This week, Nancy and I have been camping on the slopes of Medicine Bow Peak in the Snowy Range of southwest Wyoming near timberline. The place is the most beautiful spot I have ever seen with its mountains, trees, lakes, wild flowers, and wild animals. One of the most beautiful parts of this experience was looking up at the sky late at night. It was a clear, cloudless, moonless night. The stars were bright, large, and seemed very near. The Milky Way was spread across the sky like a huge banner. The sight was spectacular! I stood there in wonder and amazement, as men have done again and again for hundreds of years, just looking at this marvelous handiwork.
Those stars! Stars are whirling globs of super-heated gas, finally reaching temperatures of 27,000,000° F, giving off radio waves and other kinds of radiation. Scientists tell us that new stars are being produced in stellar nebular nurseries and dying after billions of years of existence—but all of them aging and gradually dying off. This temporal universe is aging; and someday, if God does not intervene, the last star will blink out.
Of course, I do not know what will become of mankind before this predicted end of the universe, but if there might be any man left watching when the old universe finally gives out of light and energy, can he help asking himself this question: “Where did it all come from? What was the meaning of all this? Was it really something that came into being without a cause? Or…Who was behind all this?”
Things that end all had a beginning—they are called “effects,” and they all have causes. Our universe had a Cause: It was a Who, not a What. That Great WHO is watching; and He is the God of order and rightness. It is He who defines good and bad, right and wrong. It is He who gave us morals and a Savior from the bad things we do. Look at the stars from Medicine Bow Peak and think about all this.
Showing posts with label General Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Science. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Are Earthquakes Good? You Bet!!
I have read Chapter 9, of Rare Earth by Ward and Brownlee, “The Surprising Importance of Plate Tectonics” to try to understand why we have earthquakes and whether they do any good as far as life on earth is concerned.
Actually, I find that the phenomena of plate tectonics is very important to the development and maintenance of life on earth!
The earth has a core of solid iron, but the outer part of the core is liquid iron heated above the melting point by radioactive isotope degeneration. Outside of that is a vast amount of liquid magma, which we know as basalt. Convection currents in this liquid, overheated, basalt cause the hottest parts to rise to the surface where it cools and becomes more dense or actually solidifies. Then, the more dense basalt sinks into the earth causing movement of the liquid and convection currents. The rising and sinking of basalt is called “subduction.” This “boiling” motion causes movement in the thin, outer crust of the earth, and huge chunks move around much as a scum of congealed liquid might move about in a pot boiling on the kitchen stove. The movement of these crustal elements is what geologists call “plate tectonics.” These moving plates colliding with one another are the cause of earthquakes. The collisions cause the rise of parts of the earth’s crust and the formation of continents and linear mountain ranges. Without plate tectonics, we would not have any dry land on earth.
As the hot basalt rises to the surface of the earth, it sometimes breaks forth into the atmosphere causing volcanoes. These volcanoes occur dozens of times every year; and they usually do not do any harm; but they receive lots of media coverage. A volcano discharges huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; and are the main sources of greenhouse gasses that allow the maintenance of warmth from the sun to remain on our earth—without this CO², the earth would be a frigid, frozen, place, where life would be impossible. Volcanoes are the primary source of greenhouse gasses on the earth.
As the earth spins, and the inner core of solid and liquid iron lags behind the spin of the earth, a magnetic field is created around the planet. This magnetic field protects the earth from the bombardment of vast numbers of subatomic particles that are racing through outer space. The particles are electrons, protons, and helium nuclei that emanate from the sun and from star explosions in distant areas of the universe. These particles would kill off all life on earth if they were not prevented from doing that by earth’s magnetic field.
The movement of tectonic plates also contributes to the growth of bacteria in the oceans of the planet. This happens because of the recycling of nutrients into the oceans of the planet—these nutrients are necessary for the growth of microscopic life forms. Bacteria and other microorganisms are the source of oxygen in our atmosphere which allow the development and growth of complex animal life. We are indebted to plate tectonics for the presence of an oxygen-rich atmosphere, which allows and facilitates the animal life on this planet.
WE COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT EARTHQUAKES!!
Actually, I find that the phenomena of plate tectonics is very important to the development and maintenance of life on earth!
The earth has a core of solid iron, but the outer part of the core is liquid iron heated above the melting point by radioactive isotope degeneration. Outside of that is a vast amount of liquid magma, which we know as basalt. Convection currents in this liquid, overheated, basalt cause the hottest parts to rise to the surface where it cools and becomes more dense or actually solidifies. Then, the more dense basalt sinks into the earth causing movement of the liquid and convection currents. The rising and sinking of basalt is called “subduction.” This “boiling” motion causes movement in the thin, outer crust of the earth, and huge chunks move around much as a scum of congealed liquid might move about in a pot boiling on the kitchen stove. The movement of these crustal elements is what geologists call “plate tectonics.” These moving plates colliding with one another are the cause of earthquakes. The collisions cause the rise of parts of the earth’s crust and the formation of continents and linear mountain ranges. Without plate tectonics, we would not have any dry land on earth.
As the hot basalt rises to the surface of the earth, it sometimes breaks forth into the atmosphere causing volcanoes. These volcanoes occur dozens of times every year; and they usually do not do any harm; but they receive lots of media coverage. A volcano discharges huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; and are the main sources of greenhouse gasses that allow the maintenance of warmth from the sun to remain on our earth—without this CO², the earth would be a frigid, frozen, place, where life would be impossible. Volcanoes are the primary source of greenhouse gasses on the earth.
As the earth spins, and the inner core of solid and liquid iron lags behind the spin of the earth, a magnetic field is created around the planet. This magnetic field protects the earth from the bombardment of vast numbers of subatomic particles that are racing through outer space. The particles are electrons, protons, and helium nuclei that emanate from the sun and from star explosions in distant areas of the universe. These particles would kill off all life on earth if they were not prevented from doing that by earth’s magnetic field.
The movement of tectonic plates also contributes to the growth of bacteria in the oceans of the planet. This happens because of the recycling of nutrients into the oceans of the planet—these nutrients are necessary for the growth of microscopic life forms. Bacteria and other microorganisms are the source of oxygen in our atmosphere which allow the development and growth of complex animal life. We are indebted to plate tectonics for the presence of an oxygen-rich atmosphere, which allows and facilitates the animal life on this planet.
WE COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT EARTHQUAKES!!
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