The Creation Narrative according to Science The Creation Narrative concerns Origins: Origin of… - The Universe - The Elements - Stars and galaxies - The

The Creation Narrativeaccording to Science

The Creation Narrative concerns Origins:Origin of…

- The Universe- The Elements- Stars and galaxies- The Sun and Earth- Life itself

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Origin of…- The Universe- The Elements- Stars and galaxies- The Sun and Earth- Life itself

Answers unknown Even in the Age of Science

Cosmology = Speculation?

… until the very recent past -- since about 1950

Cosmology = Science!

Are the Universe and Matter Eternal?-- 19th Century Chemistry: Elements are eternal and unchangeable?

(Great Breakthrough: The Periodic Table of the Elements)

--- ALL THIS CHANGED BEGINNING AROUND 1950

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Cosmology is now a branch of science(the science of cosmic origins)

• The Universe had a beginning at a known time• The Elements had a beginning• The Stars had a beginning

– How they burn is known

• The Earth had a beginning– The time is known

• Life on Earth had a beginning– The time is known

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Origin of…- The Universe- The Elements …

THESE WERE ALL UNKNOWN PRIOR TO ABOUT 1950

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Origin of…-The Universe-- The Elements- Stars and galaxies- The Sun and Earth- Life itself

The Big Bang Beginning

"Let There Be Light"

NASA WMAP Estimate (2013)

13.77±0.059 Ga*

* http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html

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Before the Big Bang?-- A Multiverse?

• Physics cannot reach earlier than the Planck TimeBB + 5.39x10-44 s

… So, a Multiverse, if it exists, is beyond the reach of empirical science

… The Big Bang itself is beyond reach, except that we can date it.

• Were the physical constants randomly generated at this time?… Intriguing thought, but Unprovable.

No knowable reason why the basic physical parameters have particular values

-- except that we would not be here talking about them if they didn't!

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FIRST EVENT: Cosmic InflationBB + 10-36s to 10-32s

(BB + a trillion-trillion-trillionth of a second)Note this is later than the Planck Time

• MUCH faster than the Speed of Light• At the end of the expansion, the Universe was about 10 cm (4") in diameter• Density of the Universe at the end must be precise:

±1 part in 1023 at BB + a billionth s-- like one atom in a gram-mole of atoms (Avogadro number 6.02 x 1023)-- over this and the universe collapses in less that 13 Ga-- under this and the universe expands too fast

Ref: http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmo_03.htm

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Origin of…-The Universe- The Elements- Stars and galaxies- The Sun and Earth- Life itself

Creation of the primordial elements The First Three Minutes

• First, quarks form... The buildingblocks of protons and neutrons.

• Then quarks fuse to form protons and neutrons… Protons = ionized Hydrogen, 1st element made

• Then heavy Hydrogen, Helium, and Lithium.

Instability of He-5 and Be-8 blocks formation of heavier elements

Rapid cooling ends further fusion in about 15 minutes.

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Formation of neutral atoms, and stars ~BB + 500,000 y

• Neutral atoms start to form ~ BB + 300,000 - 400,000y

... Background drops under ~3,500°K, about the binding energy holding electrons to nuclei.

Consequences: • The Universe becomes Transparent

(The sky becomes dark)

• Stars begin to form and heat(Gravity dominates)

• Nuclear fusion begins in the stars. https://www.ualberta.ca/~pogosyan/teaching/ASTRO_122

https://www.ualberta.ca/~pogosyan/teaching/ASTRO_122

https://www.ualberta.ca/~pogosyan/teaching/ASTRO_122

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Formation of the Elements in Stars

• Beryllium barrier is overcome (See Teleology talk)• Over time all elements up to Iron group form

Wikipedia Commons

• Next (depending on star): Supernova-- Intense flux rapidly forms all elements heavier than the iron group

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Formation of the Solar System(4.56 Billion years ago)

Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter(Mostly rocky)

Solar System Formation

NASA

Beyond Neptune's orbit is anotherbelt of asteroids called the Kuiper belt(Mostly icy volatiles)

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Earth-Moon System

[NASA]

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Forming a Habitable Planet

Must be in the Sun's habitable zone- Liquid water distance

-(between Venus and Mars)- Continuously for 4 billion years

(impossible to predict for chaotic orbits)

Wikipedia

Problem: At these distances the Earth is bombarded by the Sun.

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NASA

Problem:- High energy gamma rays- Solar wind (charged alpha & beta rays)- Mass ejected during violent Solar Storms

Solar Plasma Ejections (Coronal Mass Ejections follow magnetic lines of force)

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Must be shielded from harmful Solar & Cosmic Emissions.

FOUR SHIELDS:• (1) The Magnetosphere

Wikipedia

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The Early Earth

Wikipedia

Hadean Bombardment (probably a bit exaggerated)

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(2) The Gravitational Shield

Wikipedia May 17, 1994

Fragments of Shoemaker-Levy on collision course with Jupiter(second approach; first approach in 1992 fragmented the comet)

Massive outer planets deflect comets from collision with Earth.

Wikipedia: "Cosmic Vacuum Cleaner""…the rate of cometary impacts on Jupiter is thought to be between two thousand and eight thousand times higher than the rate on Earth. If Jupiter were not present, the probability of asteroid impacts with the Solar System's inner planets would be much greater."

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The Setting for Life Itself

Earthscape at 3.9 Ga

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Life Itself

NASA

Earliest Evidence: Biologic Carbon, 3.78 Ga

Earliest Fossils, Cyanobacteria-like, 3.465 Ga

NASA

Earthscape showing Stromatolytes, ca. 3 Ga.

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Life Itself

NASA

Earliest Evidence: Biologic Carbon, 3.78 Ga

Earliest Fossils, Cyanobacteria-like, 3.465 Ga

NASA

Earthscape ca. 3Ga

Technical Challenges solved by this first life:

• Invented the Central Dogma (Ribosomes) • Invented photosynthesis (ATP, RuBisCo)• Invented Nitrogen fixing (Nitrogenase)• Invented Akinetes (spore-like cells)

The specialized molecules in parentheses are theonly known molecules that can perform their particular tasks.

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Create Permanent Dry Land

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Making a Living Planet with Life Itself3.9 Ga to the Present

These Tasks were performed by Life Itself:• Precipitate Mineral Deposits from the Ocean

(2 By back-and-forth building up Oxygen – banded iron)

• Distribute fixed Carbon and Nitrogen worldwide(mineral deposits and biomass)

• Develop an Oxygen Atmosphere(needed for multi-cellular life)-- Eukaryotes first appear at this time ~ 2 Ga.

• Develop a Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide balance• Develop the Ozone Shield

(protect life in air and on dry land)

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(3) The Ozone Shield

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(4) The Atmospheric Shield

Burn up small meteors before they reach groundMillions per day; many lethal.

Reduce the impact of most meteors that reach ground

The Fossil Record of Life on Earth

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"It is to fossils alone that must be attributed the birth of the theory of the earth; that, without them we could never have surmised that there were successive epochs in the formation of the globe." Baron Georges Cuvier (1822)

-- William "Strata" Smith first correlated specific fossils to named geological strata (~1800)

Geological Map of Great Britain

Cambrian: First visible fossils

[Ediacaran]Cambrian – "First visible fossils"Lower Silurian (Ordovician)SilurianDevonianCarboniferousPermianTriassic…

Creation Timeline of Science

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Ga15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

Big Bang Beginning

Milky Way Galaxy Forms

Form Elements inStars and Supernovas

Solar System Forms

First Life on Earth

Ga5

4

3

2

1

0

Solar SystemEarth/Moon

Prokaryotes(Bacteria/Archaea)

Earliest Fossils/Stromatolytes

Eukaryotes(Nucleated Cell)

Marine Plants/AnimalsLand Plants/Animals

Corals/sponges/algae

Ma500

400

300

200

100

0

Trilete Spores(sexual repro)

Invade Land(Rhynie Chert)

Ferns/Pithy Wood Amphibians 370 Ma

Mammals 225 Ma

Primates (47 Ma)

Coal Formations

Gymnosperms 319 Ma

Angiosperms 160 Ma(Flowering Plants)

Grasses 66 Mafruit trees

Plants Animals

Flying Insects 380 Ma

Reptiles 340 Ma

Birds 150 Ma

Humans – AMH (200 Ka)Cave Art (30 Ka)

K-T Extinction 66 Ma (Dinosaur extinction)

First Amniote (280 Ma)(Reptile)

Placental Mammal (160 Ma)

Hominininae (14 Ma)

Bony Fish 419 Ma

Cartilaginous Fish 395 Ma

Armored Fish 430 Ma

(Jawless Fish 510 Ma)

Form OreDeposits

Eukaryotes – 2 Ga (±)

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The "Biological Big Bang" ~ 1.5-2.0 Ga -- Vastly more complex than prokaryotes

- Nucleus characteristic, but many organelles- Cytoskeleton for structure and internal transport- and much more...

Eukaryotes Prior to the Cambrian Explosion

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• Single-celled colonies formations: Algae, Fungi, Sponges, Corals

• Early soft-bodied Ediacaran fossils mostly of uncertain identification

(Charniodiscus arboreus)

Charniodiscus arboreuslength about 20"

Wikipedia

The Cambrian Explosion

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Cambrian Period: Cambrian Explosion of all animal phylatrilobites, primitive chordates

Mid-Cambrian TrilobiteSexual Reproduction:

Trilete Spores(Early Ordovician)

Creation TimelineCambrian to Now

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Ma500

400

300

200

100

0




Mammals 225 Ma

Primates (47 Ma)

Coal FormationsGymnosperms

319 Ma



Plants Animals


Reptiles 340 Ma

Birds 150 Ma

Humans – AMH (0.2 Ma)




Hominininae (14 Ma)

Bony Fish 419 Ma


Armored Fish 430 Ma

(Jawless Fish 510 Ma) Coelacanth: Oldest extant bony fish species

Devonian Coelacanth (360 Ma)(earliest Coelacanth fossils ~ 410 Ma)

Modern Coelacanth

Placoderm (extinct)

Age ofFishes

Cambrian

Ordovician

Devonian

Silurian

Carboniferous

Permian

Migration to Land and AirCa. 400 Ma

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Ma500

400

300

200

100

0




Mammals 225 Ma

Primates (47 Ma)


319 Ma



Plants Animals


Reptiles 340 Ma

Birds 150 Ma





Hominininae (14 Ma)

Bony Fish 419 Ma


Armored Fish 430 Ma


Migrationto land/air

Meganeura 380 Ma.Wingspan 2 ft.

Inset shows actual fossil

"What seems most fascinating is that insects diversified in a relatively brief 100 million years (give or take) into the modern forms that exist with minor change in modern times." [Wikipedia]

- Beetles (~300 Ma),- Flies (~250 Ma),- Moths and wasps (~150 Ma).

Migration to Air

Cambrian

Ordovician

Devonian

Silurian

Permian

Carboniferous


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Plant Migration to Land (410 Ma)Rhynie Chert, the first land "forest"

Late Devonian Scene360 Ma

… Followed by the massive coal formationsof the Carboniferous Period 360-290 Ma

Migration to Land and AirBeginning ~400 Ma

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Ma500

400

300

200

100

0




Mammals 225 Ma

Primates (47 Ma)


319 Ma



Plants Animals


Reptiles 340 Ma

Birds 150 Ma





Hominininae (14 Ma)

Bony Fish 419 Ma


Armored Fish 430 Ma


Migrationto land/air

Land Animal Migration

Amphibians marked by tracks,body impressions and body parts

Archaeopteryx (150 Ma)

Cambrian

Ordovician

Devonian

Silurian

Permian

32

Carboniferous


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Plant Migration to Land

Late Devonian Scene360 Ma

Carboniferous Scene300 Ma

Order:fern-like, pithy trunksca 400-300 Ma

gymnosperms (pines)ca 350 Ma

angiosperms flowering plants

Ca 120 Ma

Grasses/grains andfruit trees ca. 66 Ma.

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Primates and Human Ancestors

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Summary

• Science's Creation Narrative is known in outline form-- from the Big Bang to the present-- but many gaps remain

- Some may never be filled

Much evidence supports the view that the wholenarrative indicates planning

... There are no blind forces worth speaking about in Nature.… Otherwise we are witnessing a "monstrous sequence of accidents." (quoting Fred Hoyle)

-- the subject of the previous talk on teleology.

Documents

The Creation Narrative according to Science The Creation Narrative concerns Origins: Origin of… - The Universe - The Elements - Stars and galaxies - The