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Article BETHEL-EBENEZER. ← Page 2 of 2 Article INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH. Page 1 of 3 →
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Bethel-Ebenezer.
xxiv . 4-8 ) . Taking away the horrors of human sacrifices , the gloomy superstition of druidical rite , one could almost imagine the glorious lawgiver and hierarch of God ' s people the officiating minister , by the border of some forest whose venerable branches intermingling formed a natural temple , whilst the foam of a waterfall washed its feet and the mountain round whose summit flashed the thunders of the
Almighty rose amid the clouds whereon sat the Lord of Hosts . At Stonehenge there were five of these sacrificial altai-s . It is easy enough to conceive how the altar should be the foundation stone of all reli g ious architecture . Even before men had learnt to permanently provide for their bodily wants one must have awakened to the necessity of
propitiating the "Deit y . He thought not yet of a temple whose cloistered quiet should invite to prayer , whose painted windows should chronicle the glory of his saints , and whose solemn music should give a voice unto his conscience , until he cried ont , "Lord help me , for I am a sinner . " To him for a temple was the overhanging firmament fretted with
golden fires , bounded only by the horizon which seemed jagged with shadows of rugged promontories , with the forms of huge beasts which lazily fled before him , or rivers of clear water where swam the silver delicacy which he sought to snare , and pleasant thicket where he reposed after his labour .
But still was the divine anger manifested in the thunders wliich seemed at times to disturb the very harmony of that spangled dome , to rend the arch whereon rested , or was supposed to rest , the home and world ofthe Deity . Equally so in tho flood , which surmounted the ramparts erected to exclude it and poured its spreading wrath over the land , sweeping before it rock and stately oak . In the earthquake
also , which upheaving destroyed the pride of cities and of empires , burying them fathoms deep beneath the earth , from which they are only resuscitated as a warning . A pillar was set up and the worshipper placed his offering upon it and then cast himself upon the ground . At a later period these pillars were surrounded by otherseither for security or to
, afford convenience for an increased number of worshippers . Strabo , speaking of the early Egyptian temples , says that they were of vast extent , of rudest workmanship , without elegance , grace , or embellishment of any sort . Eroni this a distinguished writer has inferred that these temples were little more than some similar combination of stones to that wo hn . vo
just mentioned . That such places should have become tombs for great or eminent personages can hardly be a matter for wonder to the antiquarian . The ordinary motives of human conduct would sufficiently explain this , if evidence did not so abundantly exist that their purpose and uses refer to periods long antecedent to any evidence that has been found either underaboutor in immediate connexion with these
monu-, , ments . The king of a tribe would naturall y like to rest where his bones ivould be undisturbed by an eneniy . The priest ivould wish to repose in the presence of the sacred symbol before which he worshipped , aud where , too , his rite was performed . What place would either be so likely to elect for sepulture as the sanctuary invested with superstition
to an eneniy , or consecrated by presence of a higher poiver . The early fathers of Christianity have , on frequent occasions , spoken of the tomb of Christ as the true altar of sacrifice and penitence , and this notion seems to have originated in the manner and the thoughts suggested by the Lord ' s Supper . To Christians and to Christian architects of the Craft , iu
mediseval times , the altar was the object of greatest solicitude , on it was expended the most patient care . For it , were renerved the highest efforts of genius . Beneath the " Gloria " which almost invariably surmounted it hung festoons of flowers and fruits , scrolls of elaborate foliage , groups of birds and animals curved in stone or wood , and fashioned iu such wise ; as to illustrate some passage in Scripture . More recently the tiltfiv lias received a simpler form , but there are pases Avhej'o fiparsenns . 1 am ! vulgarity attempt to .. doro them .
Internal Temperature Of The Earth.
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH .
[ AT a recent meeting of the lloyal Institution of Great Britain , the following highly interesting paper was read by AA ' ILLIAM HOVKINS , Esq ., M . A ., LL . D ., F . R . S ., " On the Earth's Internal Temperature , and the Thickness of its Solid Crust . " ] IF we descend beneath the surface of the earth , and observe the temperature at different depths , it is found that within a
depth ranging from fifty to eighty feet , the temperature changes periodically , being affected to that depth by the heat which the earth receives from the sun at different seasons of the year . The annual variation , however , becomes less as the depth increases , till at the depth abovementioned it becomes insensible . At greater depths the temperature is invariable at each point , but increases with the depth at the rate , on an average , of 1 ° ( F . ) , for a depth of between sixty and seven ty feet . The best observations which have been made on this
subject are those in deep mining shafts and deep artesian wells ; the greater the depth the more completely do anomalous influences counterbalance each other . The greatest depths at which such observations have been made in Western Europe , are at Monkwearmouth and Dukinfiekl , in this country ; the Puits de Grenelle , at Paris ; Mondorflj in the Duchy of Luxembourg ; New Seltzwerkin Westphalia ; and at Geneva .
, At the first two places the observations were made in vertical shafts of coal mines ; the depth of the one at Monkwearmouth being upwards of one thousand eight hundred feet , and that at Dukiiifield upwards of two thousand feet ; and in both cases the observations were made while the workmen were
sinking the shafts , and with every precaution against the influence of any extraneous causes which might affect the observations . The former gave an increase of 1 ° ( F . ) for every sixty feet of depth , the latter for about every seventytwo or seventy-three feet . The sinking ofthe Puits de Grenelle was superintended by Arago . The mean increase of temperature was 1 ° for every sixty feet . At Mondorff the bore
was two thousand four hundred , being that of an artesian well ; the increase was 1 ° for fifty-seven feet . At New Seltzwerk the artesian well , penetrating to the depth of two thousand one hundred feet , giving an increase of 1 ° ( P . ) for fifty-five feet . The average of these is very nearly 1 ° for sixty feet . Numerous other observations are confirmatory of those results , though observations at smaller depths present many anomalies indicatimr the observation of local causes . If a
sphere of very large dimensions , like the earth , were heated in any degree ancl in any manner , and were left to cool in surrounding space , it is shown by accurate investigation that after a sufficient and very great length of time , the law according to which the temperature would increase in descending beneath the earth ' s surface , within depths small compared with the earth ' s radiuswould be—that tho increase
, of temperature would be proportional to the increase of depth . This coincides with the observed law , if we neglect the anomalous irregular variations which are found to exist more or less iu each locality . Now , according to this law , the temperature at the depth of sixty or seventy miles would probably be sufficient to reduce to a state of fusion nearly all the
materials which constitute the earth ' s external solid envelope ; and hence it has been concluded that the earth probably consists of a central- molten mass , as a fluid nucleus , ancl an external solid shell , of not more than sixty or seventy miles in thickness ; and some geologists , desirous of rendering tho conclusion the foundation of certain theories , have considered
the thickness even less than that now mentioned . This con ¦ elusion , however , rests on reasoning in which an important element is wanting . It involves the hypothesis that the conductive poiver of the rocks which constitute the lower portions of the earth ' s avast is tha same as that of the vock-t wliich form its upper portion .. This conductive power of any substance measures the facility with which heat is transmitted t-livongh if ;; anil It- Is easily proved , by accuse i n vested inn <
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bethel-Ebenezer.
xxiv . 4-8 ) . Taking away the horrors of human sacrifices , the gloomy superstition of druidical rite , one could almost imagine the glorious lawgiver and hierarch of God ' s people the officiating minister , by the border of some forest whose venerable branches intermingling formed a natural temple , whilst the foam of a waterfall washed its feet and the mountain round whose summit flashed the thunders of the
Almighty rose amid the clouds whereon sat the Lord of Hosts . At Stonehenge there were five of these sacrificial altai-s . It is easy enough to conceive how the altar should be the foundation stone of all reli g ious architecture . Even before men had learnt to permanently provide for their bodily wants one must have awakened to the necessity of
propitiating the "Deit y . He thought not yet of a temple whose cloistered quiet should invite to prayer , whose painted windows should chronicle the glory of his saints , and whose solemn music should give a voice unto his conscience , until he cried ont , "Lord help me , for I am a sinner . " To him for a temple was the overhanging firmament fretted with
golden fires , bounded only by the horizon which seemed jagged with shadows of rugged promontories , with the forms of huge beasts which lazily fled before him , or rivers of clear water where swam the silver delicacy which he sought to snare , and pleasant thicket where he reposed after his labour .
But still was the divine anger manifested in the thunders wliich seemed at times to disturb the very harmony of that spangled dome , to rend the arch whereon rested , or was supposed to rest , the home and world ofthe Deity . Equally so in tho flood , which surmounted the ramparts erected to exclude it and poured its spreading wrath over the land , sweeping before it rock and stately oak . In the earthquake
also , which upheaving destroyed the pride of cities and of empires , burying them fathoms deep beneath the earth , from which they are only resuscitated as a warning . A pillar was set up and the worshipper placed his offering upon it and then cast himself upon the ground . At a later period these pillars were surrounded by otherseither for security or to
, afford convenience for an increased number of worshippers . Strabo , speaking of the early Egyptian temples , says that they were of vast extent , of rudest workmanship , without elegance , grace , or embellishment of any sort . Eroni this a distinguished writer has inferred that these temples were little more than some similar combination of stones to that wo hn . vo
just mentioned . That such places should have become tombs for great or eminent personages can hardly be a matter for wonder to the antiquarian . The ordinary motives of human conduct would sufficiently explain this , if evidence did not so abundantly exist that their purpose and uses refer to periods long antecedent to any evidence that has been found either underaboutor in immediate connexion with these
monu-, , ments . The king of a tribe would naturall y like to rest where his bones ivould be undisturbed by an eneniy . The priest ivould wish to repose in the presence of the sacred symbol before which he worshipped , aud where , too , his rite was performed . What place would either be so likely to elect for sepulture as the sanctuary invested with superstition
to an eneniy , or consecrated by presence of a higher poiver . The early fathers of Christianity have , on frequent occasions , spoken of the tomb of Christ as the true altar of sacrifice and penitence , and this notion seems to have originated in the manner and the thoughts suggested by the Lord ' s Supper . To Christians and to Christian architects of the Craft , iu
mediseval times , the altar was the object of greatest solicitude , on it was expended the most patient care . For it , were renerved the highest efforts of genius . Beneath the " Gloria " which almost invariably surmounted it hung festoons of flowers and fruits , scrolls of elaborate foliage , groups of birds and animals curved in stone or wood , and fashioned iu such wise ; as to illustrate some passage in Scripture . More recently the tiltfiv lias received a simpler form , but there are pases Avhej'o fiparsenns . 1 am ! vulgarity attempt to .. doro them .
Internal Temperature Of The Earth.
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH .
[ AT a recent meeting of the lloyal Institution of Great Britain , the following highly interesting paper was read by AA ' ILLIAM HOVKINS , Esq ., M . A ., LL . D ., F . R . S ., " On the Earth's Internal Temperature , and the Thickness of its Solid Crust . " ] IF we descend beneath the surface of the earth , and observe the temperature at different depths , it is found that within a
depth ranging from fifty to eighty feet , the temperature changes periodically , being affected to that depth by the heat which the earth receives from the sun at different seasons of the year . The annual variation , however , becomes less as the depth increases , till at the depth abovementioned it becomes insensible . At greater depths the temperature is invariable at each point , but increases with the depth at the rate , on an average , of 1 ° ( F . ) , for a depth of between sixty and seven ty feet . The best observations which have been made on this
subject are those in deep mining shafts and deep artesian wells ; the greater the depth the more completely do anomalous influences counterbalance each other . The greatest depths at which such observations have been made in Western Europe , are at Monkwearmouth and Dukinfiekl , in this country ; the Puits de Grenelle , at Paris ; Mondorflj in the Duchy of Luxembourg ; New Seltzwerkin Westphalia ; and at Geneva .
, At the first two places the observations were made in vertical shafts of coal mines ; the depth of the one at Monkwearmouth being upwards of one thousand eight hundred feet , and that at Dukiiifield upwards of two thousand feet ; and in both cases the observations were made while the workmen were
sinking the shafts , and with every precaution against the influence of any extraneous causes which might affect the observations . The former gave an increase of 1 ° ( F . ) for every sixty feet of depth , the latter for about every seventytwo or seventy-three feet . The sinking ofthe Puits de Grenelle was superintended by Arago . The mean increase of temperature was 1 ° for every sixty feet . At Mondorff the bore
was two thousand four hundred , being that of an artesian well ; the increase was 1 ° for fifty-seven feet . At New Seltzwerk the artesian well , penetrating to the depth of two thousand one hundred feet , giving an increase of 1 ° ( P . ) for fifty-five feet . The average of these is very nearly 1 ° for sixty feet . Numerous other observations are confirmatory of those results , though observations at smaller depths present many anomalies indicatimr the observation of local causes . If a
sphere of very large dimensions , like the earth , were heated in any degree ancl in any manner , and were left to cool in surrounding space , it is shown by accurate investigation that after a sufficient and very great length of time , the law according to which the temperature would increase in descending beneath the earth ' s surface , within depths small compared with the earth ' s radiuswould be—that tho increase
, of temperature would be proportional to the increase of depth . This coincides with the observed law , if we neglect the anomalous irregular variations which are found to exist more or less iu each locality . Now , according to this law , the temperature at the depth of sixty or seventy miles would probably be sufficient to reduce to a state of fusion nearly all the
materials which constitute the earth ' s external solid envelope ; and hence it has been concluded that the earth probably consists of a central- molten mass , as a fluid nucleus , ancl an external solid shell , of not more than sixty or seventy miles in thickness ; and some geologists , desirous of rendering tho conclusion the foundation of certain theories , have considered
the thickness even less than that now mentioned . This con ¦ elusion , however , rests on reasoning in which an important element is wanting . It involves the hypothesis that the conductive poiver of the rocks which constitute the lower portions of the earth ' s avast is tha same as that of the vock-t wliich form its upper portion .. This conductive power of any substance measures the facility with which heat is transmitted t-livongh if ;; anil It- Is easily proved , by accuse i n vested inn <