Abstract
A DEFINITION of the word “machine” given in “The New English Dictionary” is “a combination of parts moving mechanically, as contrasted with a being having life, consciousness and will”. According to that definition, the whole earth may be regarded as a machine, as it consists of various parts with differential movements, and it is moving in mechanical obedience to the forces of the universe and without any impulse or free will of its own. The study of the primary machinery of the earth involves consideration of its construction and of those movements of its parts which control its main function—the preparation and maintenance of its surface as the home of man.
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GREGORY, J. The Machinery of the Earth*. Nature 126, 959–963 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126959a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126959a0