Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-09-17
ABOUT THE EARTH's HEAT.
Does it Grow Constantly Hotter From the
circumference to the Center.
GoIdthWajte's Machine

Goldthwalte's Magazine.
Many scientific men are devoting their
lives to finding out vi that can be learned
about the interior of this wonderful globe
of ours. One Of the interesting problems
on which they are engaged is the depth
and geographical limits of the permanent
ly frozen soil. The British association has
collected a large amount of data on this
question, 1t has already told US some Gu
rious things, such as the fact that excellent
wheat lands north of Manitoba overlie
frozen earth that never thaws.
Sometimes biologists find strata of rock
that they are able to show must have been
buried at remote age 10000 feet under
the surface. These upturned edges of rock,
which some terrible CONFUSION lifted to
the air, give VI glimpse of the condition
of the interior some Way below the great
est depth to which we can attain. The
w0rkmen in the deepest mines of Europe
swelter In almost intolerable heat, and yet
they never penetrated over one seventeen
sandth part of the distance from the sur
face t. the center OF the earth In the
lower levels of some OF the Comstock
mines the men fought the scalding water,
and could labor only three or four hours at
| time, until the Sutro tunnel pierced the
dDu uECW OH SOulG u Gue lcIIiuit
| heat which had stood at 100 deg,
! The deepest boring ever made, that az
| Sperenberg near Berlin, penetrate3 only
4,192 feet, about 1000 feet deeper than
| the famous artesian well at st. Louis.
! The result of this imperfect knowledge Is
| that there are more theories and dispute
among scientific men with regard to the
interior of the earth than about any other
problem of physical science. Some emin-
| int physicists for instance, like SIR
William Thompson, have believed that
the crust Of the earth is at least 800 miles
thick The majority adduce good reasons
for believing that the crust is only twenty
FIVE to fifty miles thick. Ali agree that
! the temperature in the earth continues to
increase as it does near the surface-at
the rate Of one degree Fahrenheit for
about over fifty-fve feet Of descent. All
| igneous rocks must be fused at no great
depth. !
In fact. at this rate of increase the tenn
perature at 200 miles is $4,000 deg. Flh-
renheit, which is Prof. Rosetti's estimate
of the probable temperature of the sun.
1t is improbable, however, that this rate
of increase is maintained for great dis
lance, and many physicists believe that
at some unknown but not very great depth
the increase In temperature ceases. One
of the most wonderful things in the study
of sciences is the fact that the mysteries
of one science or some times completely or
partly explained by kno vledge gained in
some otke department of study. 1t is
thus that naturalists who have Investigate
ed the fauna and fora of scores of Pacific
islands have learned how far south Asiatic
types prevail, and have added great
weight to the conclusions of biologists
that these islands we're once part of the
big continent north of them.-Goldthw-
aites Magazine.