Cumulative Subject formation

Generally speaking, intermolecular forces act over a short range. Were this not the case, the specific energy of a portion of matter would depend on its size quantities such as molar enthalpies of formation would be extensive variables On the other hand, the cumulative effects of these forces between macroscopic bodies extend over a rather long range and the discussion of such situations constitutes the chief subject of this chapter. 

Fitzpatrick defines science as, "science is a cumulative and endless series of empirical observations which result in the formation of concepts and theories, with both concepts and theories being subject to modification in the light of further empirical observation. Science is both a body of knowledge and the process of acquiring and refining knowledge". 

Nikiforoff [1949] has pointed out that although most soils are subjected to a slow erosion, whereby material is lost by solution or in suspension, and the A and B horizons are reformed continuously at successively lower levels, some soils are cumulative and are slowly buried by the accretion of material either by gravity from higher ground, by wind-transported material, or by volcanic ash. Such an accretion may be imperceptibly slow, but it can result in the formation of a B horizon in material that was previously part of an A horizon. The new deposit may or may not contain the same heavy mineral suite as the underlying soil. 

---