Condition of the Earth's Interior, — Seamon. 23 
heated as to be in the gaseous condition, which all matter is 
capable of assuming, remain unconibined, that is to say, would 
exist together in the state of chemical elements." Perhaps 
the hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, may have been 
at that time, or an earlier period, in a condition as highly at- 
tenuated as the hypothetical ether now prevading space, which 
may be after all the onl} 7 true elementary substance. 
After the formation of the first molten mass, the earth 
would have been constituted very much like our present sun, 
a molten mass surrounded by a gaseous envelope of substances 
in their elementary condition. As the caloric of the gaseous 
envelope was radiated into space, it received heat from the 
molten interior. The temperature of this molten mass would 
not have varied much as to uniformity, since liquids carry 
heat quite readily by convection, tending to maintain a uni- 
form temperature throughout their mass. In fact, the prob- 
abilities are that the molten mass was at first very small, and 
grew in size, as it and the surrounding envelope cooled and 
slowly condensed. Such a method of growth would have 
largely tended to maintain a uniformity of temperature. We 
may presume that this continued until the lighter metals be- 
gan to condense. By the time this point was reached the 
oxygen would have to combine with them and other elements, 
forming acid and basic oxides, which would have readily com- 
bined with each other forming a fused magma. This magma, 
on account of its greater lightness, would have floated upon 
and protected the inner metallic mass. 
On account of the high conductivity of the inner metallic 
mass„ it would have poured off its heat to the oxidized magma 
as rapidly as the latter could receive it. This fused magma 
by convection would have tended to maintain the uniformity 
of its temperature; and the heat produced by the chemical 
combinations in the magma and in the atmosphere of the 
earth would have delayed solidification. Finally solidifica- 
tion of the crust began. 
The first crust was of similar composition as diorite or 
syenite. * 
Diorite melts at a temperature of about 2,000° C. , As new 
experiments, with better pyrometers, have largely reduced the 
*Le Conte's Elements of Geology, page 215, 
