The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-05-09
TO MOVE OUR PLANET
Power II Would Take to Raise
the Earth One Foot.
THE WEIGHT or THE GLOBE.
Il Has Been Calculated to BE Some
Six Million Million Tons--Whst
Would Happen II the Earth Should
Come to q Sudden Standstili.

Come to q Sudden Standstili.
II is not generally known that tbd
rotundity of the earth and It's move
ment were known long before Copper.
nicus and Galilei Thus, Aristotle
says. almost all those who claim 10
have studied heaven In Its uniformity
declare that the earth is In the center,
but the philosophers Of the Italian
school, otherwise the Pythagoreans,
teach entirely the contrary. In this
opinion the center is occupied by tire
and the earth Is only star which by
a circular movement round the same
center produces night and day
The following Greek philosophers be-
Ileved In the rotundity Of the earth;
Pythagoras Of Samos, Anaximander,
Nlcetas of Syracuse. Heraclldes Of
Pontus. Aristarchus OF Samos, Sele-
neus and Ecphantus. Heraclides and
Ecphantus admitted that the earth
moved only upon Its own axis. the
diurnal movement. The Pythagoreans
held that each star was world. hav-
ing its own atmosphere, with an i'm
mense extent Of ether surrounding It.
Many centuries before Copernlcus
wrote his work on THE Revolution OF
the Heavenly Bodies" which was
about 1912 A. D.. the Jewish cabalistic
book, called "Zohar," stated as to the
cosmography of the universe:
in the book of Hammannuah the
Old we learn through extended expla-
nation that the earth turns upon itself
in the form of a circle; that some are
on top. the others below; that all crea-
lures change in aspect, following the
manner of each place, keeping, how
ever, In the same position. But there
are some countries of the earth that
are lightened while others are In dark
ness. These have the day when for
the former II is night. and there are
countries In which II is constantly day
or in which at least the night contin-
ues only some instants. These secrets
were made known to the men Of the
secret science. but not to the geogra-
pliers"
Maimonides 1190 A. d. held that
the earth had the form of globe; that
1t was inhabited at both extremitles OF
certain diameter: that the inhabit-
ants had their heads toward heaven
and their feet toward each other, yet
they did not fall off,
In India at a very early period the
astronomer Arya-bhata (born A. d.
400 held to the opinion that the earth
reyolved upon It's own axis. 1t Is
known that the Chaldeans at a very
ancient period calculated with certain
ty eclipses Of the moon and closely ap.
proximated the time Of eelipses Of the
sun. DR.. Schlegel gives the great an
tiquity of $4,000 years to the Chinese
astronomical sphere,
Though astronomy affords the means
Of determining with great precision
the relative masses OF the earth. the
moon and all the planets, 1t does not
enable US to determine the absolute
mass of any heavenly body in units OF
the weights used on earth. TO deter
mine the absolute mass of the globe Its
mean density must be known, and this
is something about which direct obser-
vation can give no information. as we
cannot penetrate more than an inslg-
nificant distance into the earth's inte-
rior. The most probable mean density
Of the earth is 5.6-that is. the earth is
Sc times as heavy as ball of pure
water of the same size. From this and
similar estimates the weight Of the
globe has been calculated to be six mil
ion million tons.
Archimedes. the greatest ancient ge.
ometer. Is accredited with the saying,
Give me where | may stand. and ]
will move the worldw With a lever Of
sufficient length this task might posi-
bly, be accomplished. But let us see
what 1t would require to accomplish 1t
with the forces at our command. The
weight of the globe has been calculat-
ed to be six million million tons.
To move this weight one foot steam
engine of 10000 horsepower would
have to work necessarily for period
of seventy thousand millions Of years.
During this time the engine would use
up forty million million quarts Of wa
ter. a quantity sufficient to cover the
whole globe 300 feet high. Now. as to
the fuel consumed by the engine, If Its
boiler was good and working econom-
ically 1t would require four thousand
million tons of coal to feed 1t during
the seventy thousand million years.
To ship such quantity Of coal by rail-
way 1t would take two hundred thou
sand million cars of capacity of
twenty tons each. These cars, when
placed in line. would form train SO
long as to encompass the earth forty
five times, and if this train should
move with a velocity Of twenty-five
miles an hour it would take 1t five mill
lion years before 1t could traverse the
distance Of its own length.
This calculation shows that the globe
rests pretty firmly in the place assign
ed to 1t by nature and how difficult
would be the task suggested by the
great mathematician.