Word: billion
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Dates: during 1920-1929
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Professor Horace Lamb, the Association's 75-year old President, a Cambridge mathematics man of great note, put matters in motion with a resume of the modern description of Earth's age and structure. Age?"definitely between one and 10 billion years" as estimated by timing the decomposition of uranium and other radioactive elements. Structure?a hades-hot metallic core, rigid as steel; then an envelope of viscous material, kept fluid by enormous pressure, not heat conducting, having faint tides, upon which the earth's ,crust "floats". The elasticity of the envelope which is 60 miles beneath the crust...
...National Bureau of Economic Research, after profound and lengthy researches, has recently presented statistics which go to show what everyone knew already-that average incomes in this country were apparently on the increase. The national income during 1909 is placed at 27 billion dollars and in 1913 at 32 billion; it rose gradually to a peak of 74 billion in 1920, and relapsed to 62 billion...
...years ago, Dr. Willis R. Whitney, head researcher for the General Electric Co., addressed the Society on The Vacuum-There's Something in It. Last week his title was Matter-Is there Anything in It? Very little, was the answer. Though a drop of water contains some three billion trillion (21 ciphers) hydrogen atoms, there is little that is really "solid" present. If each atom became as large as a raindrop, "they would cover the earth with a foot of water." Yet, "if we made ,one of these hydrogen atoms, which we used to think of as hard...
...Treasury was calling for tax reduction, including reduction of surtaxes, and Congressmen were holding back warily. As the time for the convening of another Congress draws near, the situation is very nearly reversed. Congressmen are calling for a tax cut-a cut of as much as half a billion dollars, reduction of surtaxes to as low as 10%, and the Treasury is holding back, fearing that if it gives Congressmen their way it may not be able to balance its books next year. It is crying to overeager Congressmen (in everything but slang) : "Hold your horses...
Industries never tire of reciting their greatness. Occasionally the recital is an astonishing reminder of the size and complexity of social and industrial organization. Last week, for example, the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. issued a booklet of statistics on its busi- ness-just figures-but large ones: ¶ 20.5 billion telephone conversations a year in the U. S. ¶ 24.5 million telephones in use. ¶ 67.8 million miles of telephone wire strung from pole to pole. ¶ 63% of the world's telephones...