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

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

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394<br />

EARTH'S SHIFTING CRUST<br />

HYDROSTATIC: Pertaining to pressure and equilibrium <strong>of</strong> liquids.<br />

IGNEOUS ROCKS: Rocks which have cooled and solidified from a<br />

molten state.<br />

INSOLATION: Solar radiation received <strong>by</strong> the earth. <strong>The</strong> insolation<br />

curve represents the combined effects on mean world-wide temperatures<br />

<strong>of</strong> various astronomical factors, such as precession and varia-<br />

tions <strong>of</strong> the orbit <strong>of</strong> the earth about the sun.<br />

ISOSTASY: <strong>The</strong> definition is discussed in the text: Chapter VI.<br />

LITHOSPHERE: <strong>The</strong> outer shell <strong>of</strong> the planet. It is composed <strong>of</strong> rocks<br />

and the products derived from them <strong>by</strong> erosion, etc., such as gravels,<br />

soils, and the like. <strong>The</strong> crystalline, solid lithosphere is assumed to be<br />

between 20 and 40 miles thick. (Also called crust.)<br />

LOAD, Negative: A deficiency <strong>of</strong> matter at a given point on the crust;<br />

considered negative because it results in a pressure from within, as<br />

a result <strong>of</strong> the tendency to achieve hydrostatic balance.<br />

Positive: A local excess <strong>of</strong> mass.<br />

MAGMA: Molten rock material within the earth. When cooled and<br />

crystallized into solid form it yields the so-called igneous rocks (q.v.).<br />

MASS: A measure <strong>of</strong> the amount <strong>of</strong> matter in a body.<br />

MASS, Center <strong>of</strong>: Point at which the mass is assumed to be concen-<br />

trated; for computational purposes.<br />

METAMORPHIC: Altered; applied to rocks or rock strata that have<br />

been physically changed <strong>by</strong> heat or other means.<br />

MILLIGAL: A thickness <strong>of</strong> ten meters <strong>of</strong> granite; the effects (gravitational)<br />

produced <strong>by</strong> such mass.<br />

MUTATION: A sudden variation in the characteristics <strong>of</strong> a life form<br />

as compared to those <strong>of</strong> its progenitors.<br />

NEBULAR THEORY: A theory <strong>of</strong> the origin <strong>of</strong> the solar system, according<br />

to which a gaseous nebula coalesced and cooled to form<br />

centers which then further contracted to form the<br />

compacted<br />

planets.<br />

OOZE: A s<strong>of</strong>t deep-sea deposit composed <strong>of</strong> shells, debris, meteoric<br />

dust, etc. Argillaceous ooze is a<br />

clayey type.<br />

PLANETESIMAL: A small, solid<br />

planetary body having an individual<br />

orbit about the sun.<br />

PLANETESIMAL HYPOTHESIS: A theory <strong>of</strong> the origin <strong>of</strong> the solar<br />

system supposing that the planets were formed <strong>by</strong> collision and<br />

coalescence <strong>of</strong> planetesimals and thus have never been wholly<br />

molten.<br />

PLICATION: Folding into layers or strata.<br />

PRECESSION: <strong>The</strong> wobbling <strong>of</strong> the axis <strong>of</strong> the earth, making the pole<br />

describe a circle as the planet spins.<br />

RADIATION, Adaptive: <strong>The</strong> production <strong>of</strong> a diversified fauna as the<br />

result <strong>of</strong> the availability <strong>of</strong> new ecological spaces. New faunas re-

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