The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-12-27
SHOWS EARTH IS
ENTIRELY SOLID
Important Results in Tests at
Lake Geneva, Wis.

Chicago, Dec. Elf the globe of the
Garth were constructeC of steel II
would not be nearly so rigid or SO inn
pervious to forces tina; work tc change
its shape as it now is, according to
professor Albert \. Nicholson, head
of the Chicago university department
of physics.
The statement is the result of eN-
permcnts at Lake Geneva, Wis.
where che professor. receiver of the
1907 Nobel prize for physics. has been
working and has come to the conclu-
sion that the earth is solid clear
through against the old view of the
interior Of the earth is a fluid mass.
Professor Nicholson asserts that there
Is high probability that the interior
Of the earth is largely ron.
The measurements 81 the land tides.
or distortions Of the earth due to Ia,
influence of the sun and moon. which
furnish the basis for Professor Michel.
sons statements. have ben worked on;
with a thoroughness and accuracy
''''NA ''A'A' AAAsA4ifl llt IfSullS
show that the land tides or periodic
humps" caused by the solar and lunar
bodies are approximately one-fourth
as high as the water tides.
Measures Tides in a Tube.
The chief apparatus for the expert
ments is an iron tube 800 feet in length
and six feet i'm diameter, half filled
with water and buried six inches in
the ground i'm front of the Ycrkcs as
Economical observatory at Williams
Fay. As the sun ana moon drag the
water To one end of the tube or the
other the difference i'm the two ends
is measured to obtain the average
earth tide. The average difference
in level due to various influences has
been found TO be one -thousandth
II an inch and the accuracy of this !
has been carried out 10
J per cent of this or one hundred. |
thousandth of an inch.
In describing experiments and their |
results Professor Nicholson said:
We started the worS last August |
with the object of measuring the rig |
idity Of the earth. It is we'll known |
fact that the attraction OF the sun |
and moon causes water tides. and per-
laps not SO well known that it also
causes land tides. We set out to
measure the land it'd" or distortion ui |
the earth under conditions where We
could be sure of positive results We
placed cur tube underground so that
The experiment would not be affected !
by the many outside Influences.
III the earth were absolutely rigid
water tides in our tube buried in the
earth. on the other hand, if the earth
were fluid we should get no tide in the
ube. If the earth were neither entire.
" rigid nor nud We should be able 10
determine by our experiment to what
'xtent IL was riGid or fluid.
Calculating Rightly,
Knowing the value of the water
ides. We could easily calculate what
he difference i'm level would be if the
-arth were entirely rigid The differ
nee between that figure and what We
lctually found was due to the Weld
ng or distortion Of the earth. We
measure both ends of the pipe to OBJ
ain an accurate acreage
1T was in this manner that we ar
lived at the conclusion that the eartf
las about twice the rigidity % steel
rhe significance Of this is clear when
I is rcmembercd that there is no
,nown substance so rigid as steel
Rightly. Of course. is resistance 20
hangc in shape. ana IT is harder To
hange the shape of steel than any
tner substance We know. think thai