Expanding Earth /
The gravity FAQ:
The gravity FAQ:
| Answers to questions on increasing gravity. For evidence of expanding Earth (or ether theory), one should check the "Evidence" webpage or the "Papers" and "Videos" webpages.... |
1. If the strength of the Earth's surface gravity
were reduced in the Mesozoic and earlier times,
wouldn't we see signs of that in biophysics and
skeletal structure of paleobiota?
were reduced in the Mesozoic and earlier times,
wouldn't we see signs of that in biophysics and
skeletal structure of paleobiota?
Yes, we should see effects on skeletal structure, and we do. Assuming a relatively constant
Earth-density (which is not necessarily a likely assumption but may be used to provide an example),
surface gravity will remain directly proportional to radius. (At constant density, mass is proportional
to R^3 and surface gravity to 1/R^2 -- and R^3/R^2 = R.) Thus, a paleo-Earth with 60% to 80% of
current radius would have a surface gravity 60% to 80% of its current value. What you would
naturally expect given increasing gravity is that low energy behemoths should eventually give way to
high-energy smaller creatures. And that is precisely what we find. In fact, it is one of the most
obvious biotic distinctions between terrestrial taxa of the Mesozoic and today.
Earth-density (which is not necessarily a likely assumption but may be used to provide an example),
surface gravity will remain directly proportional to radius. (At constant density, mass is proportional
to R^3 and surface gravity to 1/R^2 -- and R^3/R^2 = R.) Thus, a paleo-Earth with 60% to 80% of
current radius would have a surface gravity 60% to 80% of its current value. What you would
naturally expect given increasing gravity is that low energy behemoths should eventually give way to
high-energy smaller creatures. And that is precisely what we find. In fact, it is one of the most
obvious biotic distinctions between terrestrial taxa of the Mesozoic and today.
The incredible size of terrestrial paleofauna have
challenged the imagination of biophysicists for decades.
Ever since the 19th century discovery of those
mysterious, monstrous bones, scientists have struggled to
explain how such giants could move around in a
gravitational field similar to that of today. Sometimes,
however, the biophysicists just throw up their hands and
say, 'Well maybe, they didn't really move that much.' For
example, in a recent Nature article, Hutchinson and
Garcia (2002) concluded that:
"Tyrannosaurus couldn't run"
http://www.nature.com/nsu/020225/020225-5.html
"In running, both feet leave the ground. A 6,000 kg T. rex
would have needed more than 80% of its total mass in its
hind leg muscles to achieve this - an implausibly high
figure, the duo concludes. The maximum seen in living
land vertebrates is about 50%.
"A chicken, in contrast, could run with only about 9% of its
mass in its leg muscles, Hutchinson and Garcia estimate.
Real chickens have 17%. A Tyrannosaurus-sized chicken
would need an impossible 99% of its body mass in each
leg to run."
Indeed, every kind of terrestrial organism -- insects, birds,
mammals, amphibians, etc. -- were able to achieve
significantly larger sizes in the past than they can today.
The engineer Stephen Hurrell has written an E-book on
the subject, contending that the monsters of the Mesozoic
would be impossible without lower surface gravity.
http://www.dinox.freeserve.co.uk/giants/page3.html
2. If the strength of the Earth's gravity were
less in the Mesozoic and earlier times,
shouldn't we see effects of increasing
force on the moon's orbit?
less in the Mesozoic and earlier times,
shouldn't we see effects of increasing
force on the moon's orbit?
Yes, we should see effects on the lunar orbit and we do. Currently, the Earth's tidal forces are
causing the moon to drift away from the Earth at a relatively great rate. Slicther (1963) noted that
given current tidal forces on the Earth, the Earth-moon system could only be 1.4 to 2.3 by old. If
you run the clock back, the moon would have been too close to the Earth prior to this time to
withstand tidal forces. Since we know the moon is at least 4 to 4.5 by old, this proves that tidal
forces are far greater today than they were in the past. Paleontological evidence also confirms
that the expansion of the lunar orbit was significantly smaller in the past than it is today.
This is another confirmed prediction of expanding Earth theory that surprised planetary scientists.
Eventually, however, they did develop a model consistent with plate tectonics to explain the
smaller tidal forces in the past (Hansen, 1982; Ray et al, 1999). But as with juvenile age of
seafloor crust, Paleozoic Laurasian-Gondwanan connections, Paleozoic East Asian-Australian
American-connection, narrow-Tethys, seafloor spreading, hydrothermal vents, expansion of
Ganymede, paleomagnetic problems in and around the Pacific, apparent extreme sealevel
fluctuations in the Cretaceous, etc., planetary scientists were forced to reverse engineer models,
often stretching all available free parameters, to explain phenomena that you would naturally
expect given an expanding Earth. [References below.]
causing the moon to drift away from the Earth at a relatively great rate. Slicther (1963) noted that
given current tidal forces on the Earth, the Earth-moon system could only be 1.4 to 2.3 by old. If
you run the clock back, the moon would have been too close to the Earth prior to this time to
withstand tidal forces. Since we know the moon is at least 4 to 4.5 by old, this proves that tidal
forces are far greater today than they were in the past. Paleontological evidence also confirms
that the expansion of the lunar orbit was significantly smaller in the past than it is today.
This is another confirmed prediction of expanding Earth theory that surprised planetary scientists.
Eventually, however, they did develop a model consistent with plate tectonics to explain the
smaller tidal forces in the past (Hansen, 1982; Ray et al, 1999). But as with juvenile age of
seafloor crust, Paleozoic Laurasian-Gondwanan connections, Paleozoic East Asian-Australian
American-connection, narrow-Tethys, seafloor spreading, hydrothermal vents, expansion of
Ganymede, paleomagnetic problems in and around the Pacific, apparent extreme sealevel
fluctuations in the Cretaceous, etc., planetary scientists were forced to reverse engineer models,
often stretching all available free parameters, to explain phenomena that you would naturally
expect given an expanding Earth. [References below.]
3. If the strength of the Earth's surface gravity were less in
the Mesozoic and earlier times, wouldn't that have an effect
on density and composition of atmosphere?
the Mesozoic and earlier times, wouldn't that have an effect
on density and composition of atmosphere?
References:
Hansen, Kirk S. 1982. “Secular Effects of Oceanic Tidal Dissipation on the Moon’s Orbit and
the Earth’s Rotation” Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 20(3), 457-480, (Journal title
has now been shortened to Reviews of Geophysics)
Hutchinson, J. R. & Garcia, M. 2002. Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner. Nature, 415, 1018
- 1021.
Ray, R.D., Bills B.G., Chao B.F. 1999 “Lunar and solar torques on the oceanic tides” Journal
of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 104(B8): 17653-17659.
Slichter, L.B. 1963 Secular effects of tidal friction upon the Earth's rotatoin. Journal of
Geophysical Research, 68, 4281-4288.
Hansen, Kirk S. 1982. “Secular Effects of Oceanic Tidal Dissipation on the Moon’s Orbit and
the Earth’s Rotation” Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 20(3), 457-480, (Journal title
has now been shortened to Reviews of Geophysics)
Hutchinson, J. R. & Garcia, M. 2002. Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner. Nature, 415, 1018
- 1021.
Ray, R.D., Bills B.G., Chao B.F. 1999 “Lunar and solar torques on the oceanic tides” Journal
of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 104(B8): 17653-17659.
Slichter, L.B. 1963 Secular effects of tidal friction upon the Earth's rotatoin. Journal of
Geophysical Research, 68, 4281-4288.
| T-Rex, the biped that could not run! Illustration by Luis Rey |
The different rates of out-gassings are so variable and unpredictable, that
any significant variation would effectively destroy any possible correlation of
atmosphere density with surface gravity. Quite simply, if rate of out-gassing
exceeds loss of atmosphere, then even small moons can maintain a
significant atmosphere. For example, according to NASA's JPL website on
Saturn's moon, Titan: "While the diameter of Titan is only 40% of
Earth's, Titan's atmosphere extends 10 times further into space than
Earth's atmosphere.... Scientists believe that Titan's atmosphere
might be similar [in terms of constitution] to conditions on primordial
Earth-that is, what Earth was like before life emerged." Thus, it is
possible for a terrestrial body 40% the radius of Earth to maintain an
atmosphere similar to Earth's paleo-atmosphere.
any significant variation would effectively destroy any possible correlation of
atmosphere density with surface gravity. Quite simply, if rate of out-gassing
exceeds loss of atmosphere, then even small moons can maintain a
significant atmosphere. For example, according to NASA's JPL website on
Saturn's moon, Titan: "While the diameter of Titan is only 40% of
Earth's, Titan's atmosphere extends 10 times further into space than
Earth's atmosphere.... Scientists believe that Titan's atmosphere
might be similar [in terms of constitution] to conditions on primordial
Earth-that is, what Earth was like before life emerged." Thus, it is
possible for a terrestrial body 40% the radius of Earth to maintain an
atmosphere similar to Earth's paleo-atmosphere.
| "Another way of saying that dinosaurs appear to have been too large to support their body weight is this: that dinosaurs appear to have been lower-gravity organisms." --Duff Smith Jr. |