Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth
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Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth Second Edition Robert C. Newman, Perry G. Phillips, and Herman J. Eckelmann, Jr. © 2007 Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth , 2nd ed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Figures .....................................................................................................................................................................5 About the Contributors ...........................................................................................................................................................6 Preface to first edition ............................................................................................................................................................8 Preface to Second Edition ......................................................................................................................................................9 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................................11 PART 1: SCIENCE .................................................................................................................................................................14 Chapter 1: Chronological Evidence from Scientific Data ......................................................................................14 Astronomical Evidence ........................................................................................................................................................14 Light Travel-Time ................................................................................................................................................................14 The argument...............................................................................................................................................................14 Assumption #1: constant speed of light.......................................................................................................................14 Assumption #2: large distances...................................................................................................................................15 Assumption #3: real sources .......................................................................................................................................16 Young-earth responses ................................................................................................................................................17 Expansion of the Universe ...................................................................................................................................................17 Stellar Structure ...................................................................................................................................................................20 What is a star?.............................................................................................................................................................20 Stellar birth..................................................................................................................................................................21 Stellar adulthood .........................................................................................................................................................21 Advanced adulthood....................................................................................................................................................21 Stellar demise ..............................................................................................................................................................22 Stellar life-cycles and age ....................................................................................................................................................23 Star clusters and age ............................................................................................................................................................24 Assumptions used to date clusters ...............................................................................................................................25 Summary of Astronomical Evidence ...................................................................................................................................27 Geological Evidence .............................................................................................................................................................27 Radioactive evidence............................................................................................................................................................27 Potassium/Argon (K/Ar)..............................................................................................................................................29 Rubidium/Strontium (Rb / Sr)......................................................................................................................................30 Uranium (U), thorium (Th), lead (Pb) methods...........................................................................................................32 Samarium/Neodymium (Sm/Nd), Lutetium/Hafnium (Lu/Hf), Rhenium/Osmium (Re/Os)...........................................34 Age of earth rocks ................................................................................................................................................................34 Page 2 of 118 Genesis One and the Origin of the Earth , 2nd ed. Age of meteorites and lunar material ..................................................................................................................................35 Objections to radiometric dating .........................................................................................................................................35 Objection #1: The constancy of the rate of decay over millions and billions of years is an assumption that cannot be proved..........................................................................................................................................................................35 Objection #2: Half-lives are not accurate. After all, who has been around for millions or billions of years to measure when one-half of an isotope is gone?............................................................................................................36 Two concluding observations ...............................................................................................................................................36 Observation #1: Differing decay schemes give the same age for a sample.................................................................36 Observation #2: Elements with short half-lives are not found on earth, on the moon, or in meteorites.....................37 Non-radioactive Evidence ....................................................................................................................................................37 Chapter 2: The Inner Workings of the Solar System ...............................................................................................38 Angular momentum .............................................................................................................................................................38 Angular Momentum and the Solar System ..................................................................................................................39 Orbital Regularity .................................................................................................................................................................39 Chemical Evidence ...............................................................................................................................................................40 Earth’s composition .............................................................................................................................................................41 Chapter 3: Selecting a Model ........................................................................................................................................42 Interstellar Capture Theories ...............................................................................................................................................42 Model 1: Random Capture of Planets.........................................................................................................................42 Model 2: Random Capture of Gas and Dust ...............................................................................................................43 Close Approach Theories .....................................................................................................................................................43 Accretion Theories ...............................................................................................................................................................44 What’s between the stars? ...........................................................................................................................................44 The cloud spins faster as it collapses ..........................................................................................................................45