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UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 A Natural History of Time i UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 ii UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 A Natural History of Time PASCAL RICHET TRANSLATED BY JOHN VENERELLA TheUniversityofChicagoPress ChicagoandLondon iii UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 OriginallypublishedasL’aˆgedumonde:A`ladećouvertedel’immensite´du temps.©E´ditionsduSeuil,1999. TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago60637 TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Ltd.,London ©2007byTheUniversityofChicago Allrightsreserved.Published2007 Paperbackedition2010 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 2 3 4 5 6 ISBN-13:978-0-226-71287-1(cloth) ISBN-13:978-0-226-71288-8(paper) ISBN-10:0-226-71287-7(cloth) ISBN-10:0-226-71288-5(paper) LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Richet,Pascal. [Agedumonde.English.] Anaturalhistoryoftime/PascalRichet;translatedbyJohnVenerella. p. cm. Includesbibliographicreferencesandindex. ISBN-13:978-0-226-71287-1(cloth:alk.paper) ISBN-10:0-226-71287-7(cloth:alk.paper) 1.Geologicaltime. 2.Earth—Age. I.Title. QE508.R54142007 551.7(cid:1)01—dc22 2006033992 (cid:3)∞Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirements oftheAmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciences— PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSIZ39.48-1992. iv UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 Inordertodeterminethetimeatwhichtheplanetswereformedandtocalcu- latethecoolingoftheterrestrialglobe,heengagedtheservicesoffourorfive lovely,sweetlycomplexionedladies;hehadseveralglobesofallsortsofmateri- alsandofallsortsofdensitiesheatedtored-hot,andthesetheyheldbyturnsin theirdelicatehands,reportingtohimthedegreesoftheheatandtheperiodsof cooling;anduponthisfragilebasis,heerectedthemostaudaciousofedifices. CHEVALIER D’AUDE, VIE PRIVEÉ DU COMTE DE BUFFON v UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 vi UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 Contents Preface ix 1 TimewithoutaBeginning? 1 2 OntheGreatBookofMoses 24 3 GenesisasViewedthroughthePrismofNatural Philosophy 54 4 Nature’sAdmirableMedals 85 5 TheMarchoftheComets 114 6 HeroicAge,RelativeTime 143 7 TheLongHistoryofTwoBarons 176 8 TheElasticityofTime 206 9 ThePandora’sBoxofPhysics 237 10 TheSun,theEarth,Radioactivity—andKelvin’sDeath 264 11 TheLongQuestofArthurHolmes 288 12 FromtheAtomicBombtotheAgeoftheEarth 320 Epilogue 350 Appendix:MathematicalComplements 355 SourceNotes 357 SuggestionsforFurtherReadingand Reference 373 Bibliography 409 Index 455 vii UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 viii UCBX034cFm UniversityofChicago ucbx034 March8,2007 14:42 Preface Howhasthestudyofnature—fromancienttimestoourcur- rentera—shapedourperceptionsoftimeandofdurations oftime?AccordingtotheJudeo-Christiantradition,theCre- ationwoulddatebackonlyafewmillennia,thoughthean- cientGreekscommonlyheldthattheworldhadbeenaround foralleternity.Betweenthesetwoextremes,anyamongthe mostvariousdurationsoftimemightbepresumed.WhatI shallattempttodescribehereishownaturaltimescalesand the age of the world have been evaluated throughout the ages, how the dark abysses of this “time” ended up being probed—inshort,thenatureofthelongroadthathadtobe traveled before coming upon the billions of years now es- tablishedbycontemporarygeochemistryandastrophysics. It was a tortuous road, to be sure, a real game of Snakes andLadders—withsomebacktrackingincluded—havingas someofitssquaresthevenerablepatriarchsoftheOldTes- tament, the precession of the equinoxes, the Passion of Christ,thesoulsofstars,theshapeoftheearth,thelivesof stones,fossils,theFlood,thepathsofcomets,thesaltiness oftheoceans,theprimordialheat,theextinctionofspecies, theenergyofthestars,sedimentationanderosion,natural selection, radioactivity, the isotopes of uranium, and the atomicbomb.Fewproblems,indeed,haveblendedsucha large number of different disciplines, raised so many con- troversies, given rise to so many advances, or offended so manyopinions,bothsecularandreligious. ix