50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: Before Tectonics, Before Missiles and Before Film

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NOVEMBER 1955
FOUNDERING THEORY--"The size and peculiar shape of the Pacific trenches stir our sense of wonder. What implacable forces could have caused such large-scale distortions of the sea floor? And what is the significance of the fact that they lie along the Pacific 'ring of fire'--the zone of active volcanoes that encircles the vast ocean? Speculating from what we know, we may imagine that forces deep within the earth cause a foundering of the sea floor, forming a V-shaped trench. The depth stabilizes at about 35,000 feet, but crustal material, including sediments, may continue to be dragged downward into the earth. This is suggested by the fact that the deepest trenches contain virtually no sediments, although they are natural sediment traps."

NOVEMBER 1905
WIND POWER--"For several years the Danish government has experimented with windmills, to ascertain the relative amount of electrical power that can be generated. In this country similar experimental tests have been tried, and although the instances are not numerous, the data furnished indicate a useful future for this form of prime mover. This is particularly true of the agricultural regions of the West, where innumerable windmills have been constructed in the past ten years for irrigating purposes."

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