DARWIN, G.H. - THE MOON THEORY.

Problems connected with the Tides of a Viscous Spheroid. Received November 14, - Read December 19, 1878.

(London, Harrison and Sons, 1880). 4to. No wrappers as extracted from "Philosophical Transactions" 1879, Vol. 171 - Part II. Pp. 539-593.

First printing of a main paper by the "Father of Geophysics" in which he shows that the effect of the tides was to force a retreat of the moon from the earth - thus going backward in time in the history of the earth, he concludes that the earth had been in contact with the moon, and this represents the time at which the whirling earth threw off a portion of its outer crust by centrifugal action, loosing angular motion in that way.

"Darwin's most significant contribution to the history of science lies in his pioneering work in the application of detailled dynamical analysis to cosmological and geological problems. That many of his conclusions are now out of date should in no way diminish the historical interest in his experiments, nor the importent service thet he rendered cosmogony by the example he gave of putting various hypotheses to the test of actual calculations. Darwin's method remains a milestone in the development of cosmogony, and subsequent investigators have favored it over the merely qualitative arguments prevalent until that time."(DSB).

Order-nr.: 42402