The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1905-08-31
Darwin Discusses
Celestial Evolution

at work in such way as to produce
the greatest possible effect, we should
find that oo,ooo,ooo years would be con-
sumed in this portion of evolutionary
history. The true period must be much
greater, and it did not seem unrea-
sonable to suppose that 500 to I,ooc
million years might have elapsed since
the birth of the moon. Such an esti-
mate would not seem extravagant to
geologists. Pure geology pointed to
some period between 500 and 600 mil
lion years, the upper limit being
more doubtful than the lower. Thus
they did not find anything which rem
dered the tidal theory of evolution un-
tenable. Dealing with the different es-
Inmates of the physicists and the gelo-
ogists, Professor Darwin said that
from a calculation of the suns total
output of heat it seemed to be impera-
lively necessary that the whole his
tory of the solar system should be
comprised within some 10000, 600 OF
years. For the last forty years the
physicists had been accustomed to tell
the geologists that they must moder-
ate their claims, but for himself he had
always believed that the biologists
were more nearly correct. And now,
lat length, relief had come to the
strained relations between the two
parties, for the recent marvellous dis
coveries in physics showed that con-
centration of matter was not the only
source from which the sun might draw
Its heat. Radium was substance
which was perhaps millions Of times
more powerful than dynamite. Thus it
was estimated that an ounce of radirm
would contain enough power to raise
10000 tons a mile above the earth's
surface. Another way of stating the
same estimate was that the energy
needed to tow a ship of 1900 tons a
distance of 5000 sea miles at fifteen
knots was contained in \ twenty-five
ounces of radiuni. The Saxon prob
ably burned 5000 or 6,ooo tons OF coal
on voyage of approximately the same
length. Now, we knew that the earth
contains radioactive materials, and it
was safe to assume that it forms in
some degree sample Of the materials
of the solar system; hence it was al
most certain that the sun is radio
active also. This branch Of science
was yet in its infancy, but they already
saw how unsafe it was to dogmatise1
on the potentialities Of matter. IL
appeared then that the physical corgu-
ment was not susceptible OF greater
degree of certainty than that of the
geologists, and the scale of geological
time remained In great measure I'M
known Passing on TO the wider fields
OF the stellar universe, Professor Dar-
win referred 10 the inconceivably vast.
multitude of stars and nebulae revealed
by photography. Al celestial photo
graph, he said, looked at first like a
dark sheet Of paper splashed with
whiteWash, but further examination
showed that there was method in the
arrangement Of the white spots Thus
there was order of some sort in the
heavens, and it was possible TO obtain
general ideas as to the succession
9of events iii stellar evolution. The
conviction WAS fofced on them that
the wispy clouds1represented the earli-i
est stage of development, the more
condensed flebulae a later stage, and
the stars themselves the last sstage.
Change was obviously in progress
everywhere, as well in each individual
Iefibula and star as in the positions of
those bodies relatively To one Another.
But they were unable even to form
coiajecttres AS to the tendency Of the
evolution which was going on. In
conclusion, Professor Darwin said:
sss Ne have seen that it is possible TO
sfr ice t1Ir solar Svsfffa hack Is q Dri1l1-