Show the romance of modern science recently sir robert S ball astronomer tro nomer ireland gave a lecture on time ana the romance of modem science soi ence jn the coarse of his most interesting and instructive lecture and with the aid ol 01 a number of limelight illustrations ho showed the influence ex by the moon upon the tides and by the tides upon the earth 1 he took his hearers bacic wih kirn w to the recesses of antiquity millions of centuries 1 ago when the earth was a molten mass of inorganic matter and when the velocity at which it revolved caused it to be come fractured and thrown off a portion of its substance which niter wards constituted the moon at that time the moon touched the earth but m consequence of the continually irritating ri influence of the tides upon the earth the moon had gradually receded further and further away ho likened the earth to a mighty flywheel which gave off in the tidal action so much of its energy in every twenty four hours without getting any compensating advantage in return this led to the gradual lengthening of the day bul they might console themselves with the knowledge that this was only going on at tho rate of about a second in a thousand years some interesting views were thrown on the screen showing tho remains of extinct volcanoes on the moon corresponding information to many similar formations on the earth he attributed tri the absence of active volcanic force on the moo while there was baill such force in existence on the earth to the fact that the moon being a much smaller body than the earth had cooled down more rapidly the active volcanoes now on the earth could be counted by units whereas in the remote past they existed m thousands views showing what are supposed to be the beds of extinct oceans on the moon wore also exhibited giving a forecast for the inconceivably distant future he said the moon would gradually go away from the earth to such a distance that it would take a much longer lime than now to go round the earth and tha day would gradually lengthen until it would become a period of about 1400 hours long however as at least millions of years would be required for the moon to retreat to that distance people of the present generation need not be alarmed for their grandchildren or great grandchildren laughter when that time did come there was an adaptive power in the organism of man which would fit him for the circumstances under which he lived |