Saturday, January 3, 2015

Water, Big Bang hypothesis, Escape velocity


    I call it a hypothesis because it hasn't got enough science and evidence behind it to be called a theory.
    OK, I sometimes like to delve into the world of science because I am not a scientist and I have questions.
    Recently I read an article about a hypothesis that water was brought to this planet by meteors. It seemed like such a ridiculous idea that it has been infesting my brain.
    The basics of the story went something like this: (Follow this LINK to read the story)
After the Big Bang caused trillions of trillions of tons of dust and rock to be flung into the universe, it formed up into planets. Earth being one of those planets. This happened as rocks came together and formed a gravity well (for lack of a better name). The gravity then drew in more particles and the Earth grew bigger. As a result of all this gravity and mass, the Earth became a molten ball of super heated rock.
    I really want to stop here, because this part makes no sense. Yes, the core would become molten under this extraordinary pressure and the mass of the Earth. But, why would the crust? Why would the outside of the Earth, that is not under this force and pressure? Just a question. Space is cold after all.
    So, the Earth got super heated and all the water was vaporized. Since the Earth had no atmosphere, the water vapor disappeared into space. Why? How?
    According to this theory, all these particles were drawn by the tremendous force of the gravity of the Earth into this big ball. So, how did all these water and gas particles achieve escape velocity? How did these water and gas molecules that are being pulled into the gravity of this forming planet, suddenly acquire the energy to be propelled away from the Earth with enough force to escape that gravity?
    I would like to tell you this isn't rocket science, but it actually is. It is rocket science that has taught us about escape velocity. Escape velocity is necessary for a rocket to escape the gravitational forces of the Earth and achieve orbit or go to the moon, or anywhere else. It has nothing to do with atmosphere. It is all about gravity.
    But, why wouldn't the Earth have atmosphere? Surely gasses and dust would have come with all the rest.
    You see, we do not have atmosphere because we have atmosphere. We do not have water vapor in the atmosphere because we have atmosphere. We have them both, because we have gravity.
    Now, if the Big Bang hypothesis were true, then science has to try to explain why we have atmosphere and other planets don't. Most of that can be explained by temperature. Planets far from the sun would have their gasses frozen and lying on the surface. Planets that are real close to the sun, might have had their atmosphere swept away by solar winds. But, since those are such big planets, it is really hard to believe that solar winds would be able to do that.
    So, there is a need to add a hypothesis. That is, some way that atmospheres could be lost and then replaced. Although, the idea that all this water would have come to this planet and not the other, larger, planets with stronger gravity seems like such a reach.
    When you start from the idea that the Big Bang is true, you then have to come up with amazingly fantastical and unbelievable stories of how it could have come about. After all, “GOD did it” just isn't a good enough answer, even if it is true. The one thing that can be said about science is that it is not a search for the truth. It is just a search for convenient answers.
    The truth is, there is no scientific explanation for the water on this planet. There is no scientific explanation for life on this planet. Maybe, someone will come up with an idea that actually makes sense, some day. But for today, it would be much easier to just say we don't know and continue to seek answers, then to put out answers that any sophomore in high school can see has no validity.
    So, I have to ask myself, how is it that such a hypothesis gains any ground in the light of the simple understanding of Escape Velocity?


Any Answers?