The Tides and Kindred Phenomena in the Solar System by Sir George Howard Darwin

(7 User reviews)   4006
Darwin, George Howard, Sir, 1845-1912 Darwin, George Howard, Sir, 1845-1912
English
Have you ever wondered why we have two high tides a day instead of one? Or what the Moon's slow retreat from Earth has to do with your morning coffee? In 1898, Sir George Howard Darwin (yes, Charles's son) tackled these questions in a way that still feels surprisingly fresh. This isn't just a dusty old science text; it's a cosmic detective story. Darwin connects the dots between ocean tides, the wobble of our planet, and the very evolution of the solar system itself. He asks how the gentle, persistent pull of gravity has shaped worlds over billions of years. If you've looked at the Moon and felt curious, this book offers some of the most elegant answers science has ever produced.
Share

Read "The Tides and Kindred Phenomena in the Solar System by Sir George Howard Darwin" Online

This book is available in the public domain. Start reading the digital edition below.

START READING FULL BOOK
Instant Access    Mobile Friendly

Book Preview

A short preview of the book’s content is shown below to give you an idea of its style and themes.

Late Rector of Bucknell, Oxon; Editor of the Fourth Edition of Dr. Scrivener’s “Plain Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament”; and Author of “A Guide to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament” Πᾶσι Τοῖς Ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ PHIL. i. 1 London George Bell And Sons Cambridge: Deighton, Bell and Co. 1896 CONTENTS Preface. Introduction. Chapter I. Preliminary Grounds. Chapter II. Principles. Chapter III. The Seven Notes Of Truth. Chapter IV. The Vatican And Sinaitic Manuscripts. Chapter V. The Antiquity of the Traditional Text. I. Witness of the Early Fathers. Chapter VI. The Antiquity Of The Traditional Text. II. Witness of the Early Syriac Versions. Chapter VII. The Antiquity Of The Traditional Text. III. Witness of the Western or Syrio-Low-Latin Text. Chapter VIII. Alexandria and Caesarea. Chapter IX. The Old Uncials. The Influence Of Origen. Chapter X. The Old Uncials. Codex D. Chapter XI. The Later Uncials And The Cursives. Chapter XII. Conclusion. Appendix I. Honeycomb—ἀπὸ μελισσίου κηρίου. Appendix II. Ὄξος—Vinegar. Appendix III. The Rich Young Man. Appendix IV. St. Mark i. 1. Appendix V. The Sceptical Character Of B And א. Appendix VI. The Peshitto And Curetonian. Appendix VII. The Last Twelve Verses Of St. Mark’s Gospel. Appendix VIII. New Editions Of The Peshitto-Syriac And The Harkleian-Syriac Versions. General Index. Index II. Passages Of The New Testament Commented On. Footnotes “Tenet ecclesia nostra, tenuitque semper firmam illam et immotam Tertulliani regulam ‘Id verius quod prius, id prius quod ab initio.’ Quo propius ad veritatis fontem accedimus, eo purior decurrit Catholicae doctrinae rivus.”—CAVE’S _Proleg._ p. xliv. “Interrogate de semitis antiquis quae sit via bona, et ambulate in eâ.”—Jerem. vi. 16. “In summa, si constat id verius quod prius, id prius quod ab initio, id ab initio quod ab Apostolis; pariter utique constabit, id esse ab Apostolis traditum, quod apud Ecclesias Apostolorum fuerit sacrosanctum.”—TERTULL. _adv. Marc._ l. iv. c. 5. PREFACE. The death of Dean Burgon in 1888, lamented by a large number of people on the other side of the Atlantic as well as on this, cut him off in the early part of a task for which he had made preparations during more than thirty years. He laid the foundations of his system with much care and caution, discussing it with his friends, such as the late Earl of Selborne to whom he inscribed The Last Twelve Verses, and the present Earl of Cranbrook to whom he dedicated The Revision Revised, for the purpose of sounding the depths of the subject, and of being sure that he was resting upon firm rock. In order to enlarge the general basis of Sacred Textual Criticism, and to treat of the principles of it scientifically and comprehensively, he examined manuscripts widely, making many discoveries at home and in foreign libraries; collated some himself and got many collated by other scholars; encouraged new and critical editions of some of the chief Versions; and above all, he devised and superintended a collection of quotations from the New Testament to be found in the works of the Fathers and in other ecclesiastical writings, going far beyond ordinary indexes, which may be found in sixteen thick volumes amongst the treasures of the British Museum. Various events led him during his life-time to dip into and publish some of his stores, such as in his Last Twelve Verses of St. Mark, his famous Letters to Dr. Scrivener in the _Guardian_ Newspaper, and in The Revision Revised. But he sedulously amassed materials for the greater treatise up to the time of his death. He was then deeply impressed with the incomplete state of his...

This is a limited preview. Download the book to read the full content.

Forget everything you think you know about dry, academic writing. The Tides and Kindred Phenomena in the Solar System reads like a grand, interconnected puzzle. Sir George Howard Darwin, a brilliant mathematician in his own right, lays out a simple but profound idea: the gravity that causes the daily rise and fall of our oceans is the same force that has dictated the fates of planets and moons.

The Story

There's no traditional plot, but the narrative drive comes from following a single thread—gravitational pull—and seeing where it leads. Darwin starts with the familiar tide. Then he shows how that same tug-of-war between Earth and Moon is slowing Earth's spin and pushing the Moon away. He expands the view, suggesting that our entire Moon might have been born from a cataclysmic tidal pull early in Earth's history. The story grows from your local shoreline to encompass the cracked surface of Jupiter's moons and the strange, synchronized orbits found throughout space.

Why You Should Read It

What's amazing is how accessible Darwin makes this. He's not showing off with complex equations (though they're there in the background). He's telling a cause-and-effect story on a galactic scale. You get a real sense of time—not in years, but in eons. You see the solar system not as a static picture, but as a dynamic, ever-changing family of objects still influencing each other. It’s humbling and thrilling.

Final Verdict

Perfect for curious minds who enjoy big-picture science. If you liked books like Cosmos or find yourself falling down Wikipedia holes about astronomy, this is your foundational text. It's for the reader who wants to understand not just what happens in our sky and seas, but the deep, physical why behind it all. A timeless piece of scientific storytelling.



🏛️ Open Access

This historical work is free of copyright protections. Knowledge should be free and accessible.

Joshua Torres
1 year ago

Without a doubt, it manages to explain difficult concepts in plain English. Highly recommended.

Logan Allen
1 year ago

I came across this while browsing and it manages to explain difficult concepts in plain English. Highly recommended.

Nancy Hernandez
4 months ago

Beautifully written.

William Torres
1 year ago

A bit long but worth it.

Edward Allen
1 year ago

Loved it.

5
5 out of 5 (7 User reviews )

Add a Review

Your Rating *
There are no comments for this eBook.
You must log in to post a comment.
Log in


Related eBooks