Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1911-11-30
Brake THE EARTH
Magnetic Storms Are Robbing
Our Planet of Motion.
MAY STAND STILL SOME DAY
Then Ono Side Of the World Will BE q
Desert Furnace, the Other . Black
Icy Waste, and Mankind Will Find
Itself In Cramped Quarters.

Itself In Cramped Quarters.
The world is slowing down in its
laily rotation, and the days are get
ting longer, according to Professor
Louis A. Bauer of the Carnegie insti-
tute, Washington. Magnetic storms
nre putting a magnetic brake on the
earth, and if they continue to construct
this brake, at the rate measured for
the past ten years. in just 1920 years
this good old earth will no longer be
turning on its axis, but will settle
down with one side in perpetual sun
shine, blasted by whitening heat, and
the other side in endless darkness and
cold, corresponding to the extreme fri
gidity of interstellar space.
Observe it is not claimed that the
earth positively will come to a stand
still in this year 1921 A. D., but sim
ply that it is being subjected to a
brake that may stop it by that time.
Probably most scientists would argue
that magnetic storms will be less vio-
lent in future, that other forces will
intervene and that the stopping Of the
earth will be postponed a great many
years beyond the date named.
But all scientists will acquiesce in
the statement that the earth is slow
Ing down and sooner or later will come
to stop.
When the earth stops turning the
side toward the sun will become over
heated, and water will dry up, and
blistering deserts will cover the sur
face. Near the edge of the sunlit side
there will be temperate zone, where
the sun will always be one hour high
or thereabouts, remaining at the same
height above the horizon year in and
year out. Every hour will be like 6
o'clock in the morning of summer
day. To this delightful region the
worlds population will flock.
A little removed from the hot area
will be the twilight zone, also quite
habitable, with the sun unending at
the horizon.
Though life In the torrid or hot
zone will be insupportable. as a rule,
yet on the outer edges, where the sun
is but two or three hours high, people
may live in temperature of 100 to
40 degrees by means Of various cool
ing contrivances.
On the dark, cold side Of the earth
all the water will be frozen solid.
Even mercury will freeze in that aw.
full chill. It will be impossible for
human beings to penetrate more than
three or four hundred miles into the
dark and frigid zone, which will be
far more inaccessible than are now
the polar, wastes. ,o..,- s.,,s,, s.. 80.
The fact that all the water on the
cold side of the earth will be frozen
and all the water on the hot side dried
up and evaporated will tend to cause
"a great. disturbance of the continents
and oceans of the globe. There must
be some sort Of Encouragement. and
it would seem that the oceans would
tend to seek the habitable temperate
zone, which would then be the equa-
tors equivalent Since the earth's
surface contains very much more wa
ter than land it is extremely probable
that the temperate zone will not con-
tain nearly enough land to satisfy the
population and that there will be con-
tinuous struggles for possession of
valuable soil. It is even conceivable
that large portion Of the people
may be driven to seek permanent
residences in sailing vessels or steam
craft, subsisting by fishing.
During the period when the earth's
days are frightening perceptbly great
social changes must come about, due
to the difference in hours. When the
days get to be forty hours long it will
surely be necessary to arrange for
period Of rest and sleep in the middle
Of the day.
! As the days lengthen until they ex-
coed weeks duration all sorts Of COM
plications will ensue, and the days,
weeks and months will become hope
lessly mixed. Scientists agree that the
lunar month will lengthen as the day
lengthens, though the day will increase
the more rapidly. According to Pro
fessor Ernest w. Brown of Haverford
college, who has given special atten-
ton to this subject, there will come a
time when the month and the day will
both be Of the same duration.
AS the earth's day gets longer and
longer the time will come when day
Is year long. Then there will be no
more days and nights, no weeks and no
months. The earth always will have
one side to the sun, and the moon will |
have one side to the earth, and the two
will turn around the sun once a year
as If fixed on a rigid bar. There will |
be no more seasons on the earth-no
spring, summer, autumn or winter. |
The weather of the several seasons
can be experienced only by travelling
to and fro between the hot and cold
zones.
It is clear that property values In
more than half the planet will be wiped |
out. Cities and farms throughout the
dark half of the glob1 will be buried |
under perpetual glaciers. Correspond
ingly values Will rise enormously in
real estate on the inhabited strip that /