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POLE SHIFT 2000 The Final Climate Crisis? POLE 2000 The Final Climate Crisis? Could the uneven build-up of the Antarctic ice-cap trigger a pole shift of the planet? n January 1955, Charles Hapgood and James Campbell, long an associate of his who worked out the displacement mechanics of the Earth's crust, or lithosphere, met in conference with Einstein. A number of important and fairly technical questions relat- ing to pole shift were discussed in some detail. Those present were Hapgood, Campbell, Einstein, and Mary G. Grand who recorded the event. After some introductory remarks, Professor Hapgood explained that in the development of the theory he had been concerned mainly with geological and palaeontological evi- dence, while Mr Campbell contributed basic concepts in mechanics and geophysics. The notes of that conference follow: "Professor Hapgood explained further that Mr Campbell's calculations had now advanced to a point where he felt that a consultation was necessary. The principal ques- tion was whether the tangential portion of the centrifugal effect resulting from the rotation of the ice-cap was the correct order of magnitude to cause fracturing of the Earth's rigid crust. Dr Einstein had stated in a letter to Professor Hapgood that, owing to the oblate shape of the Earth, the crust could not be displaced without fracturing and that the tensile strength of the crust, opposing such fracturing, was the only force he could see that could prevent a displacement of the crust. He had already suggested, therefore, that it would be necessary to compare the bursting stresses proceeding from the south pole ice-cap with the available data on the strengths of the crustal rocks. "It was this problem that now, through the calculations made by Mr Campbell, seemed to be solved. "Mr Campbell explained to Dr Einstein the principles he had followed in making the calculations. He used photostatic drawings as illustrations. He showed that the crust, in attempting to pass over the equatorial bulge of the Earth, would be stretched to a slight degree. A bursting stress would arise that would tend to tear the 40-mile-thick crust of the Earth apart. This stress would in all probability exceed the plastic limit of the crustal rocks; that is, they would tend to yield by fracture, if the stress was great enough. "Dr Einstein said yes, but he wondered how an equilibrium of force would be created. Mr Campbell pointed out that two equal and opposite pressures would arise, since, at the same time on opposite sides of the globe, two opposite sectors or quadrants of the Earth's crust would be attempting to cross the equatorial bulge. "Dr Einstein agreed that this was reasonable, but raised the question of the behavior of the semiliquid underlayer of the bulge, under pressure from the rigid crust. After some discussion it was agreed that this underlayer, despite its lack of strength, would not be dis- placed because of the effect of the centrifugal momentum of the Earth. "Mr Campbell then explained the application of a principle by which the tangential stress proceeding from the ice-cap was greatly magnified. He considered that the bulge of the Earth, starting with zero thickness at the poles and approaching 6.67 miles in thickness at the equator, behaved physically as a wedge resisting the movement of the crust. Since the distance from pole to equator is about 6,000 miles, the ratio of this wedge was 1,000:1; but the existence of two wedges on opposite sides of the globe reduced the ratio to 500:1. "The ice-cap's tangential effect, multiplied by 500 and divided by the number of square inches of the cross-section of the lithospheric shell at the equator (assuming the crust to be 40 miles thick), produced a bursting stress on that shell of 1,738 pounds per square inch. © by Richard W. Noone Reprinted with permission from The Philosopher's Stone (Third Quarter, 1989) Published by The Stelle Group 127 Sun Street, Stelle, IL 60919, USA Telephone: (815) 256 2200 NEXUS - 23 NOTES OF A CONFERENCE WITH EINSTEIN © by Richard W. Noone OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1996