The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-06
WHAT WE ARE LIVING on.
Some Speculation as to the Atom In tho
Universe That We Call tho Earth.

Nuh~CHOc Iu2t VIC N01N taC
From the 81. Louis Giobe-Democrat.
Hardly any two scientists agree as to the
age Of the earth Is. "A 10 the length
Of time which has elapsed since the earth's
crust became solid Considering the very
slow rate ut which rocks are deposited by
water. and the immense thickness Of the beds
OF these "stratihed" rocks as they are called.
II seems that at least /. ZOO. 900 900 years have
passed since the globe evolved in its present
shape out of the whirling mass Of mean
descent matter which II must once have been.
But Lord Kelvin. arguing from the known
rate OF loss of heat. declares that not more
than 100. 900 900 years is the limit of time
which has passed by since firm rocks appeared
and life began upon the earth More re-
Gently Prof. TAFT has shown reaGOn TO believe
that tenth of Lord Kelvin's estimate may
be nearer the truth. All biologists, however.
declare that the latter estimate il too low.
We know with the utmost eYactitude how
heavy our little world is. II you put down
the figure and follow it by twenty-one
naughts. you have it within very few mil
lion tons. Roughly speaking. this implies
that the earth ia five and half times as heavy
as globe of water OF the same size.
But. in spite Of this accurate knowledge
OF the earth's weight, We have no real idea
OF what is the condition Of things inside our
planet. Thousands Of experiments made
in all parts of the world show that the tenn
perature rises on an average about degree
for every 60 feet below the surface. II tins
rate OF increase continues regularly toward
the centre. that part Of the globe must be at
bs 80 Sasp he hst hs Yses Of
OF temperature with depth first became as.
certained biologists got the idea that we
were living upon furious furnace. OF wh'ch
volcanoes were the escape pipes
Now we know better than that. We have
found. among other things. that an earth
quake In Japan is nbe to register itself IS IN IN
case Of the disaster in north Japan four or
five year ago, when 80 900 people lost their
lives trem1r OF this k ind, could not pass
that of steel. and observations OF tides and
the attractions exercised upon US by sun
and have 1t bs1g ond sod
This does away with the LIQUID interior
earth i, solid ali through. with perhaps oc-
casional accumulations Of fluid rock here
and there in parts where. for some reason or
other. the pressure Is not so great as 1t ID IN
others.
It also upsets the old theory Of volcanoes.
and the modern idea with regard to these
water from the surface finds its way through
few miles below the surface. and then.
being suddenly turned into steam. causes is,as
an explosion or series of explosions. like
boiler burstngs on n gigantic scale.
Every schoolboy knows that the shape
OF the earth Is an oblate ,spheroid-that is
orange at the two poles. The polar diameter
of the earth is actually twenty miles
less than it's diameter at the equator; But
II is as yet not absolutely ascertained whether
the fiattening is similar at both poles. Some
Arctic explorers appear TO be OF the opinion
that the fiattenng is greater at the North
than at the South Pole.
Another rather startling fact which has
recently been demonstrated is. that the
equator is not, a perfect circle. If you could
to New Zealand it would be somewhat longer
than another which cut the earth at right
angles to it. The difference has not yet
been ascPrtaned with absolute accuracy
We are accustomed to talk of sea level
as an invarabe quantity. 1t is positively
startling to find how very far from level
the passing influence OF. tides and winds.
but there are great and permanent eleva-
tons in the sea positive mountains, III
fact II Is calculated that in the Bay OF
Bengal the water lies at level exceeding
| that of the Indian Ocean by fully 300 feet,
and that of the Pacific Ocean along the coast
| of South America may be heaped up as much
as 1000 feet higher than the water in the
| opposite Atlantic. These water mountains
depend upon The attraction Of great oi tbe
| Himalayas and the South Pacific upon the
American Andes.
The height of our highest mountains has
| been measured to within an inch or two.
| and we have accurate information on the
! subject OF the great depths OF the sea. But
| we do not yet know with any certainty how
deep Il the atmospheric envelope OF the
earth At one time ~ miles was given as
! the limit. This was increased to 40. and
| soon even this estimate was extended to
100
Our only means OF measurement is by
the mcteors. which spring into an mean
descent blaze through friction when they
strike our atmosphere As man cannot live
at a much greater height than five miles.
It may be that we shall never learn exactly
how thick is the atmospheric ocean at the
bottom of which We crawl.