DARWIN, G.H. - ANNOUNCING THE "RESONANCE THEORY" OF THE ORIGIN OF THE MOON.

On the Procession of a Viscous Spheroid, and on the remote History of the Earth. Received July 22, - Read December 19, 1878.

(London, Harrison and Sons, 1880). 4to. No wrappers as extracted from "Philosophical Transactions", 1879, Vol. 170 - Part II. Pp. 447-538 and. 1 plate. Clean and fine.

First appearance of an importent paper, announcing Darwin's so-called "Resonance Theory" of the origin of the moon, according to which the moon might have originated from the fission of a parent earth as the result of an instability produced by resonant solar tides.
"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 That many of his conclusions are now out of date should in no way diminish the historical interest in his experiments, nor the importent service thet he rendered cosmogony by the example he gave of putting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.: 42425