GRAY I STATIC HEAT 65 



position is no criterion as to that of the source of its 

 heat. 



In boring tunnels through the Alps, several inde- 

 pendent preliminary surveys are made with infinite care, 

 so that the work may be prosecuted from both ends at 

 once, with the certainty of accurately meeting in the 

 middle. What would the chances be of meeting thus 

 fortuitously? Now we have just such a parallel in- 

 stance in the case of the earth's heat, for, just about 

 five feet under the surface the temperature is uniform 

 the year round, and exactly the mean of that of the 

 atmosphere above. How comes it that scientists have 

 never thought worth while to comment on this amazing 

 coincidence, that the heat alleged by them to have been 

 implanted in the earth tens of millions of years ago 

 and ever since engaged in escaping, should, just in our 

 day and hour, happen so precisely to match the mean 

 surface temperature, which owes itself to a totally in- 

 dependent cause! What was the temperature a hun- 

 dred feet below the surface a hundred, a thousand, a 

 million years ago? and, since theoretically so much 

 hotter than now, what must have been the effect upon 

 animal and plant life? 



If current theory were really correct, our planet 

 would be a very unsafe one to dwell upon, for a cen- 

 tral heat of 200,000 (as indicated by the temper- 

 ature increase with depth) would speedily disrupt it, 

 or, rather, there should now be no earth. Accord- 

 ing to my theory, the rate of such increase, being 

 dependent on the strength of gravity, must diminish the 

 farther down we get, so that the maximum calculated 

 temperature would not be more than half the amount 

 stated. As a matter of fact, it is far below this figure, 

 because of the extensive internal water-circulation as 

 above described. 



