In 1804, Watts suggested that "molten magma solidified around a series of isolated centres to form large plastic balls, which when pressed together gave the typical hexagonal symmetry"' (Spry, 1962). In 1916, Sosman proposed that the columns are the results of a system of hexagonal convection cells. Sosmans model was based on experiments of wax or oil in a flat dish. Critics noted that lava flows do not gam heat from their bases but actually lose heat from the top surface. Furthermore, the shape of the convection cells did not resemble hexagonal columns...