large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb_68
large/12904/worldswithinworlds_v1-3_1904_librivox_64kb_mp3/worldswithinworlds_02_asimov_64kb
English
12904
Yet one of those unlikely alternatives would have to be true. And then in 1896 came the discovery of radioactivity. YET ONE OF THOSE UNLIKELY ALTERNATIVES WOULD HAVE TO BE TRUE THEN IN EIGHTEEN NINETY SIX CAME THE DISCOVERY OF RADIOA ACTIVITY
best techniques of Helmholtz’s day. Working backward, however, it seemed that 25 million years ago, the sun must have been so large as to fill the earth’s orbit. Clearly the earth could not then have existed. In that case, the maximum age of the earth was only 25 million years. Geologists and biologists found themselves disturbed by this. The slow changes in the earth’s crust and in the evolution of life made it seem very likely that the earth must have been in existence—with the sun delivering heat and light very much in the present fashion—for many hundreds of millions of years. Yet there seemed absolutely no other way of accounting for the sun’s energy supply. Either the law of conservation of energy was wrong (which seemed unlikely), or the painfully collected evidence of geologists and biologists was wrong (which seemed unlikely),—or there was some source of energy greater than any known in the 19th century, whose existence had somehow escaped mankind (which also seemed unlikely). T TECHNIQUES OF HELMHOLTZ'S DAY WORKING BACKWARD HOWEVER IT SEEMED THAT TWENTY FIVE MILLION YEARS AGO THE SUN MUST HAVE BEEN SO LARGE AS TO FILL THE EARTH'S ORBIT CLEARLY THE EARTH COULD NOT THEN HAVE EXISTED IN THAT CASE THE MAXIMUM AGE OF THE EARTH WAS ONLY TWENTY FIVE MILLION YEARS GEOLOGISTS AND BIOLOGISTS FOUND THEMSELVES DISTURBED BY THIS THE SLOW CHANGES IN THE EARTH'S CRUST AND IN THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE MADE IT SEEM VERY LIKELY THAT THE EARTH MUST HAVE BEEN IN EXISTENCE WITH THE SUN DELIVERING HEAT AND LIGHT VERY MUCH IN THE PRESENT FASHION FOR MANY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS YET THERE SEEMED ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER WAY OF ACCOUNTING FOR THE SUN'S ENERGY SUPPLY EITHER THE LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY WAS WRONG WHICH SEEMED UNLIKELY OR THE PAINFULLY COLLECTED EVIDENCE OF GEOLOGISTS AND BIOLOGISTS WAS WRONG WHICH SEEMED UNLIKELY OR THERE WAS SOME SOURCE OF ENERGY GREATER THAN ANY KNOWN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY WHOSE EXISTENCE HAD SOMEHOW ESCAPED MANKIND WHICH ALSO SEEMED UNLIKELY
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