So far no one has been able to think of an experiment to test the idea. Even if someone could find a way to collect a thimbleful of anti-matter, when he brought it into contact with normal matter, it, he, and his surroundings would instantly detonate like a super-colossal neutron bomb. Many physicists believe that, since electrical forces operate independently of gravitational forces, interchanging the charges on protons and electrons would probably have no effect on the gravitational field. Theoretical study and computations may someday yield an answer. For years scientists have been searching for a “unified field theory,” a single equation that would describe the interrelationship among electrical, magnetic, and gravitational forces. Such a mathematical statement would reveal the mysterious bond that holds together the atomic nucleus, imparts to atoms their unique structure, and keeps the stars in their courses. But this unifying equation, when it is found, will not make our present knowledge invalid. Enthusiasts are deluding themselves when they base their belief in flying saucers on the hope of overthrowing the laws of gravity and inertia. Gravity, magnetism, and electricity are actual physical forces, as real as light, air, houses, trees, or persons. They can act only according to the laws of nature which, unlike the laws passed by legislatures, are not subject to repeal. No juggling of words, no argument, no wish can change these laws any more than they can stop the rising of the sun or the waning of the moon. If man is ever to learn to control the force of gravity, he will succeed not by denying the reality of the laws but only by finding out what they are and by trying to understand them. [IX-1] Michel, A. _Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery._ New York: Criterion Books, 1958. [IX-2] Air Force Files. [IX-3] El Paso (Texas) _Times_, Nov. 4, 1957. [IX-4] Barker, G. “Chasing the Flying Saucers,” _Flying Saucers_ (May 1958), p. 20 ff. [IX-5] Denver _Post_, Nov. 6, 1957. [IX-6] Viemeister, P. E. _The Lightning Book._ Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1961. [IX-7] Matthias, B. T., and Buchsbaum, S. J. “Pinched Lightning,” _Nature_, Vol. 194 (1962), p. 327. [IX-8] Ritchie, D. J. _Ball Lightning._ A Collection of Soviet Research in English Translation (1961). New York: Consultants Bureau. [IX-8a] Cade, C. M. “Thunderbolts as the X-weapon,” _Discovery_, Vol. XXIII (1962), pp. 23–28. [IX-9] Kapitsa, P. L. “The Nature of Ball Lightning,” _Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR_, Vol. CI, No. 2 (1955), pp. 245–48. (Translated in [IX-8].) [IX-10] Hill, E. L. “Ball Lightning as a Physical Phenomenon,” _Bulletin American Meteorology Society_, Vol. XXXXI (1960), p. 199. [IX-11] Pierce, E. T.; Nadile, R. M.; and McKinnon, P. J. “An Experimental Investigation of Negative Point-plane Corona and Its Relation to Ball Lightning,” AFCRL-TR-60-354. Bedford, Mass.: Oct. 24, 1960.