EARTHQUAKE CAUSES.

Waikato Times, Volume 109, Issue 18343, 1 June 1931, Page 10

EARTHQUAKE CAUSES.

INTERESTING HYPOTHESIS FORMATION OF EARTH'S CRUST. An address on the subject of the earth’s formation was delivered at the last meeting of the Napier Rotary Club by Rotarian J. H. Edmundson. In referring to -the earth’s position In the solar system the speaker said that the two nearest neighbours were Mars and Venus, which both bore peculiarities which mitigated against ihe possibility of life existng thereon. The pecularity of Mars was that its axis 'was 'on the same plane as its orbit, with the result that one side remained in perpetual light and the other in perpetual darkness. With Venus her day was as long as her, year. Among the other solar systems there were planets, with conditions approaching those of this earth, and the existence of life was more probable in these cases. In all man’s investigations into the ether, continued the speaker, he had only discovered one new element outside those prominent on this earth, iimd that was helium. * A Crust Forms. The crust of our earth was composed to a great degree of oxygen,, which tended to the belief that there must, in the early days, have been a tremendous quantity of this gas m the atmosphere.' The atmosphere, of course, was composed of oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, but seveneights of the crust of the earth was oxygenous. In the beginning the gases must have created a molten mass which when cooling off caused vapour to form, which became the seas. The earth then commenced to solidify under the cooling influence, and a crust formed, mainly composed of granite, which was the foundation of the earth, under which there was a molten mass. With the formation of the seas and the lapping of the shores there came life in the water, continued Rotarian Edmundson, which later spread to the land. The primeval forests w’ere of tremendous size, as denoted by signs which were extant to this day amid the coalfields, and this unusual size in growth the speaker attributed to the large amount of. oxygen in the atmosphere. * The size of the animals was also in some way attributable to this cause, and the necessity for bulk in order to Ileal with the gigantio vegetation. An Overlapping. The contraction of the earth at j times caused fractures in the granite crust, continued the speaker, and on occasions pieces would become detached, causing earth movements, which we termed earthquakes. At cither times there was an overlapping of the granite crust, which resulted in the movement having the nature of an upward thrust, as in the case of the Napier earthquake. Any such upheaval as this immediately threw the planet out of balance to a certain extent, and In order to regain this balance a number of other movements were necessary on the part of the earth. The planet was rotating at the rate of about 1000 miles per hour, and such tremors as we have experienced, following the original upheaval, were due to the moulding of the surface of this and other parts of the world Into perfect spherical form after having been thrown out by uuch disturbances. Nothing Really Stable. There was, therefore, nothing really stable on this earth, and buildings were only as permanent and stable as the earth upon which they were built. It was, therefore, necessary to be careful with structures the whole 'stability of which depended solely upon the foundation upon which they Were erected. RELIEF FOR PILES. Mrs J.H.D., Pukekohe, writes:— *Many thanks for your promptness in I sending trial treatment of ‘Zann.’ I have been troubled with Piles on and off for four years, and I have found great relief through your treatment." Try the "Zann” remedy at our expense. Send ninepence in stamps for packing and postage. Address: Zann Proprietary, Box 952, Wellington. Stocks of "Zann" obtainable from Manning’s Pharmacies Ltd. (two shops), Hamilton. (2)