The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-08-19
THAT VOLCANIC THEORY
WHAT Is THE PRESSURE WITHIN
THE GLOBE
Argument Upon the Ideas Advanced as
To Recent Plutonic Action on the
Island of Hawaii

! To Recent IlulOnlc ACTON on tne
! Island of Hawaii
EDITOR STAB:-Continuing my ar
| gument of yesterday, | will bring my
| letter to a conclusion:
DR. Bishop says that at the compare
| tive short distance of thirty miles from
! the earth's surface the pressure is so
| enormous, one million, five hundred
| thousand atmospheres, that there is
much reason to believe the magma Is
soiditied, and that it's occluded gases
are solidified with it. DR.. Bishops
words are: 1T is hardly necessary to
remind you, Mr.. Editor. that the pres
sure of thirty miles of superintendent
rock is equal to about 100000 atmos-
pheres." Touching this last quoted
statement of DR.. Bishop, l entirely
agree, and not only think it hardly
| necessary" but strongly feel that it is
absolutely uncalled for, there being, it
appears, no foundation for it in fact
| with the crude methods of a layman,
| have calculated the pressure at thirty
miles depth and find it, not a million
and half atmospheres as given by DR..
Bishop, but the much inferior pres
sure of something over eighteen thou
sand.
According to such authorities as TAFT
of Edinburgh University and Lord Kel-
win, the point at which the originally
| liquid masses might be expected to be
found solidifed by pressure, is about
500 miles below the surface The sol
idity at thirty miles down in the earth's
crust, has, it is usually understood,
been brought about by the cooling pro-
cess ever going on. Professor TAFT
says: There can be no doubt what
ever, from various physical and geolo-
giCal proofs that the interior of the
earth must at some long time
ago, have been in a ViscOus or even
perfectly liquid state, but
through the whole globe, there may be,
at depths of even so little as five hun
dred miles under the surface, portions
still left of the originally liquid mass,
at temperatures equivalent to white
white heat and yet, as Sir
William Thompson CLord KELVIN has
shown by means of procession and by
other astronomical determinations, SOL
i'd" owing to the immense superin-
cumbent pressure. Please to note the
expression, not so little as thirty miles,
but. 80 little as five hundred miles
under the surface
If, sir, | have not already trespassed
Zoo much upon your space, let me say
a few words anent the pumice theory
of Dr. Bishop. He says pumice "eX-
hibits an intimate molecular inter-
penetration of the contained gases
with the solids. Such INTERPRETATION
cannot possibly be a result of the su-
| perficial contact of water percOlating
uoWh 10 the lava OF the interior. Here-
| III we nave visible PROOF that the
gases are actually included IN mole
GUAR COMPUTATION win tne soius or
llqulds OF the magma What does or
can this mean? Gases in liquid or solid
| form in molecular combination" with
tne sohuS OF llqulus Oh the magma sup
ply ing tlle force WhlCh eJects such
enormous QUANTITIES OF iholteh rock
llpih Ilie edrth inferior.
DI. plSilop reIlilnus you SIR hlifaolle
uictu, III one ana me same iettef that'
u,ie Eases ne speaNs OF enter INTO
ne ,iloL ciieiill'', Ia
i,,al,,,, -, 49,, ,.t. :, S"ilIa
i,i ~ i., nv :, nc, ~, ioli
WI i, ' ne sp,luS Vi nPu'us vi tie mas
nc me = uoeS ny eAi'ldii NOV thS
49, On re "''iI merchantmen anu
l i'1'5oiIi
, ouSliiHs puiillce stone no one
, n i,io', JUS ever tlousht us peculiar
NE it. are PIo"uceG ny water percolat-
rs rs G t - " liie ava ol me Interior.
Hut I"N me SoI IheIe' ana pelhS con-
Nerteu mt" gas Tor Such IS dry super
neotS" stSall, 1t Is not cas-! 10 uhder-
alallu, WY II Shoulu not cause the
PoIositH Oh puhhcG stone even as other
S%seS lhiuce slmiiar characterlSulcs IN
DliIeI H'Iieial matter IN the lakes
| ar 1ruS ana Solidlara' between kome
anu lNoIl' sort or porous tuta is
! formed 1t lioats as does pumlce stone,
ana forms What the clcerone call "hoat-
! ing ISLANDS. Ihe one lake is strongly
ntbn,, ma .,tl win carbon dl0Al9e, the
and this porous nroduct formed nn6aI
81,