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II.—Note Upon the Cooling of the Earth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

J. Milne
J. Milne
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Engineering, Tokei, Yedo.
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Extract

Nearly every text-book on geology speaks of the heat which has been lost by the earth, and the consequent contractions which have taken place upon its surface. The way in which all this has come about, however, is either not explained at all or else very imperfectly, and the difficulty experienced by any one endeavouring to find out what the conditions have been will be fully recognized by reference to the lengthy correspondence which was carried on in the columns of Nature (December, 1878, and January, 1879) between Mr. A. R. Wallace, Mr. O. Fisher, and others, upon this subject.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , March 1880 , pp. 99 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1880

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References

page 102 note 1 Let the heat gradient of the earth be 1° F. for 50 feet of descent, or in Centigrade scale and centimeters ° C. for 50 x 30·5 centimeters in descent. Let the area of the earth in square centimeters = S. Let the conductivity of the rocks = K = ·0059. Then the amount of heat lost by the earth per year

An ocean over the earth d centimeters deep would be heated from 0° C. to 100° C. if

whence d = ·677.

That is to say, an ocean covering the whole surface of the earth ·677 centimeters deep, might be raised from 0° to 100° C. by the heat which flows from the earth every year. This heat is heat of a low temperature.