The Continental Drift Controversy: Volume 2, Paleomagnetism and Confirmation of Drift

Description

The resolution of the sixty-year debate over continental drift, culminating in the triumph of plate tectonics, changed the very fabric of Earth science. This four-volume treatise on the continental drift controversy is the first complete history of the origin, debate and gradual acceptance of this revolutionary theory. Based on extensive interviews, archival papers and original works, Frankel weaves together the lives and work of the scientists involved, producing an accessible narrative for scientists and non-scientists alike. This second volume provides the first extensive account of the growing paleomagnetic case for continental drift in the 1950s and the development of apparent polar wander paths that showed how the continents had changed their positions relative to one another, more or less as Wegener had proposed. Paleomagnetism offered the first physical measure that continental drift had occurred and helped determine the changing latitudes of the continents through geologic time.

Henry Frankel was awarded a PhD from Ohio State University in 1974 and then took a position at the University of Missouri, Kansas City where he became Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department (1999-2004). His interest in the continental drift controversy and the plate tectonics revolution began while teaching a course on conceptual issues in science during the late 1970s. The controversy provided him with an example of a recent and major scientific revolution to test philosophical accounts of scientific growth and change. Over the next thirty years, and with the support of the United States National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society, Professor Frankel's research went on to yield new and fascinating insights into the evolution of the most important theory in the Earth sciences.

'Because the volumes synthesize many sources, one may indeed be capable of understanding the growth of the theory even better than those who participated in the research! ...for someone interested in how the theory came about, this set is irreplaceable, fascinating, and illuminating, Essential.' I. D. Sasowsky, CHOICE 'A well constructed and gripping narrative, which preserves the complex scientific detail, but invites one in to this fascinating world and helps the reader patiently to find a way through its labyrinth. Frankel is a wonderful guide and worthy of your trust.' Mott Greene, University of Puget Sound and University of Washington 'This volume ... is a complete account and benefits from the fact that many of those who were principals in the drama are still alive ... Fascinating and full of humor, but very serious. A better book on the subject will probably never be written.' Neil D. Opdyke, University of Florida 'Tracing an exhaustive and comprehensive history, Frankel illuminates how different were geological and geophysical perspectives on continental drift, providing fascinating insights on the erratic and complex fashion in which science advances.' Jim Briden, University of Oxford Praise for the series: '... an unparalleled study of remarkable depth, detail and quality of a key development in our ideas about how the Earth functions. ... because Frankel draws on his extensive oral historical work with the key players in the development of plate tectonics, this is a study which can never be repeated in terms of its proximity to the events narrated, so many of those key players now being deceased.' Antonio D. del Campo, Progress in Physical Geography 'Eminently readable and meticulously researched. Mr. Grob-Fitzgibbon takes us on a complex journey from the end of World War II to 2014, highlighting numerous tell-tale, insightful and impact points of history that go far to explain Britain's relationship with Europe and the European project, culminating in the EU ... This is a fascinating read for anyone looking for a single volume explaining Britain's Euroscepticism. Recommended 10 out of 10.' Andrew White, Gartner Blog Network (www.blogs.gartner.com)