Title

Mouth of the Harton Coal-Pit, South Shields, 1854. Creator: Unknown.

Caption

Mouth of the Harton Coal-Pit, South Shields, 1854. Mr. Airy['s] grand object was to arrive at the weight of our globe...it being necessary to know this before we can proceed to determine the weight or mass of the sun, moon, and planets, which is of the utmost importance to practical astronomy...[in order to] ascertain whether the centre of the globe was a mass of matter, [Mr Airy]...saw that...it would be most easily settled by observing the number of vibrations made by a pendulum swung at the surface of the earth and at the bottom of the deepest mine. The number of vibrations...is a correct measure of the power of gravitation; and, as we penetrate the comparatively light super-strata or crust of the globe, and approach the much denser and heavier mass forming the interior, the attraction of gravitation will be considerably increased, and the effect will be to accelerate the vibration of the pendulum'. From "Illustrated London News", 1854.

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/The Print Collector

Reference

HRM22B08_229

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

License type

Rights managed

Available size

14,4Mb (1,1Mb) / 8,4in x 6,7in / 2526 x 1998 (300dpi)

Keywords

exterior outdoors building England event technology industry manufacturing chimneys science trade astronomy British weight industrial chimney fuel experiment century mine tyne and wear Britain newspapers press physics coal B&W pit coal mine coal mining industrial revolution Coal Industry 19th century black & white black and white B W nineteenth century The Print Collector colliery Illustrated London News pit head pithead South Shields TGN ILN outside newspaper engraving Unknown South Tyneside coalmine Sir George Biddell Airy Airy George Biddell Sir George Biddell George Biddell Airy 19th-century