Abstract
THIS work is divided into three parts, with separate headings: (1) In den Regionen der Sterne; (2) Im Reiche der Wolken; (3) In den Tiefen der Erde. The author, whose name has frequently been mentioned in our columns, has lectured in various German cities on volcanic and cosmological phenomena, and eventually went to South America in order to study the great volcanoes of the Cordilleras. He conceived an earthquake theory, and his South American friends induced him to publish it. The result is the book now before us, which was published in Spanish at Valparaiso as far back as 1877 (“Estudio sobre los templores de tierra fundado en la historia del universo”). After a sojourn in South America extending over three years, Herr Falb returned to Europe, and his earthquake theory was frequently mentioned in the press in connection with the Agram earthquakes. The theory is simple enough in itself, and the author has at least the credit of being most enthusiastic in its support and in adducing as many facts in proving the same as can possibly be found. Whether he succeeds in proving it is another question. According to Herr Falb's view, all earthquakes, or at least by far the larger majority of earthquakes, are of a volcanic origin; or, to express it concisely, “earthquakes are subterraneous eruptions.” The basis of this theory is naturally the supposition that the whole interior of the earth is an ocean of incandescent matter. This is affected by the attraction of sun and moon in exactly the same manner as the sea and atmosphere are acted upon. The second division of the book therefore represents sun and moon as the generators of storms and tides; and in the third division, the principal one, we see the cause of earthquakes traced to the influence of sun and moon. There is no doubt that the author has a special gift of representing his subject clearly and popularly; his eloquence keeps the reader interested from the first line to the last. He quotes no less than thirty facts, from which he draws thirteen different inferences in proof of the volcanic nature of earthquakes. We regret that space does not permit us to enter further into details, but we can heartily recommend the book to our readers
Von aen Umwälzungen im Weltall.
Von Rudolf Falb (Vienna, Pesth, and Leipzig: Hartleben, 1881.)
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Von aen Umwälzungen im Weltall . Nature 24, 283 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/024283b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/024283b0