ask you to describe the condition that now exist, within the glass-vessel, you would promptly reply that nothing exists within it, that a vacuum has been created. But I shall have to correct you, and explain that within this vessel there does exist 'Ether', nothing else.
So we may say that 'Ether' is a 'something that is not a solid, nor liquid, nor gaseous, nor anything else which can be observed by us physically. Therefore, we may say that an absolute 'vacuum' or a void does not exist anywhere, for we know that an absolute vacuum cannot be created for Ether cannot be removed.
We get our knowledge of Ether fron experiments : by observing results and deducing reacts. For example, if within the glass-vessel, mentioned above, we place a bell and cause it to ring, no sound of any kind reaches our ears. Therefore, we deduce that in the absence of air, sound does not exist, and thus, that sound must be due to vibration in the air.
Now let us place a radio transmitter inside the enclosure that is void of air. We find that radio signals are sent out exactly the same as when the transmitter was exposed to the air. So we are right in deducing that electro-magnetic waves or Radio waves, do not depend on air for their propagation that they are propagated through or by means of "something" which remained inside that glass enclosure after the air had been exhausted. This some thing has been named “Ether."
We believe that Ether exists throughout all space of the universe, in the most remote region of the stars, and at the
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