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The principle of original horizontality states that layers of sediment are originally deposited horizontally under the action of gravity. [1] It is a relative dating technique. The principle is important to the analysis of folded and tilted strata. It was first proposed by the Danish geological pioneer Nicholas Steno (1638–1686).
The law of superposition is an axiom that forms one of the bases of the sciences of geology, archaeology, and other fields pertaining to geological stratigraphy.In its plainest form, it states that in undeformed stratigraphic sequences, the oldest strata will lie at the bottom of the sequence, while newer material stacks upon the surface to form new deposits over time.
Engraving from William Smith's monograph on identifying strata based on fossils. Catholic priest Nicholas Steno established the theoretical basis for stratigraphy when he introduced the law of superposition, the principle of original horizontality and the principle of lateral continuity in a 1669 work on the fossilization of organic remains in layers of sediment.
Niels Steensen (Danish: Niels Steensen; Latinized to Nicolas Steno [b] or Nicolaus Stenonius; [c] [8] 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686 [9] [10] [NS: 11 January 1638 – 5 December 1686] [9]) was a Danish scientist, a pioneer in both anatomy and geology who became a Catholic bishop in his later years.
Dodecahedron built from smaller cubical units. The law of the constancy of interfacial angles was first observed by the Danish physician Nicolas Steno when studying quartz crystals [3] [4] (De solido intra solidum naturaliter contento, Florence, 1669), [5] [6] who noted that, although the crystals differed in appearance from one to another, the angles between corresponding faces were always ...
The principle of lateral continuity states that layers of sediment initially extend laterally in all directions; in other words, they are laterally continuous. As a result, rocks that are otherwise similar, but are now separated by a valley or other erosional feature, can be assumed to be originally continuous.
The principle of Uniformitarianism states that the geologic processes observed in operation that modify the Earth's crust at present have worked in much the same way over geologic time. [2] A fundamental principle of geology advanced by the 18th century Scottish physician and geologist James Hutton, is that "the present is the key to the past ...
The first established thermodynamic principle, which eventually became the second law of thermodynamics, was formulated by Sadi Carnot in 1824 in his book Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire. By 1860, as formalized in the works of scientists such as Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson , what are now known as the first and second laws were ...