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in the course of a long career （he lived till 1907 and the age of eighty…three）； he wrote 661papers； accumulated 69 patents （from which he grew abundantly wealthy）； and gained renownin nearly every branch of the physical sciences。 among much else； he suggested the methodthat led directly to the invention of refrigeration； devised the scale of absolute temperaturethat still bears his name； invented the boosting devices that allowed telegrams to be sentacross oceans； and made innumerable improvements to shipping and navigation； from theinvention of a popular marine pass to the creation of the first depth sounder。 and thosewere merely his practical achievements。
his theoretical work； in electromagnetism； thermodynamics； and the wave theory of light；was equally revolutionary。
4he had really only one flaw and that was an inability to calculatethe correct age of the earth。 the question occupied much of the second half of his career； buthe never came anywhere near getting it right。 his first effort； in 1862 for an article in apopular magazine called macmillan’s ； suggested that the earth was 98 million years old； butcautiously allowed that the figure could be as low as 20 million years or as high as 400million。 with remarkable prudence he acknowledged that his calculations could be wrong if4in particular he elaborated the second law of thermodynamics。 a discussion of these laws would be a book initself； but i offer here this crisp summation by the chemist p。 w atkins； just to provide a sense of them： 〃thereare four laws。 the third of them； the second law； was recognized first； the first； the zeroth law； wasformulated last； the first law was second； the third law might not even be a law in the same sense as theothers。〃 in briefest terms； the second la states that a little energy is always wasted。 you cant have a perpetualmotion device because no matter how efficient； it will always lose energy and eventually run down。 the first lawsays that you cant create energy and the third that you cant reduce temperatures to absolute zero； there willalways be some residual warmth。 as dennis overbye notes； the three principal laws are sometimes expressedjocularly as （1） you cant win； （2） you cant break even； and （3） you cant get out of the game。
“sources now unknown to us are prepared in the great storehouse of creation”—but it wasclear that he thought that unlikely。
with the passage of time kelvin would bee more forthright in his assertions and lesscorrect。 he continually revised his estimates downward； from a maximum of 400 millionyears； to 100 million years； to 50 million years； and finally； in 1897； to a mere 24 millionyears。 kelvin wasn’t being willful。 it was simply that there was nothing in physics that couldexplain how a body the size of the sun could burn continuously for more than a few tens ofmillions of years at most without exhausting its fuel。 therefore it followed that the sun and itsplanets were relatively； but inescapably； youthful。
the problem was that nearly all the fossil evidence contradicted this； and suddenly in thenineteenth century there was a lot of fossil evidence。
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6SCIENCE RED IN TOOTH AND CLAW
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in 1787； someone in new jersey—exactly who now seems to be forgotten—found anenormous thighbone sticking out of a stream bank at a place called woodbury creek。 thebone clearly didn’t belong to any species of creature still alive； certainly not in new jersey。
from what little is known now； it is thought to have belonged to a hadrosaur； a large duck…billed dinosaur。 at the time； dinosaurs were unknown。
the bone was sent to dr。 caspar wistar； the nation’s leading anatomist； who described it ata meeting of the american philosophical society in philadelphia that autumn。 unfortunately；wistar failed pletely to recognize the bone’s significance and merely made a few cautiousand uninspired remarks to the effect that it was indeed a whopper。 he thus missed the chance；half a century ahead of anyone else； to be the discoverer of dinosaurs。 indeed； the boneexcited so little interest that it was put in a storeroom and eventually disappeared altogether。
so the first dinosaur bone ever found was also the first to be lost。
that the bone didn’t attract greater interest is more than a little puzzling； for its appearancecame at a time when america was in a froth of excitement about the remains of large； ancientanimals。 the cause of this froth was a strange assertion by the great french naturalist thete de buffon—he of the heated spheres from the previous chapter—that living things inthe new world were inferior in nearly every way to those of the old world。 america； buffonwrote in his vast and much…esteemed histoire naturelle ； was a land where the water wasstagnant； the soil unproductive； and the animals without size or vigor； their constitutionsweakened by the “noxious vapors” that rose from its rotting swamps and sunless forests。 insuch an environment even the native indians lacked virility。 “they have no beard or bodyhair；” buffon sagely confided； “and no ardor for the female。” their reproductive organs were“small and feeble。”
buffon’s observations found surprisingly eager support among other writers； especiallythose whose conclusions were not plicated by actual familiarity with the country。 adutchman named eille de pauw announced in a popular work called recherchesphilosophiques sur les américains that native american males were not only reproductivelyunimposing； but “so lacking in virility that they had milk in their breasts。” such viewsenjoyed an improbable durability and could be found repeated or echoed in european texts tillnear the end of the nineteenth century。
not surprisingly； such aspersions were indignantly met in america。 thomas jeffersonincorporated a furious （and； unless the context is understood； quite bewildering） rebuttal in hisnotes on the state of virginia ； and induced his new hampshire friend general john sullivanto send twenty soldiers into the northern woods to find a bull moose to present to buffon asproof of the stature and majesty of american quadrupeds。 it took the men two weeks to trackdown a suitable subject。 the moose； when shot； unf