The Earth's Shifting Crust by Charles Hapgood - wire of information

CAMPBELL'S MECHANISM 371
feet will tend to propel a mass in this equipotential surface
toward the equator, and no gravitational effect will tend to
propel it toward the poles. The fact that the force of gravity
is absolutely much greater than the centrifugal effect of the
rotation is shown by the fact that the flattening of the earth
is very slight. The equatorial bulge amounts to 6.7 miles in
comparison with the earth's mean radius of 4,000 miles. This
is a ratio of only .017 per cent.
The past century has been notable for extensive studies
of the effects of gravity at the earth's surface. The theory of
isostasy has been developed, and the actually existing state of
balance of the surface features of the earth's crust has been
measured in various ways and for various purposes. As we
have seen, there are various difficulties with the theory of
isostasy, some of which may be soluble in terms of the theory
presented in this book. At the same time, but independently,
studies of centrifugal effects at the earth's surface have been
undertaken. Eotvos investigated the centrifugal effects that
would arise if a given mass had its center of gravity above
the equipotential surface. This could occur even with masses
in isostatic equilibrium. To visualize this case, we may take
the example of a block of ice floating in water.
Ice is lighter than water. When a block of ice falls into
a body of water it displaces its own weight of water, and
then floats with a tenth of its mass above the water level. It
is now in equilibrium, or in isostatic adjustment, even
though its upper part projects a considerable distance up out
of the water. This upper tenth, in the meantime, has dis-
placed air, not water. It is a solid mass of far greater density
than the air it has displaced. Its center of gravity, midway
between its summit and the water surface, is farther from
the axis of rotation of the earth than was that of the mass
of water it has displaced. Since points move faster with the
earth's rotation the farther they are from this axis, this mass
has now been given added velocity. Added velocity means
an increase in the centrifugal effect, and one not compensated
by gravity, since the amount of mass is the same as before,