Conjectures concerning the cause, and observations upon the phaenomena, of earthquakes; particularly of that great earthquake of the first of November 1755, which proved so fatal to the city of Lisbon … , pp. 566-634 and one folding plate in Philosophical Transactions Vol. LI, Part II, For the year 1760. THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN SEISMOLOGY

MICHELL, John

Published by London: Davis & Reymers, 1761

First edition, complete journal (part-)volume, of the foundation work of modern seismology. This was the first work to propose that earthquakes were caused by seismic waves through the earth and that tsunamis were the result of undersea earthquakes. "In 1760 English natural philosopher and geologist John Michell (1724-93) published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society LI (1760) 'Conjectures concerning the Cause and Observations upon the Phaenomena of Earthquakes' . . . In this paper Michell suggested that earthquakes were experienced as seismic waves of elastic compression travelled through the Earth. He was able to estimate both the epicentre and focus of the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. He may have been the first to suggest that a Tsunami is caused by a subterranean earthquake" (historyofinformation). "The ancients attributed earthquakes to supernatural powers; indeed, a writer in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, as late as 1750, deemed it expedient to apologize to those who are apt to be offended at any attempt to give a natural account of earthquakes. Notwithstanding, stubborn facts of earthquake effects continued to accumulate, especially in the wake of the disastrous Lisbon earthquake of 1755. Finally it was firmly established in 1760 by John Michell that earthquakes originate within the earth. He declared that earthquakes were waves set up by the shifting masses of rock miles below the surface . . . the motion of the earth in earthquakes is partly tremulous and partly propagated by waves after the Lisbon earthquake had travelled outward at 530 m/sec" (Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, p. 2656). "In a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions in 1783, Michell was the first to propose the idea of a 'black hole'. He wrote: "If the semi-diameter of a sphere of the same density as the Sun in the proportion of five hundred to one, and by supposing light to be attracted by the same force in proportion to its [mass] with other bodies, all light emitted from such a body would be made to return towards it, by its own proper gravity." Complete volume, 4to, pp. [viii], 459-977, [1, erratum], [23, index], with 14 folding engraved plates and 3 folding tables. Contemporary calf, boards ruled in gilt, spine gilt in compartments with two red lettering pieces (joints cracked but firm, one label mostly missing, remains of paper label at foot of spine, rubbed). Seller Inventory # ABE-1619785889088

Bibliographic Details

Title: Conjectures concerning the cause, and ...
Publisher: London: Davis & Reymers
Publication Date: 1761
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: 1st Edition