Likening the crust of the earth to a wrinkled layer of solid paraffin floating on an interior of melted paraffin, Reginald A. Daly, Sturgis Professor of Geology, discussed the roots of volcanoes before the American Geophysical Union in Washington Saturday.
Using the coined term "abyssolith" meaning bottomless stone, Professor Daly explained the nature of the connecting masses between the volcanoes and molten interior. When the abyssolith's supply of surface lava combined with steam and other gases under ter- rific pressure is exhausted, the volcano goes out.
Although the molten interior might be regarded as a liquid on the surface, under enormous pressure at extreme depths it is held rigid
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