Geo 12 Chapter II.docx
Transcript of 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.
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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.