The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-08-05
THE EARTH is ALL RIGHT.
The Old Theory That It's Crust Was Liza
BILE to Fall In Knocked Out.

The Old Theory That It's Crust Was LA
BILE to Fall I'm Knocked Out.
Although man has lived upon the
earth for thousands of years and has
made many discoveries, he has not yet
mastered all of its surface, much less
solved all the problems it presents. In
some respects he knows more about
the planets and stars that are millions
of miles away than he does about the
globe on which he lives and moves and
has his being. But if his knowledge of
the earths surface is limited. it is new
ertheless much great ter than his knowl-
edge of it's interior. 1t was the belief
of scientists years ago, and is still the
belief of the ma jority of tolera bly, we'll
read people, that this earth of
ours is molten mass covered
by thin crust of chilled and
hardened material. One of the
suggested reasons for this belief is the
observation that the temperature of
rocks increases as one descends into the
earth, at the rate of one degree for
about siXtyfour feet. 1t has been as
sumed from this observation that
temperature which would melt the
rocks would be reached before going
many miles. Volcanic action has also
suggested molten interior, and so al
SO has the appearance of rocks sub
jected to much heat. But scientists do
not accept these observations as con-
elusive. On the contrary, they show
that so far as these observations go
the question is still left open and that
there are certain other facts which APP
pear more conclusively to show that
the earth is solid or nearly solid The
increase of temperature in the interior
of the earth is accompanied by in
crease of pressure, which, it
is believed, raises the melting
point, SO that, Notwithstanding
the observations in mines, the melting
point of rocks may never be reached.
Moreover, volcanoes may not be vents
for the interior molten mass nor for
large reservoirs. The matter they eject
may be rendered fluid Or gaseous at the
moment of eruption by a sudden with
drawal of pressure or by the action of
water. The proofs of the theory that
the earth is solid are so much depend
ent upon mathematics that they can
only be described in general terms.
They relate mainly TO the action of the
sun and moon upon it in the creation
of tides. Astronomers have calculated
that the earth offers as much resistance
to tidal deforma ton as would a globe
of steel, and hence that it is not mol
ten mass with a thin crust, but solid
or nearly solid body. Prof. Newcomb
has added another kind of proof.
Some small, varying changes of lati-
tude have been detected and shown to
be periodic. and these periods are shown
to correspond with what would theo-
reticallv occur if the earth were solid,
while they do not correspond with
what would occur from similar defiec-
tons of the axis of a molten mass thin
" incrusted. While these arguments
may not be considered conclusive they
are entitled to more respect than those
which at one time were accepted as
showing that the earth is a mere crust
cooled upon the surface of a molten
mass. The new view of the earth is
much more satisfactory than that of
Descartes. Firm as rock will have
added strength to its meaning when it
is esta blished that the rocks are not
liable to fall through the supporting
crust into a caldron, where they may
be melted and disappear. baltimore
SIM