Evening star., 1897-04-27
INSIDE THE EARTH
Temperature Steadily Increases
Toward the Center.
DIGGING 4 WELL TO MEASURE HEAT
When Completed It viii Be the
Deepest in the World.
OF CIENTIFIC VALUE e

The deepest well IN the world will soon
be completed near Pittsburg. Pa. 1t IS
nC.y more than one mile deep. and when
finished it may reach down two miles into
the earth. 1t is being bored IN the interest
of science The object in penetrating so
deeply is to determiRe-just what the in
terror of the human footstool is like. From
a commercial point of view the we'll was
success long ago. ,At comparatively few
feet below the surface both gas and Oil
were struck in paying quantities. but the
company owning the plant determined to
dedicate it to science and invited Prof
William Haliock of Columbia College 20
carry on a series of temperature investiga-
tions as the hole is carried deeper and deep
er into the earth. The results Of these in
vestigations are very interesting, and 1t is
The opinion of several well-known scien-
lists that the ultimate result of the boring
will prove to be of widespread economic as
well Of scientific value. Most significant
of all the facts so far ascertained Is that
the well grows steadily hotter as its depth
il I.creaseS.
1t is the intention of the we'll company to
continue the boring process until something
entirely and original Is developed
This may seem to be a crude way of putting
the statement, but it has long been
theory among well men that If 1t is poSSi-
BILE 70 go deep enough some new geologic
condition or economic feature would be
found to exist At the very least they
cain natural steam would be encountered.
or the well walls would finally become SO
hot that water could be pumped down cold
and pumped up In the form Of steam, and
thus the natural power of the future be OBJ
tanned At any rate, there is material for
much speculation, and the interest becomes
greater in increased ratio as the drill de-
scends, and startling event is expected to
happen almost any day. One remarkable
feature of the well is that the gas found
Sa n 10
powerful engines which do the drilling
Thus the natural power already issuing
fl ON the well is utilized for the purpose of
deepening it.
Temperature at the Bottom.
Taking the temperature of a deep we'll is
a delicate operation 1t is 12-hour task
although most of that time is put in in
anxious waiting. The thermometers used
are known to scientists as maximum ther-
mometers. They will record up to the limit
OF the hottest medium in which they are
placed but the mercury cannot fall below
this maximum point until IT is reduced by
mechanical means. They are made on the
same principle as clinical thermometer
The hole through which this mercury rises
has little twist in it just above the bulb
The heat will drive the mercury up the
tube until a maximum point is reaC he'd. II
the thermometer b brought into a colder
climate the mercury will attempt 10 drop
back into the bulb, but cannot of its own
weight pass the twisted point. I. therefore
forms a reliable record of the highest tenn
perature it has encountered in its passage
down the well After being brought to the
surface the mercury can he shaken back to
the bulb. Two Thermometers are operated
side by side in the well, so as to account
for any individual variation in the instru-
mentS. They are lowered to distances of
fifty feet apart. all the way down the we'll
A complete descent of the we'll occupies
twenty minutes, and. of course, the same
amount of time Is required for the aso ent
The Thermometers are lowered and raised
on thin steel tape working On a windIass
al for the sake of greater accuracy in
the record they are left in the well over
Eight.
1t IS found that the temperature of the
earth rises in increased ratio as the center
is approached. Within the wells which
have as yet been bored the rise has aver
aged about l degree Fahrenheit for every
nifty feet. with very small but yet per
eeptibie increase as the bottom is approach
ed The temperature of the Pittsburg well
at depth of $500 feet was found to be
lob degrees FIJI At the bottom the tenn
perature Is 12S degrees FIJI The we'll in its
pre- sent stage is 5.5G2 feet deep. This grad
ual rise Is found to exist all over the world
although 1t is more marked in some places
than In others. In deep we'll near Wheel
ing. W. Va. the temperature is II degrees
al the top and ITO degrees at the deptn of
4,.oo feet. In the Sperenberg salt well.
near Berlin, the temperature is about Al
a. thC top duu liS degrees at
depth OF 4.1tO feet. In the Schaladabaeh
salt well. near Leipsic. the surface tempera
ture is about 81 degrees, while at $40 feet
u runs up to 1850 degrees. External con-
ditions seem in no way to affect the tom
peratures of the wells. Work on the bor-
ing of the Wheeling well was stopped at
one time for two years. An oak plug WAS
placed in the top and the well was lef, nm
touched. When opened, the well was found
TO have filled with fresh water to within
forty feet of the top. yet when the tenn
peratures were taken at various depths
they were found to be Identical with those
taken when the hole contained nothing but
air. Unlike shallow well, the surface
was colder than the bottom proving thai
very little circulation even of water takes
place in hole five inches In diameter.
vf,o