Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-02
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

The above heading might be changed
/ to ut today'S topic so as to make II
read Underground of Events for the
subject is the declaration of learned
scientist that we are all living on
though not In, glass house. The In
terror of the earth is made of glass, &C
! cording to DR.. Reginald Aldworth DAILY
of Harvard University, who Is credited
/ by leading scientists of Washington as
the foremost geologist of America. He
is reported as declaring to the Seismo-
logical Society of America, in session in
New York. that the very center of the
earth Is molten glass contained within
hollow iron ball, which in turn is
surrounded by cover of basalt. Basalt
forms the crust of the earth beneath
the oceans, but under the continents is
granite, which Is much lighter than
basalt, hence to balance the basalt Of
the ocean depths the granite must pile
| up into mountain ranges and CONT
mental plateaus some miles higher than
the ocean beds.
| Sometimes ultra scientists scorn the
| inaccuracies of newspaper reporters in
! telling what the technicians really un-
| dertook to say. Even the general trend
of the report of DR.. Days pronounce
ment Of his glass mousse" wherein
stones are often cast by earthquakes
contrary to the human proverb, is de-
! cidedly loose. for 1t implies that the
glass theory is news" even to science,
whereas it is half u century old in
theory, and DR.. Days pronouncement-
ancient as the hills to technical science
is challenged by other scientists,
| rrI,athar sEfr0V,, EiccnY1riv Gpn-
physical Laboratory and Coast and Geo.
detic Survey located in the National
Capital. Besides, it looks as though DR..
DAILY himself might claim an abb, at
least as to the news of his glass
theory.
The news column described the
learned geologist's statement as follows;
an advancing his explanation of
what lies below the shallow skin OF the
earth, long scientific riddle, Or. DAILY
said his theory of liquid glass interior
| is based on study of 'X-raying the
earth He suggested that his theory
may bring disagreement from some sci
entists who still adhere to the thought
| that the earth Is a molten ball of fiery
material with only very thin crust be-
tween man and realistic hellfire,' But,
he asserted, it is the most logical ex-
PLANTATION that geology can offer"
X r y
The impression which that language
| implies Is that the scientist has become
able to visualize the interior of the
earth clear to its center, like "X-raying'
layer Of flesh to discover the condition
of the bones or of teeth within. Moth
ing quite so lucid as that is possible. of
course. All the visibility" of the sub
stance of the earth is found by meas
urihg the speed of waves" through the
arcs of the globe, when earthquakes
send such waves in all directions, just
as a pebble dropped into q pool sends
out its ripples and waves. 1t is known
| that earthquake waves travel at varying
| speeds, according to the substance
through which they are passing, hence
! the speed indicates what substance lies
in the paths.
The assumption that any scientist
holds such childish theory of hell
fire" beneath thin shell of earth is
nonsense. Science advanced far beyond
such puerility many decades ago.
4 X * y
Scientists have not agreed that the
core of the globe is molten" glass re-
sembling lava. Until few years ago
SCIlOldTS VI LIE AICUpAlySlCd1 AdOOIdtOAJ
accepted DIR. Washington's theory, based
upon density due to gravitational pres
sure of the mass of earth toward the
center, that no metal except gold, the
heaviest metal could give the mani
festations as were recognized and COM
puted. Hence it was assumed that the
world was on gold standard" literally.
That has been disproved by certain ex-
periments made at the Geophysical
Laboratory as to possible pressures of
rock, and today the generally accepted
| theory is that the center is solid iron
and nickel, with a radius of some 1000
miles from the center, or ball of 1000
miles diameter The pressure at the
center must be at least $4,000, 900
pounds per square inch.
X x X
! In a book by Dr. DAILY entitled Our
Mobile Earth" published less than three
years ago, the writer describes the chief
! kinds of rocks in the earth and includes
his glass He says:
THE most voluminouS of all are the
so-called igneous rocks. Granite itself
is an example. Each mass of granite
| was once molten. At that time it was
so hot that no crystals could form The
| glass cooled: crystals began to form
/ and interlock each other. Finally the
| whole became converted into mass of
| interlocking crystals. which was so
| firmly knit together that the weak, hot,
CLASSY liquid was all converted into a
strong cold. crystalline rock When
| still more slowly cooled. basalt, the COM