Mother Earth: How the Earth Was Born
Tue, Dec 4, 2007
Environmental Graffiti Will be Changing Dramatically Soon. Get a Sneak Preview By Signing Up Here.
Why are we here?
As humans we have an annoying but highly important habit of not being able to just accept that things exist. Kurt Vonnegut said it best through his farcical religious leader Bokonon in Cat’s Cradle: “Tiger gotta hunt. Bird gotta fly. Man gotta sit and wonder why, why, why. Tiger gotta sleep. Bird gotta land. Man gotta tell himself he understand.” We must constantly question and ask how we came to be where we are.
Environmental Graffiti will most likely not be able to satisfactorily answer these questions for you. What we can do, however, is take a look back at our world and how it might have come to be how it is. This article is the first in a series we’re calling Mother Earth. Today we’ll look at how the Earth might have come to exist, from the big bang to the formation of the Earth itself.
Legal Disclaimer (not really)
Please note, if you are offended by discussions of geology, physics and non-Biblical cosmology, it would be best to stop reading now. I respect your viewpoint, but it is not discussed in this article.
Boom!
It all starts with a bang. By most accounts, it was likely a big bang even though it came from a tiny thing called a singularity which we’ll discuss later.
The idea of a “big bang” theory was first put forward by a Belgian priest named Georges Lemaitre in 1931. The idea was based on the relatively recent idea that the universe was not a static entity but an expanding one. The very first indication that the universe was spreading out came in 1912, although the implications were not understood at the time.
American astronomer Vesto Slipher first discovered that spiral star formations were actually receding from the Earth. However, scientists didn’t really think the universe could be expanding. They could not rule out the star formations being part of our own galaxy, so the theory didn’t exactly rock the foundations of modern science at the time. It took ten years to prove the theory; one which has radically altered scientific thought and the way in which we look at existence. It wasn’t proven by astrophysicists however, but by…
Math.
Russian mathematician Alexander Friedmann, who also had a healthy interest in cosmology, the study of the origins of the universe, came up with some pretty interesting equations derived from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. The equations are a bit complex if you haven’t studied lots of math, but essentially they proved the point: the universe was expanding!
The Belgian priest Lemaitre, who years later suggested the big bang theory, postulated that if the universe was expanding now, it had probably been expanding since its beginning. Lemaitre suggested that the universe had once existed as a “primeval atom”. The name “big bang” was actually coined as a term of derision by Fred Hoyle, a scientist who promoted the rival steady state theory that suggested the universe was not expanding.
The big bang theory essentially boils down to something called singularity. The singularity was a tiny and infinitely dense point that existed outside of time and space as we know it before it exploded into our expanding universe sometime around 14 billion years ago. So what happened subsequently?
Early Earth
For about 10 billion years after the “big bang” very little happened, relatively speaking, but gradually and steadily huge changes occurred. Left over clouds of gas and rock collided at high speeds, fused and solidified, causing nuclear reactions; reactions which are still present at the Earth’s core and still heat up our planet.
This early Earth is not much like the Earth we know of today. For one thing, at around 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, the core was not as hot. The planet was a barren rock, composed mainly of silicates and iron, with small amounts of radioactive elements.
Despite their minute quantity, these radioactive elements played a large part in the formation of the Earth. Energy from radioactive decay likely caused the Earth to unleash heat like never before. As the earth got hotter parts of it started to melt.
The iron melted more easily than the silicate elements, and its relatively heavy weight meant it started slowly sinking.
The much heavier iron forced the lighter silicates up and out of its way. Eventually, the iron wound up in the core of the Earth. It began to accumulate there as the iron trickled down into the Earth’s core. On the surface, while iron moved down, volcanoes were helping to determine the world’s future.
Our next article in The Mother Earth Series, “When volcanoes ruled the world” will explore how vital volcanoes are to our existence. To keep up with the rest of the series, why not subscribe to our RSS feed. We’ll also give you a free album.
You Might Also Like Our Friends' Posts From the Intertubes
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else.”
19 Trackbacks For This Post
-
Mother Earth: When Volcanoes Ruled the World : Environmental News Says:
December 5th, 2007 at 6:01 pm[...] the big bang to the formation of Earth as a planet. If you missed that article, check it out here. Today we travel back billions of years to a time when the Earth was young and volcanoes ruled the [...]
-
Mother Earth: How the Earth Was Born « ” Howz the taste “ Says:
December 5th, 2007 at 6:04 pm[...] ? http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/?p=579 [...]
-
5 December - First Look at the Web « oldephartteintraining Says:
December 5th, 2007 at 7:18 pm[...] Mother Earth: How the Earth was born [...]
-
Sun : Mother Earth Says:
December 5th, 2007 at 11:34 pm[...] This is interesting. Posted by admin on Wednesday, December 5, 2007, at 2:34 pm. Filed under life. Follow any responses to this post with its comments RSS feed. You can post a comment or trackback from your blog. [...]
-
pligg.com Says:
December 6th, 2007 at 3:07 amMother Earth: How the Earth Was Born
environmentalgraffiti.com — This article is the first in a series Environmental Graffiti are calling Mother Earth. Today they look at how the Earth might have come to exist, from the big bang to the formation of the Earth itself.
-
Mother Earth: From Noxious Fumes to a Breath of Fresh Air : Environmental News Says:
December 6th, 2007 at 6:09 pm[...] formation and the role of volcanoes in shaping our world. You can view the first two articles here and [...]
-
Mother Earth: Water: The Lifeblood of our Planet : Environmental News Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 5:53 pm[...] our last posts, we’ve covered the formation of the Earth, volcanoes, and the early atmosphere. Today, we’ll be covering the role of water in our early [...]
-
Mother Earth: How Ice Shaped the Face of the Planet : Environmental News Says:
December 10th, 2007 at 9:12 pm[...] far, we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of the earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, and water. Today, we’ll be discussing how ice changed the face [...]
-
Mother Earth: The Beginnings of Life : Environmental News Says:
December 11th, 2007 at 6:46 pm[...] far, we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, and the effect of ice on the planet. Today, we’ll be [...]
-
Mother Earth: When the Sea Creature Was King : Environmental News Says:
December 12th, 2007 at 9:58 pm[...] far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, and the beginnings of life on Earth. Today, we’re [...]
-
Mother Earth: Plants Rule the Land : Environmental News Says:
December 13th, 2007 at 6:35 pm[...] far, we’ve covered So far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, and some really [...]
-
Mother Earth: When Fish Began to Walk : Environmental News Says:
December 14th, 2007 at 7:18 pm[...] far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, some really [...]
-
Mother Earth: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs : Environmental News Says:
December 17th, 2007 at 6:06 pm[...] Rex So far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, some really [...]
-
Mother Earth: Mammals: The Underdogs Triumph : Environmental News Says:
December 18th, 2007 at 5:54 pm[...] far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, some really [...]
-
Mother Earth: The Evolution of Man : Environmental Graffiti Says:
December 19th, 2007 at 6:05 pm[...] far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, some really [...]
-
Mother Earth: From Savagery to Civilization : Environmental Graffiti Says:
December 20th, 2007 at 6:35 pm[...] far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, some really [...]
-
Mother Earth: The Next Step : Environmental Graffiti Says:
December 21st, 2007 at 4:42 pm[...] far we’ve covered the big bang to the formation of Earth, volcanoes, the early atmosphere, water, ice, the beginnings of life on Earth, some really [...]
-
Atheist.nu » Interesting articles on the earth… Says:
January 28th, 2008 at 4:12 am[...] those of you that wonder how the earth was formed ( other than by an invisible man… ), here is a story starting with the Big Bang. Aren’t you glad that you weren’t around when volcanoes ruled the earth? Me [...]
-
10,000 wildebeest drown in freak accident : Environmental Graffiti - environmental news blog Says:
January 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm[...] Mother Earth can be cruel but also kind. Weird occurences such as baby animals becoming friends and cockroaches turning into zombies happen all the time, but are not usually covered in the mainstream media. So if you find this information useful and would like to get updates, feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed. [...]
February 19th, 2008 at 6:09 am
My conception of birth of Earth if you care to hear: The Birth of Earth was not from the big bang theory, but a remnant of Sun burst. At some point of sun’s evolving stage in which larger objects such as Earth, Venus, Mars leaving sun traveling in such a fast speed and frigid temperature, the gas and molten cluster of the pre-Earth lost part of its material into space but also developed crust on its surface while its inner core was still bursting out from its crust. This process would repeat itself until the depth of the crust and earth’s inner melton core reached equilibrium but not necessarily stoped. The earth would eventually set itself roating in one of Sun’s orbits.
Earth’s Scientists had identified the Chemical Elements in the Period Table, but does not mean Sun only carries these Elements on Earth, for Earth would be a partial sample of Sun’s mass.
Where does the water come from on Earth: I don’t believe water on earth was from another Star. While pre-earth was traveling in frigid temperate assuming in high speed and pressure caused the gas formed H and O eventually compressed to H2O over earth’s thin crust in ice form. The hard crust, ice crust and molten in mass would eventually reach a stabilized stage that the ice become ocean/water over crust.
Diamonds and precious stones formation: the evolution from molten mass to crust compressed precious material and quartz etc to its current form and mines. I believe if human can dig further down the earth crust, we shall find something even more amazing as far as precious stones are concerned.
After I figure out the next stage and how the life begin to form on earth, I’ll post.
January 11th, 2009 at 1:28 am
who was the first person alive because one person had to live first because she/he had to had kids that kept having kids too make the world right now by cathy brown.And who invented colour.That is what i want too now tell me all about it on my coment bord.thanks.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:54 am
This is not right!!
I created this world!
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:52 am
Alice in Wonderland contains more scientific data than any part of this post. This is as much religion as anything because, not one statement can be proven! If the big bang were true the cosmos should be homeogenic. That is to say when viewed from anywhere it should look the same. When we look out in space from the earth everything is red shifted or quantized! This shows that all matter is moving away from our galaxy. This shows that our galaxy might be the center of the universe! The big bang cannot explain this. The planets are all composed of different materials. Uranus rotates like a rolling ball. Venus rotates backward. Some of the planets’ moons also revolve and rotate in retrograde. If the big bang were true this would be impossible, because everything should be made of the same materials as the sun and all the planets and moons should be moving in the same direction around it! Also the stars, clusters and galaxies are moving in different directions from each other not together from a central point. Dirty Shoosz
May 5th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
not very good explaing i need 2 DO MY HOMEWORK FREAK ! :(
July 17th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
its nice sir