DISCUSSION OP TYPES 199 



much of its potential energy was dissipated without leaving any dias- 

 trophic record, in the accepted sense of the term. 



The non-collapsinCt Type 



On the other hand, if the molecules that were to form the earth were 

 moving in individual orbits about their controlling center, they were 

 essentially independent of one another; they had moving forces of their 

 own; they were self-supporting. If any molecule was cooled or removed, 

 it made little difference to the rest. They kept on in their predetermined 

 paths. And so an orbital nebula is not directly collapsible, in the sense 

 that a gaseous nebula is. The individual molecules of an orbital nebula 

 are likely to be gathered in ultimately, but the process is much more indi- 

 rect. The time required is much longer; a larger measure of energy is 

 likely to be conserved. A gaseous organization is so constituted as to 

 expedite the loss of its energy and hasten the collapse of its mass; an 

 orbital organization is singularly well suited to conserve its energy and 

 to delay concentration. 



The wasteful Type 



Under the traditional concept of the gaseous origin of the earth, not 

 only was its energy radiated rapidly away, with collapse closely following, 

 but the energy that remained was largely engaged in maintaining fluidity, 

 for the prime effect of the collapse was an accelerated conversion of po- 

 tential energy into additional heat (Lane's law). The earth mass was 

 thus all gathered in before the concentrating process could record itself 

 as diastrophism because of the fluid state. (I use the term diastrophism 

 to denote any distortion that keeps a record of itself in the solid state. 

 Concentration, of course, takes place in a liquid body, but it retains no 

 record of any distortion of its structure that may arise incidentally, for 

 a new and symmetrical structure is at once formed in accordance with 

 hydrostatic laws.) No one, I think, has ever assigned any diastrophism 

 to the earth so long as it remained in a fluid state ; obviously deformation 

 was only assignable after the whole earth mass had been assembled and 

 had cooled sufficiently to become crusted over. In the meantime the 

 earth -matter was drawn toward its center of gravity as far as its molec- 

 ular activity would permit, and a corresponding portion of its potential 

 energy was converted into heat. A maximum temperature was thus pre- 

 served which greatly facilitated the loss of energy by radiation, especially 

 as this follows the law of the fourth power. According to Lane's law, 

 the temperature tended to rise and the rate of radiation to increase so 



