Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1892-09-27
NUMBER 80.
THE EARTH MUST olr.
A Illustrates showing That the ssiss
sysisas viii IssyttsbIy Eapiss.

-
A. Iiiss,s.siss showing That the ssiss
sysiss VIII Inevitably Espi,s
Consider hywheel OF clockwork -
driven by . weight and the heat gener-
aied by friction against the motion Of
wheels and pendulum and by impacts
% teeth against the pallets Of an escape
ment. our knowledge of properties of
matter and % modes OF propagation of
heat by radiation OF conduction. and of
the efficiency ~ heat as q motor. discov-
cred by several thousand years of OBJ
seryation and several hundred years %
experiment and dynamical theory. suf.
fees % show that when the weight is
run down and the potential energy (or
capacity 30 DO work. which II had In ths
beginning hA. been all spent In the heat.
this heat IL not available for raising the
weight and giving the clockwork re-
newey lease % mJtiyity.
The solar system. according % the
be.t modern scientific belief. Il dy-
namically analogous 20 the clockwork
In all the ESSENTIAL. ~ our consideration.
Not going back In thought to q b~gin.
ming of which science knows nothing.
let u compare the solar system ~ 10
was 5000 years ago with the solar sys-
TEN a. II Il now. Let our analogue Ia
. elockwork which thres hours ago ws
known to H. going with its weight par
TALLY run down. and which Il s,ili go
ing with IL weight not yet wholly run
down.
During these 5000 years the sun has
been giving out raiiAn, heat Digit b.
ing included In the designation radiant
heat'D In all directions. propagsted No
the rate ~ about nine and half million
million kilometers psr year. and there
fore twenty eight and q half thousand
million million kilometsr- Ia 3,oco years.
We do no, know whether the light which
lsft the sun 5000 years ago is still travel.
ing outward with almost uniiminishei
energy or whether nearly all Il already
dissipatei In heat, warming the lumini-
ferrous ether or ponierabls bodies which
have ol~tructed its course. We may. i
think. feel sure that l, l. partly still
travelling outward ~ radiant heat, and
partly spent Cor iissipatedD In warming
pondersble matter (or ponderabls mat.
ter and the luminiferous ether
The running down of the weight IN
the clockwork has ia perfect analogue,
~ IIelmhol,z was. believe. In reality
the very first 10 point out In the shrink.
age of the sun from century 20 century
under the influence Of the mutual gray.
itational attractions between It's parts.
The heat producing efficiency of the IRE
which there would b. II the sun were
globs % gunpowder or guncotton burn.
Ing from IT, Outward surface inward
that Il 90 -ay. the work done by the po-
tsntiAi energy % the chemical affinity
between uncombined Oxygen and carbon
and hydrocarbons. attractive forces ~
truly forces and subject 10 dynamic law
a. IA the force - gravity itself, is ahs-D-
lutsly inhnitesimal In comparison with
N. work done Ivy the grayitational at
traction on the shrinking mas siducci
by Helmholtr a. the real source of tho
suns heat.
The whole story % energy now In tho
sun. whether of actual heat correspond.
ing to the suns high temperature or of
potential energy la of the no, run down
weight Of the clockworkl-poten,iAi ep.
ergy of gravita,iOn depending on the
extent - future shrinkAge which the
sun Il destined to erpsrience-is es-en-
TALLY finite, and there IL much less of Il
now than there was 10000 years ago.
Similar considerations of action on Q
vastly smaller scale are of course appli.
cable 10 terrestrial plutonic energy. and
thoroughly dispose % the terrestrial per
pstuAi notion by which Lyeli and other
followers % Hutton. on s sound prin.
ciples As those % the humblest rnechAn.
ical perpetual motonist. tricd ~ ind
thA, the earth can 20 on forever A. Il Il,
illuminated by the sun from inhni'y q
time pas, 10 inhnity % time future, al.
ways q habltation for race after race %
plants and animals. built on the ruins u
the hAbi,ations u prvcedins races of
plants and animals.
The doctrine " the "dissipatiOn ener.
gy- forces upon us the conclusion that
within finite period u time past the
earth must have been, and within I'm.
ite period " time ~ come must again
be. unfit for the habitation of man a. at
present constituted unl.ss operations
have been and are 10 be performed
which are impossible under the Laws
governing the known operations going
on at present In the material world
Fortnightly Review.