Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 20.djvu/508

492 up their phenomena." The mathematicians had other reasons for believing that the earth could not have been so old as the geologists demanded. Now, however, the mathematicians have discovered the new and stupendous tidal grinding-engine. With this powerful aid the geologists can get through their work in a reasonable period of time, and the geologists and the mathematicians may be reconciled.

I have here a large globe to represent the earth, and a small globe suspended by a string to represent the moon. At the commencement of the history the two globes were quite close; they were revolving rapidly, and the moon was constantly over the same locality on the primeval earth. I do not know where that locality was; it was probably the part of the earth from which the moon had been detached. No doubt it was somewhere near the equator, but the distinction of land and water had not then arisen. Around the primeval earth the moon revolved in three hours; the earth also revolved in three hours, so that the moon constantly remained over the red region. This I can illustrate by holding the small globe which represents the moon in one hand, and making the large globe which represents the earth revolve by the other.

This state of things formed what is known as unstable dynamical equilibrium. It could not last. Either the moon must fall back again on the earth, and be reabsorbed into its mass, or the moon must commence to move away from the earth. Which of these two courses was the moon to take? The case is analogous to that of a needle balanced on its point. The needle must fall some way, but what is to decide whether it shall fall to the right or to the left? I do not know what decided the moon, but what the decision was is perfectly plain. The fact that the moon exists shows that it did not return to the earth, but that the moon adopted the other course, and commenced its outward journey.

As the moon recedes, the period which it requires for a journey round the earth increases also. Initially that period was but three hours, and it has increased up until our present month of six hundred and fifty-six hours.

The rotation of the earth has been modified by the retreat of the moon. Directly the moon began to retreat, the earth was no longer under an obligation to keep the same face thereto. When the moon was at a certain distance, the earth made two rotations for every revolution that the moon made. Thus, as I carry the small globe round the large globe, the latter makes two revolutions for one revolution of the small globe. Still the moon gets farther and farther away, until the earth performs three, four, or more rotations for each of the moon's revolutions. Do not infer that the rate of the earth's rotation is increasing; the contrary is the fact. The earth's rotation is getting slower, and so is that of the moon; but the retardation of the moon is much greater than that of the earth. Even though the rotation of