Posted on 07/08/2004 12:29:19 AM PDT by LibWhacker
And wouldn't that have killed every land plant?
One of the clues is the size of the crater, which is still extant.
The first Hydrogen (Fusion) bomb was approx 10.4 Megatons.
It left a crater a mile wide..
The biggest H-bomb ever tested by the U.S. was 15 Megatons.
It left a crater 250 ft. deep and 6250 ft wide..
What's the size of the Yucatan Crater?
I would guess about 10 miles wide, and somewhere around 2000 to 2200 ft deep..
i.e., 100 megatons..
The Russians had designs for 100 megaton H-bombs, but never actually tested any.. ( not sure if they ever built one or not )
The Yucatan crater is estimated to be 110 - 125 miles in diameter. I don't know if there is any reliable estimate of depth.
Here's a link to an interesting article..
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/asteroid_jello_001122.html
Says the crater is 100 - 150 miles wide..
I would have to revise my estimate another power of 10....
1,000 megatons.. or .. 1 to 1.5 GIGATONS..
Yeah.. I just posted a revised estimate after doing a little googling..
Over a decade of boiling temperatures and a nearly constant fires are rather a more serious problem for plant life...
I thought the Cretaceous extinction took about a million years?
One unforseen effect of this, because of the easier path, has been the early emergence of the "liberal" gene, which ideally would have been suppressed for a long, long time. Also, one can note that humans were to have started in north america rather that africa. Also, this event gave a big boost to cockroaches and rats, both of which were originally planned to exist in much smaller populations.
Lisa Simpson - "So a screamapillar has decided to inhabit your area. Things you need to know: 1) without constant reassurance it will die 2) it is sexually attracted to fire.
Homer - "Are you sure God didn't want this thing to be extinct!"
Who would have thought that one of the Planets in our solar system would have experienced multiple hits even during our life times (comet striking Jupiter).
Archival ping.
Over a decade of boiling temperatures and a nearly constant fires are rather a more serious problem for plant life...
Three-points for that one :)
Cans of Spam.
Just like us.
Obviously, 1.0 to 1.0.
;^)
I understand that scientists wanted to re-create the original event to verify the events. But they decided not to when they realized that re-creation would involve Michael Moore, a bag of beans, and a whole host of ethical issues.
Science is a process of discovery and refinement. Earlier in our history, people believed that the Earth-centered model for our solar system was accurate. Continued observation and modeling proved that the Heliocentric model to be correct. Hypotheses are brought forward and investigated, few stand the test of time...and aren't you glad of this? Else we would still be using beads, chants and rattles as a first line of defense against disease.
And of course two planets don't fit with our current hypotheses. Actually, I'm surprised more doesn't "fit" with our level of understanding. Did you know how to ride a bicycle the first time you tried? It took numerous falls and scrapes before you learned to keep the thing upright. So it is with Science.
As Stephen Hawking said, "The big bang happened, but can we say that a supreme being did not use that method to "create" the universe?" It is something that must not be left out.
I do not rule out the efforts of a Creator, but I do think He used His own natural laws to bring all into being.
Actually, what is seen is the ionization of the atmosphere.
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