The Earth Its Origin, History and Physical Constitution

About this book

This is a digital reprint of the revised 1976 edition of this classic work.

It examines seismology, gravity, the strength of the shell, the variation of latitude and the figure of the Moon. The chapter on tidal friction is largely rewritten and what now seem to be the three most reliable estimates of the true secular acceleration of the Moon agree in suggesting that the provisional estimate in the last edition should be considerably increased. The criticism of theories of continental drift, convection and plate tectonics is much expanded. A new appendix pinpoints directions for future geophysical research. The Earth continues to provide a fundamental and comprehensive account of geophysical problems, essential to all scientists concerned with problems of the origin, history and physical constitution of the Earth.

Contents

1. The Mechanical Properties of Rocks;
2. The Theory of Elastic Waves;
3. Observational Seismology;
4. The Theory of the Figures of the Earth and Moon;
5. The Figures of the Earth and Moon. Discussion of Observations; 6. Stress-Differences in the Earth;
7. Nutations, the Bodily Tide, and Free Vibrations;
8. Imperfections of Elasticity : Tidal Friction;
9. The Age of the Earth;
10. The Thermal History of the Earth;
11. The Origin of the Earth's Surface Features;
12. Special Problems.

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