Cosmos Volume IV
The Cosmos Volume IV "telluric phenomena ..." is the 1858 published fourth volume of Alexander von Humboldt's work cosmos. Draft of a physical description of the world . After devoting himself to the celestial phenomena and the uranological sphere in his third volume , Humboldt turns in this volume very precisely to the telluric phenomena, shape and life on earth.
General remarks
As early as 1851 , Humboldt had announced that he was working on the fourth volume of Kosmos, the last now, as he was still certain in 1855 . The year 1857 proved him wrong. A fifth volume would become unavoidable and it was urgent, because the 88-year-old “youthful old man” had to reckon with his death every day. That moment seemed almost to come when Humboldt suffered a violent collapse and stroke that same year. But he remained optimistic, wrote, "although in bed and awkward," reassuring letters and recovered, although some paralyzes remained.
The year 1858 once again showed him the "sad privilege" of having "survived everything that is dear to you" . His travel companion Bonpland died. Humboldt, however, drew new strength from the grief and resumed the “titanic struggle of an old man with the overflowing amount of material” (Gentz-Werner).
And in the same year the fourth volume of his Kosmos appeared. It deals with the "special results of observation in the field of telluric phenomena" . Humboldt regarded it as "an extension and more careful effect of the general nature painting" which he drew in the first volume . In the individual sections, he repeatedly points out the direct reference to this volume with specific (page) information.
Cosmos IV is divided into two large areas:
- In the first part, Humboldt dedicates himself to the size, shape and density of the earth , as well as its magnetic activity. This part comprises approx. 190 pages and is divided into numerous sub-items.
- the second part deals with the "reaction of the interior of the earth against the surface" and with approx. 430 pages is considerably more extensive than the first part.
At this point, Humboldt deals in particular with the volcanic phenomena that fascinate him . next to thermal springs , gas springs and earthquakes discussed.
content
introduction
In the introduction, Humboldt first briefly addresses the previous three volumes and justifies the purely geological volume with the fact that mankind has always made a distinction between heaven and earth ( “In this way, the ancient, simple and natural separation of the created is in Heaven and earth […] have been retained. ” , P. 5) In contrast to astronomy and the preoccupation with space and its celestial bodies, which can be examined solely with the sense of sight, according to Humboldt, dealing with the earth is more scientific, since all Sense for the investigation of the "multiple elementary substances" (p. 7) are available. Astronomy therefore remains limited by the “exclusion of all that is perceptible from a material difference” (p. 8), even if observations of e.g. B. allow analogy conclusions to be drawn about the alternation of light phenomena on the surface of Mars (seasons, ice, snow). But there is no direct observation. Each sphere has its own intellectual demands - astronomy mainly in the field of mathematics and optics, geology demands different and more disciplines (Humboldt mentions chemistry and physics as examples). According to Humboldt, the substances on earth exert an attraction to one another, which is triggered by movement at the molecular level. But this movement eludes the human eye. How this movement and attraction relate to gravity is not clear. A solution to this problem would be “the highest and most glorious [...] that experiment and thought connection can achieve in these ways” (p. 10) Humboldt means that “beings are neither more nor less” (p. 12) in the constant cycle of metabolism, fettering and unleashing - the amount of substance remains the same, "the elements only change their position relative to one another" (p. 12)
According to Humboldt, the telluric sphere must be divided into two parts:
- into an organic one (earth body, shape, density, size, interior, atmosphere, etc.) and
- into an inorganic part (life forms and their spatial relationship to the solid and liquid parts of the earth).
With this distinction, he initially orientates himself towards Aristotle . In the course of the 15-page introduction, however, he largely revised this strict separation by explaining:
“The history of organisms (the word history taken in its original sense, ie as a relation to the earlier epoch, to the ancient flora and fauna) is so intimate with geology, with the order of layers superimposed on one another, with the chronometry of the countries - and mountain elevations that, because of the concatenation of large and widespread phenomena, it seemed more suitable to me that the natural division of organic and inorganic earthly life in a work on the cosmos is not a main element of classification. This is not a morphological point of view, but preferably a view of nature and its working forces that strive for totality. ” (Pp. 14–15)
Part I: Size, shape and impermeability of the earth Size, figure (flattening)
Tightness of the earth
Humboldt describes the history of measuring the earth's degree and the associated refinement of the instruments in astronomy, mathematics and measurement technology (e.g. pendulum). Essentially, it represents the various measurement methods and the current state of knowledge.
Inner warmth of the earth's body and its distribution
By increasing the temperature in various boreholes, Humboldt tries to make a generally valid statement about the temperature inside the earth. He points out, however, that the temperature increases differ greatly (type of rock, seasonal surface temperature) and that further investigations must therefore follow.
Magnetic activity
Humboldt first gives a historical overview of the use of the compass and the exploration of earthly magnetism, its deviation and intensity. For Humboldt, magnetism is an “eternally changeable phenomenon” (p. 650). He particularly goes into the work and expeditions to research earth magnetism that took place in the first half of the 19th century. Then he covers the three elements of magnetism: intensity, inclination, and declination. Nevertheless, there are hardly any laws for him, especially for the intensity of the earth's magnetism. According to Humboldt, this depends on too many factors such as the time of day and the season, altitude, temperature, the proximity of the earth to the sun, etc. Humboldt also points to numerous observations and researches on geomagnetism that he made on his travels. Finally he looks at the aurora borealis , the “magnetic storm” (p. 700). Humboldt does not go beyond a mere description of the phenomenon, it is only certain that the polar lights have an influence on the aforementioned elements of geomagnetism.
Part II: Reaction of the interior of the earth against the surface; revealing itself
earthquake
Humboldt begins by pointing out that the earthquake phenomenon and its causes are largely in the dark. He names three common theories about how earthquakes occur:
- through the rising of vapors from the earth's core,
- through the penetration of water and air into the liquid core of the earth,
- through towering mountains (cavities, fractures, crevices).
For Humboldt earthquakes are "volcanic activities of lower degrees" , whereby volcanic activity for him means "reaction of the interior of the earth against the surface. "(P. 717). That doesn't mean that earthquakes are always accompanied by volcanic eruptions.
Thermal springs
Humboldt describes various hot springs (Mexico, India) and the geysers on Iceland and tries to find out their origin by classifying them according to the substances contained in the water (sulfur, oxygen, carbonic acid content, etc.) and their temperature. A classification is as follows:
- purely meteorological sources (depending on the weather),
- meteorological-geological sources (temperature from the ground,)
- abnormally cold springs (altitude) steam and gas springs, salsen, mud volcanoes, naphtha fires.
For Humboldt , the steam springs , mud volcanoes etc. form “a middle link between the hot springs and the actual volcanoes” (p. 729). They are a “kind of volcanic activity which reveals itself through the emergence of vapors and types of gas, now with and now without phenomena of fire.” (P. 737) Here too, Humboldt remains descriptive, he cannot provide explanations for the phenomena.
Volcanoes, according to the diversity of their form and activity.
Humboldt defines the volcanoes as:
"Openings through which, in addition to the types of gas, also solid, material-like masses in a molten state, as lava flows, or as slags, or as products of the finest attrition (ash), are pushed to the surface from an unmeasured depth." (P. 738)
He differentiates between eruptions on crevices, eruptions through embankment cones ("without walling and yet pouring lava flows"), elevation craters with raised layers without a central cone, closed bell peaks or elevation cones open at the top. The latter, according to Humboldt, maintained a constant connection to the liquid interior of the earth.
Humboldt makes another classification based on the height of the volcanoes; he divides them into five groups. He cannot establish any connection between the height of the volcanoes and volcanic activity. (The theory was “The lower a volcano, the more active!”) Then he goes into the volcanic systems. He differentiates between systems with a central volcano and row volcano systems in which volcanoes are grouped along columns. He describes and counts in detail the series of volcanic systems of Central America and Mexico, Europe and Java, measures them and sets up groups and categories (still active, extinguished, type of eruption, lava flows, type of ejected rock, etc.). According to Humboldt, a purely quantitative listing of the volcanoes can only be the measure of the lower limit of volcanic activity, since the underground systems and connections are not accessible to science. These quantitative methods (number and geographical position of the volcanoes, observation, rock samples) remain the only ones available to geology in Humboldt's time. Other studies, such as measuring the thickness of the earth's crust, are reserved for later generations.
- theoretical subdivision: a. Effect through crevasses and maars; b. Embankments around the elevation craters; c. Volcanic cone and bell mountains, with open and unopened summits; d. Diversity of the mountain types through which the volcanoes work.
- Geographical subdivision: 1) Europe, 2) Islands of the Atlantic Sea, 3) Africa, 4) Asia, 5) East Asian Islands, 6) South Asian Islands, 7) The Indian Ocean, 8) The South Seas, 9) Mexico , 10) Northwest America.
Review and conclusion
Geology, which matured into an established science during Humboldt's lifetime, was one of his main areas of interest. His scientific treatise on "Mineralogical observations about some basalts on the Rhine", which appeared as early as 1790 , was the first of 95 geoscientific papers that he published during his life. For his fourth volume of cosmos, too, Humboldt consulted his invaluable experiences and notes from his trip to South America, on which he and his travel companion Bonpland were the first European to climb the two peaks of the Pichincha volcano (4,690 m and 4,794 m) in Ecuador and, according to his own statements, from Follower of the Neptunist Abraham Gottlob Werner, with whom he had studied, became a plutonist .
With a persistence that ran the risk of making himself unpopular, Humboldt relentlessly incorporated the statements of all the relevant experts of his time into his cosmos ( “Network of Knowledge” ), in the geological field including Louis Agassiz , Leopold von Buch , Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg , Wolfgang Sartorius, Mary Somerville (as one of the very few female scientists who Humboldt quoted in his Kosmos). The fourth volume reflects the current state of research and knowledge in geology at the time. The bibliography of the fourth volume contains literature that was published shortly before the completion of Humboldt's work.
The great geological findings and achievements of the 19th century:
- Temporal structure of the earth's formation (on a paleontological basis)
- Hypotheses about mountain formation
- Systematization of geological processes
- Draft geological maps
Humboldt enriched the discussion in geology with numerous individual contributions and observations, especially in the field of volcanoes. In the theory of Neptunism, as mentioned, he made a change towards becoming a “moderate” Plutonist.
The fourth volume is an impressive inventory of the knowledge of magnetism and volcanic phenomena of its time. Nevertheless, the volume has for a long time the character of a “hard work” in which phenomena are enumerated (quantitatively). The volume is particularly interesting because of the numerous anecdotes from Humboldt's travel diaries. He also shows his enormous historical knowledge in the many historical reviews. On the other hand, Humboldt is very reluctant to formulate generally applicable laws and theories; for example, practically nothing is mentioned about the “Neptunism” - “Plutonism” dispute. He often refers to the research work to be done or to the limitations of geology at his time.
Bibliography
- Alexander von Humboldt: Cosmos. Draft of a physical description of the world. Vol. 4. Cotta, Stuttgart et al. 1858. Digitized and full text in the German text archive
- Alexander von Humboldt: Cosmos. A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe . Harper Publ., New York 1860.
- Alexander von Humboldt: Cosmos. Draft of a physical description of the world . Eichborn, Frankfurt / M. 2004, ISBN 3-8218-4549-X ( The other library / special volume).
- Petra Gentz-Werner : Heaven and Earth. Alexander von Humboldt and his “Kosmos” . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-05-004025-4 (contributions to Alexander von Humboldt research; 24).