The Glaciers of the Alps: Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, an account of the origin and phenomena of glaciers and an exposition of the physical principles to which they are relatedTyndall, John
Science
The Glaciers of the Alps: Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, an account of the origin and phenomena of glaciers and an exposition of the physical principles to which they are related
Tyndall, John
Alps -- Description and travel; Glaciers -- Alps
"Glaciers of the Alps" was published nearly six and thirty years ago,
and has been long out of print, its teaching in a condensed form having
been embodied in the little book called "Forms of Water." The two books
are, however, distinct in character; each appears to me to supplement
the other; and as the older work is still frequently asked for, I have,
at the suggestion of my husband's Publishers, consented to the present
reprint, which may be followed later on by a reprint of "Hours of
Exercise."
Before reproducing a book written so long ago, I sought to assure myself
that it contained nothing touching the views of others which my husband
might have wished at the present time to alter or omit. With this object
I asked Lord Kelvin to be good enough to read over for me the pages
which deal with the history of the subject and with discussions in which
he himself took an active part. In kind response he writes:--"... After
carefully going through all the passages relating to those old
differences I could not advise the omission of any of them from the
reprint. There were, no doubt, some keen differences of opinion and
judgement among us, and other friends now gone from us, but I think the
statements on controversial points in this beautiful and interesting
book of your husband's are all thoroughly courteous and considerate of
feelings, and have been felt to be so by those whose views were
contested or criticised in them."
The current spelling of Swiss names has changed considerably since
"Glaciers of the Alps" was written, but, except in the very few cases
where an obvious oversight called for correction, the text has been left
unaltered. Only the Index has been made somewhat fuller than it was.
L. C. T.
_January, 1896._
CONTENTS.
PART I.
Page
1.--Introductory. 1
Visit to Penrhyn; the Cleavage of Slate Rocks; Sedgwick's
theory--its difficulties; Sharpe's observations; Sorby's
experiments; Lecture at the Royal Institution; Glacier
Lamination; arrangement of an expedition to Switzerland
2.--Expedition of 1856: the Oberland. 9
Valley of Lauterbrunnen; Pliability of rocks; the Wengern
Alp; the Jungfrau and Silberhorn; Ice avalanches; Glaciers
formed from them; Scene from the Little Scheideck; the Lower
Grindelwald Glacier; the Heisse Platte--its Avalanches; Ice
Minarets and Blocks; Echoes of the Wetterhorn; analogy with
the Reflection of Light from angular mirrors; the
Reichenbach Cascade; Handeck Fall; the Grimsel; the Unteraar
Glacier; hut of M. Dollfuss; Hotel des Neufchatelois; the
Rhone glacier from the Mayenwand; expedition up the glacier;
Coloured Rings round the sun; crevasses of the _neve_;
extraordinary meteorological phenomenon; Spirit of the
Brocken
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