Geo 12 Chapter II.docx

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    Chapter II: Earth: Its places in the universe- This section will look at the different theories of now the universe

    developed

    - Stephen Hawking wrote the brilliant essay on the origins of the universe

    - He noted that the creation of the universe from a singularity does not

    violate any of the laws of physics

    - This reinforces the theory that the universe the earth the star and all

    planets follow logical, scientific laws.

    First, size

    - The universe is so incredibly vast in size that it is difficult to comprehend

    - Thanks to the recent development of Hubble telescope; scientists are

    gaining new insight to the universe and are getting validation for many of

    their original theories.

    - Because of the magnitude of the distance involved, scientists use the

    measure of light year.

    - Of course a light year is not a time measurement rather it is a measure

    of distance.

    - A light year is the distance light travels in a year.

    - Light travels at a speed of 300,000 km per second

    - In one year, that is approximately 9.5 trillion km (9.51012 km)

    - The light that you see from the stars at night was emitted several

    hundreds of years ago or more.

    - Some of those lights extinguished themselves long before we walked the

    earth

    - Earth is found in the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy

    - This is the name of our galaxy

    - Our star is SOL

    - There are four types of galaxies

    - Spiral, bar spiral, elliptical and irregular

    - The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy

    - Stars are the central parts of all galaxy

    - There are masses of hot gases that emit light and heat

    - Stars provide the fuel of all life.

    - There are 4 known types of star

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    - Our star (Sol) is a normal or average star.

    - We will take a closer look at the make-up of later.

    Origins of the universe

    - The two most popular theories of the origin of the universe are the Big

    Bang Theory and the Steady State Theory- Since the universe began many billions year ago, we hypothesize on its

    origin using data collected from meteorites, observation of stellar bodies

    (astronomy) and the use ofthe Laws of Uniformatarianism

    - This allows scientists to make accurate analyses of origin of our universe.

    - Pages 21 and 22 discuss the two theories further

    - Our solar system is defined by all of the planets, moons, asteroids and

    comets that inhabit the gravitational field generated by our sun.

    - Our solar system is only one of any that inhibit the galaxy known as theMilky Way.

    The origin and the sun and the earth

    - The sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion

    - The incredible energy produced by the sun provides energy the energy

    needed from the earth.

    - The breakdown of the sun is as follows.

    - The surface is the phosphorus

    - The dark spots are sunspots

    - The sun acts in many ways like an enormous generator

    - The energy generates an electromagnetic field.

    - The surface of the sun is in a state of constant and violent action.

    - Frequently the sunspots will erupt and send out a solar flare.

    - These flares have been known to cause many disruptions of

    telecommunication devices on the earth.

    -

    The rise of computer technology and closed circuits has reduced the effectbut they can still cause problems.

    - While the sun began as a reaction of gases and chemicals, the earth's

    origin was a little more chaotic.

    - Once the sun began its life, it generated an immense gravitational pull on

    everything around it.

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    - The billion of particles that were floating in space began to coalesce into

    larger pieces.

    - The large rocks began to generate its own gravitational pull and pull in

    other pieces

    - These pieces would smash together and build onto the original rock.

    - The more particles it attracted the larger it grew.

    - Eventually the mass began to form as the spinning of the mass generated

    a more circular shape.

    - The process is known as accretion

    - It explains how the earth began and took shape.

    - Once the initial mass was established, the chemical reaction created by the

    smashing of the rocks into each other began to create heat.

    - The pressure and friction caused by accretion

    - Led to the melting of the rock.

    - In a liquid state, the rock began to separate according to its components.

    - The heavier elements like iron (Fe) began to sink to the center

    - The lighter elements like aluminum (Al) floated to the top of the mass

    - This separation of elements is known as differentiation.

    - The spinning of the earth, the pressure of the gravity field created, and

    the chemical reaction caused by the release and combining of chemicals all

    combined to create the earth.

    - Differentiation explains how the earth was able to develop into the layers

    we know today.

    - The early earth had a rudimentary atmosphere.

    - Since however, the process of differentiation was still ongoing, the earths

    internal engine cannot begin.

    - The first atmosphere, which was created by the release of the gases

    emitted by the chemical reaction of the collision of rock, was soon swept

    away by the solar winds

    - Soon the surface of the young earth was a violent dance of chemical

    reactions.

    - Volcanic reaction sent many gases into the new atmosphere.

    - By this time the earths' crust had become more solid

    - The earths core was spinning and generating a magnetic field that

    protected the new atmosphere from the solar winds.

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    - The stage was set for life to begin.

    - A wonderfully random set of occurrence happened that allowed life to

    blossom on the earth.

    - The first was the development of the second atmosphere

    - Since this atmosphere was not swept away by the solar winds it allowed

    for the next stage, the development of free oxygen

    - The chemical reaction caused by the smashing of the meteorites released

    H2O into the earth

    - Soon, vast amounts of water collected in what become our oceans

    - They set stage for the growth of algae

    - Algae is a primitive form that uses photosynthesis

    - The by-product of course is the release of free oxygen.

    - The next and most important random act was the location of earth is what

    is known as the Goldilocks Zone

    - This is known as the CHZ - Continuously Habitable Zone

    - That is, the area not too closes to the sun....

    - Too hot -> Not to warm from the sun....

    - Too cold -> It is the perfect distance to support life

    - Mars shares the zone with us

    - Ever wonder why Mars does not support life?

    - The truth is, it quite [possibly can and may] have even had life in the

    past.

    - Mars is within the Goldilocks zone

    - The engine however stalled

    - Today, Mars is a dead planet.