A Comparative View of the Huttonian and Neptunian Systems of Geology |
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A Comparative View of the Huttonian and Neptunian Systems of Geology: In ... John Murray Limited preview - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
admitted affumed alſo appearances argillaceous argillite argument bafalt barytes becauſe cafe calcareous carbonic acid caufe cauſe circumftances clay coal conclufion confift confolidated courſe cryftallized demonftration depofited diffolved earth eſtabliſhed exifted exiſtence explained fact faid falt fame fand fandftone felfpar feparation fhells fhiftus fhould fides filiceous fimilar fimple fince firſt fluid fluidity foffils folid foluble folution fome formation formed fource ftances ftate ftill ftratified ftratum ftructure fubftances fubject fubterraneous heat fuch fufed fufficient fufible fufion fuppofed fuppofition furface fuſed geologift globe granite Hutton Huttonian fyftem Huttonian hypothefis Huttonian theory Illuftrations immenfe impoffible impreffions itſelf lava leaſt lefs leſs limeſtone maffes maſs matter metals minerals moſt muft muſt neceffary Neptunian theory obferved operation origin petrifactions poffible pofition preciſely prefent preferved preffure principle Profeffor Playfair proof prove pyrites quartz reaſoning refpect rocks ſtate ſubſtances ſuppoſed ſyſtem thefe theſe ftrata thofe thoſe tion tonian vegetable veins whin
Popular passages
Page 40 - And are not the sun and fixed stars great earths vehemently hot, whose heat is conserved by the greatness of the bodies and the mutual action and reaction between them, and 'the light which they emit...
Page 38 - but heat, which is required for this purpose ; and there is nothing chimerical in supposing that nature has the means of producing heat, even in a very great degree, without the assistance of fuel or of vital air. Friction is a source of heat, unlimited for what we know in its extent ; and so, perhaps, are other operations chemical and mechanical ; nor are either combustible substances or vital air concerned in the heat thus produced.
Page 7 - In a word, it is the peculiar excellence of this theory, that it ascribes to the phenomena of geology an order similar to that which exists in the provinces of nature with which we are best acquainted ; that it produces seas and continents, not by accident, but by the operation of regular and uniform causes...
Page 113 - Veins are of various kinds, and may in general be defined, feparations in the continuity of a rock, of a determinate width, but extending indefinitely in length and depth, and filled with mineral fubftances, different from the rock itfelf. The mineral veins, ftri&ly fo called, are thofe filled with fparry or cryftallized fiibftances, and containing the metallic ores.
Page 39 - We are indeed, in all cafes, ftrangers to the origin of heat : philofophers difpute, at this moment, concerning the fource of that which is produced by burning ; and much more are they at a lofs to determine, what upholds the light and heat of the great luminary, which animates all nature by its influence. If we would form any opinion on this...
Page 43 - ... by fymptoms too well marked not to indicate their caufe. Nay, no change of this kind appears to have happened for a much longer period than that which man has afcertained. It may be affirmed, that the temperature which at prefent prevails, is that...
Page 129 - ... as it would then have pervaded the whole, if not uniformly, yet with a regular gradation. In thofe fpecimens of foffil-wood that are partly penetrated by agate, and partly not penetrated at all, the fame fharpnefs of...
Page 187 - The refults of thefe analyfes fhow, that whins, and a certain clafs of lavas, taken from remote quarters of the globe, confift of the fame component elements, united in each, nearly in the fame proportion. The only circumftance in which they materially differ, is the lofs of fome volatile matter in the fire, which is peculiar to the whins alone.
Page 162 - ... confidered, that, while immerfed in water, and under infuperable compreflion, the vegetable, oily, and refinous fubftances, would appear to be unalterable by heat ; and it is only in proportion as certain chemical feparations take place, that thefe inflammable bodies are changed in their fubftance by the application of heat. Now, the moft general change of this kind is in confequence of evaporation, or the diftillation of their more volatile parts, by which oily fubftances become bituminous,...
Page 43 - Yet we have no reafon to believe that there is any change in the medium temperature of the globe. The climate of particular countries may be altered, from cultivation, or other local...