GMAGALL.TXT NOTES for GEOMAGNETISM AND THE AGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, Corel WordPerfect Presentation By Wayne R. Spencer SLIDE 1: TITLE Geomagnetism and the Age of the Solar System About the author Wayne Spencer has a B.S. in Physics from Kansas State University and an M.S. in Physics from Wichita State University, in Wichita, KS (1994). Wayne taught secondary math and science at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, KS for 4 years and has taught some introductory college courses in chemistry, physical science, and Engineering Statics. Wayne now works in computer technical support in Fort Worth, Texas. Wayne has been Vice-Chairman of the Mid-Kansas chapter of the Bible Science Association and has been very active in creation ministry. Wayne has presented papers at the 1992 Twin-Cities Creation Conference, the International Conference on Creationism, and has published articles in Creation Ex Nihilo and BSN magazines. Wayne has contributed to an ICR radio program and provided technical illustrations to ICR for the book "Voyage to the Planets." More information about Wayne is available on the internet web site below. Wayne Spencer Creation Education Materials P.O. Box 1818 Arlington, TX 76004 (817) 461-2064 Internet: w.spencer@attbi.com http://creationanswers.net SLIDE 2 Instructions for computer file of presentation. SLIDE 3 GEOMAGNETISM AND THE AGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM The Young Age Creationist view is confirmed by recent discoveries-overview Magnetism and planets-General background The Evolutionary "Dynamo" Model (assumes an old Earth) "Free Decay" (from Thomas Barnes, assumes young Earth) Rapid Magnetic Reversals and Noah's Flood (Humphreys, assumes young Earth and rapid magnetic reversals during the Genesis Flood) Water - the key to the origin of magnetic fields SLIDE 4 MAGNETISM AND THE ATOM Magnetic fields are produced either by the alignment of the magnetic moments of atoms or by the movement of electric charge Permanent magnets, like bar magnets, maintain their fields because of how the atoms remain "lined up" with the same orientation in space. Even permanent magnets lose their magnetism when heated up to the Curie temperature (770 C for Iron). Lava from volcanic eruptions often contains magnetic minerals, the magnetic directions of these mineral molecules are "frozen in place" as the lava cools, thus recording the Earth's magnetic field direction and intensity at the time it cooled. This is referred to as remanent magnetism, magnetism that is a record of the field in that area at some time in the past, its like a remnant from the past. There are other geological processes that can affect the magnetization of rocks, but they are relatively uncommon. SLIDE 5 MAGNETISM AND ELECTRIC CURRENTS Magnetic fields can be produced by the motion of electric charges. Any relative motion between a magnetic field and electric charges will produce an electric current also. The magnetic moment is mathematically defined as the electric current in a loop times the area of the loop. It is essentially a measure of how much a current loop resists being rotated because of the influence of a magnetic field around it. The magnetic moment is one way to measure the strength of the magnetic field of a planet. A dynamo is a machine that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. The accepted evolutionary view is that Earth is a dynamo, with an electric current in its core. Thomas Barnes estimated that this current is about 6 billion Amperes! See "The Source of the Earth's Magnetic Field" by Charles R. Carrigan and David Gubbins, Scientific American, Feb 1979, vol 240, p 118-130. This article explains how Michael Faraday built a very simple dynamo. It also tells about how a working "dynamo" model can be built. SLIDE 6 EARTH'S MAGNETISM Historical measurements of Earth's magnetic field show its intensity has decreased. Evolutionist scientists assume the Earth is 4.6 billion years in age. But Earth's field could not last nearly that long!! So, most scientists believe Earth's field has gone through many cycles of reversing itself, increasing, and decreasing. SLIDE 7 EARTH'S MAGNETIC MOMENT Graph of experimental measurements of Earth's Magnetic Moment through history, from 1835 to 1965. Taken from book "Origin and Destiny of the Earth's Magnetic Field" by Thomas G. Barnes, D.Sc., pub by Institute for Creation Research, 1973, 1983, p 45 (also known as ICR Technical Monograph number 4.) Units are in Joules per Tesla, which is equivalent to Ampere-meters squared. SLIDE 8 THE DYNAMO MODEL It tells how Earth's field is maintained, not how it came about. It requires the presence of a weak magnetic field in the first place. It requires complex motions of the fluid in Earth's liquid core (helical motion). It requires sudden changes in the fluid's motion that would use impossible amounts of energy. SLIDE 9 THE DYNAMO MODEL - QUOTE #1 "The operation of either type of dynamo calls for the initial presence of at least a weak magnetic field or a weak current . . . Therefore the dynamo mechanism does not explain how the magnetic fields of planets and stars may have originated but rather how they are amplified and maintained in spite of the continual sapping of the field. . . ." Parker, E. N., "Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos," Scientific American, August 1983, p 45. SLIDE 10 THE DYNAMO MODEL - QUOTE #2 The lack of a clear reversal mechanism "The scheme shown here is a model: the mechanism by which the field reverses polarity is not known." "Although sudden changes in the pattern or rate of convection could cause reversals of polarity, it is not known why there should be sudden changes." Parker, E. N., "Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos," Scientific American, August 1983, pp 45, 50-51. SLIDE 11 WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE FOR REVERSALS? The magnetization of lava rock on the ocean floor varies in direction, often found in magnetic "stripes" around the mid-ocean ridges. Other rocks, human artifacts, etc. from around the world are sometimes found pointing to the magnetic South pole, not the North pole. The Sun reverses its magnetic fields every 11 years, with the sunspot cycle. SLIDE 12 MAGNETIC STRIPES ON THE OCEAN FLOOR This graphic shows that from the mid-ocean ridge, where the sea floor spreads out, there are magnetic stripes of alternating polarity. This oversimplifies the actual situation some. Black stripes could represent basalt rock whose magnetization would make a compass needle point North and the light stripes would then represent South pointing basalt rocks. Radiometic dating techniques indicate that the rock is older as you go away from the spreading center on either side. SLIDE 13 MAGNETIC STRIPES ARE 3D BANDS Banding indicates rapid reversals + rapid spreading This illustration shows the complicated 3D nature of the magnetic stripes or bands. The magnetization direction alternates not only laterally across the surface of the ocean floor but also vertically through the ocean floor basalt. The graphics in Slides 12 and 13 come from the book "The Young Earth" by John D. Morris, Ph.D., 1994, pub by Master Books, (Master Books is now known as Eden Communications, this book is available from ICR as well). This book by John Morris has an excellent section on the entire issue of Earth's magnetic field and the Earth's age. SLIDE 14 3 D BANDING Magnetic bands imply rapid spreading and rapid field changes Magnetic stripes usually are said to argue for Plate Tectonics, with ocean floor spreading over millions of years. Plate Tectonics is a comprehensive theory proposing that the ocean floor spreads from the mid-ocean ridges and the ocean floor rock subducts under the edges of the continents, thus moving the continents apart. Slow spreading over millions of years would produce more continuous layers of the same polarity, not the smaller zones as are found in drill core samples. The sizes of the magnetic zones are related to the rate of spreading and the rate Earth's magnetic field changes. Rapid spreading coupled with rapid field changes explains the complicated 3D zones. SLIDE 15 FREE DECAY WITH GEOMAGNETIC CATASTROPHISM The research of creationists Dr. Thomas Barnes and Dr. D. Russell Humphreys God created a certain magnetic field in the beginning which has been running down for thousands of years. (From Barnes book "Origin and Destiny of the Earth's Magnetic Field" by Thomas G. Barnes, D.Sc., pub by Institute for Creation Research, 1973, 1983.) The violent changes in the Earth during Noah's Flood (continents moving, volcanism, impacts, etc.) were accompanied by magnetic reversals. These reversals used up magnetic energy instead of producing energy. The outer layers of the liquid core, near the Earth's mantle, would be where the field reversals would begin. Heat from the core causes material in the core to rise. Other events could cause turbulence at the boundary of the liquid core and the mantle that could contribute to the field reversals. Reversals occurred rapidly for some time after the Flood. For Humphreys evidence of their being reversals of Earth's field and his diagram used for the history of the field in slide 16, see the paper "Reversals of the Earth's Magnetic Field During the Genesis Flood," in the Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism, 1986, pp 113-123. For Humphreys mechanism for reversals based on electromagnetic theory and magnetohydrodynamics, see the paper "Physical Mechanism for Reversals of the Earth's Magnetic Field During the Flood," in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Creationism, 1990. This latter paper also has Humphrey's graph used in slide 17 and his age figures for the Earth. SLIDE 16 HUMPHREY'S HISTORY OF EARTH'S FIELD Decay, variations, then decay in Earth's magnetic field SLIDE 17 EARTH'S AGE: 6,000 - 9,000 YEARS Projecting back sets limit on magnetic field strength SLIDE 18 CONFIRMATION #1 Dr. Humphreys predicted field reversals could happen in 20 days or less. He made this estimate in the 1986 ICC paper referred to above, page 116. He argued this based on the behavior of the Sun and the size of Earth's core as well as the fact that Earth spins faster than the Sun. Two scientists, unfamiliar with Humphreys research, find a lava flow that records the Earth's field reversing in a time of 15 days or less. This is mentioned by Humphreys in his 1990 ICC paper as well as in the Creation Research Society Quarterly, Vol. 26, March 1990, pp 132-133. They studied Miocene basalt rock layers at Steens Mountain, Oregon, flow number B51. These lava flows are thin enough that they must have cooled below the Curie temperature in 2 weeks or less. The layers above B51 have one polarity, the layers below B51 have reversed polarity. The original source for the B51 research is R.S. Coe and M. Prevot, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol 92, pp 292-298, 1989. SLIDE 19 THE CREATION OF PLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELDS Dr. Humphreys proposes a general principle for how God created magnetic fields in planets and perhaps even in stars. This is found in the Creation Research Society Quarterly paper by D. Russell Humphreys, Vol. 21, No. 3, December 1984, "The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields." In II Peter 3 and in Genesis 1 the Bible describes the Earth as consisting of water early in the Creation week. There are 10 protons and 10 electrons in a water molecule. The 2 protons in the hydrogen atoms could produce a substantial magnetic field if their individual magnetic moments were lined up in the same direction. Perhaps God set up the magnetic fields of the Earth and the planets by first lining up these proton moments, then He converted water into other elements. The core material would have been converted to iron, or partly iron, which is an electrical conductor. This would mean that the initial created magnetic field would have produced an electric current by the time the Hydrogen protons radomized their directions. So, the initial created field would only last a moment and would be gone, due to molecular collisions. But it would exist long enough to start a powerful current and this current would then produce a magnetic field, though this current and the field produced by it would decay to present because there would be nothing to "regenerate" them. SLIDE 20 GOD CREATED WITH WATER! II Peter 3:4-6. The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984. SLIDE 21 CONSEQUENCES OF CREATION OUT OF WATER Dynamo theory versus creation out of water SLIDE 22 THE DYNAMO MODEL AND THE PLANETS Planetary fields surprised evolutionists! This graphic shows the tilt of Uranus magnetic field as well as how the solar wind distorts and stretches out the field as Uranus travels through space. As the planet rotates, this causes the magnetic field axis to wobble back and forth as the planet moves along. The solar wind is a flow of ions and a variety of particles radiated by the Sun in all directions. Because these particles are electrically charged, they are deflected by a planets field. This is also how we are protected by the Earth's magnetic field. The particles form belts or bands of ionized gas (plasma) around the Earth, known as the Van Allen radiation belts. SLIDE 23 CONFIRMATION #2 Magnetic Fields of Uranus and Neptune: Voyager Results Humphrey's predicted in 1984 that the Voyager spacecraft would find the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune to be about 10^24 Joules/Tesla. He was correct for both planets! (For Humphrey's predictions for these and the other planets, see reference given for slide 19. Humphreys table of predicted values for today and maximum values at creation are given in the table in slide 27.) Both Uranus and Neptune have fields sharply tilted compared to the planets spin axes. This is very unlikely by the dynamo model. It would imply both planets happened to be "caught" in a reversal at the same time. SLIDE 24 THE VOYAGER 1 AND 2 MISSIONS Voyager 2 passed Uranus in January of 1986 and Neptune in August of 1989 This slide shows the trajectories of the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts. SLIDE 25 BUT WHY ARE URANUS' AND NEPTUNE'S FIELDS TILTED COMPARED TO THE PLANET? Uranus' field tilted 60 degrees angle, Neptune 50 degrees Humphreys suggests collision of a large object with these planets is the cause for the tilted fields. It is also possible these planets could have been created in their unusual orientations. To read Humphreys proposals for explaining the tilts and magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune, see his paper in the June 1990 issue of Creation Research Society Quarterly (Vol. 27, No. 1) in the paper "Good News from Neptune: The Voyager 2 Magnetic Measurements," pp 15-17. A large mass, in a fluid planet, could sink to the core and could change the tilt of the planet though the core would remain essentially as it was. (The moment of inertia would change.) Thus, the magnetic field is essentially oriented as it was at creation, but the planets could have been tilted after creation. SLIDE 26 CONFIRMATION #3 The magnetism of other solar system objects No planet possesses a field stronger than the maximum values Humphreys calculated. Mars and Earth's Moon have only a weak remnant of a field that was once stronger in the past. This also fits the field decay Humphreys worked out. The presence of a field on Mercury can be explained though the dynamo has problems. This is because Mercury has very slow rotation (58 of our days). Jupiter's moon Europa has a field tilted 80 degrees. This also may fit Humphrey's model better than the dynamo model. SLIDE 27 SOLAR SYSTEM MAGNETIC DATA This table is based on the work of Humphreys in Creation Research Society Quarterly paper by D. Russell Humphreys, Vol. 21, No. 3, December 1984, "The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields" and on the information in the June 1990 issue of Creation Research Society Quarterly (Vol. 27, No. 1) in the paper "Good News from Neptune: The Voyager 2 Magnetic Measurements," pp 15-17. The column for Magnetic Moment at creation shows the maximum value calculated by Humphreys based on the alignment of the protons in the water. A sphere of water equivalent to the size of the core of the planet would be converted into denser conducting elements. The size of the core is important in the calculation and this size is given in the last column in the table. The decay time is in the next to the last column. This is the time necessary for the field strength to decrease to 36.8 percent of its former value. The decay time is a measure of how rapidly exponential decay occurrs. It is similar to but not equal to the half-life value. Quantities determining the decay time are the radius of the core and its electrical conductivity. SLIDE 28 CONCLUSIONS The Young-age creation point of view is strongly confirmed by both theory and observational evidence The Earth's age based on decay of its magnetic field is between 6,000 and 9,000 years. Similar figures have been used by Humphreys in modeling planetary fields. (To make his theory testable Humphreys assumed a young age figure and used that to calculate an electrical conductivity figure for each planet. See the December 1984 CRSQ paper for details.) Rapid magnetic reversals are possible in the young-age framework. Reversals are indicated by magnetic measurements of basalt rocks on Earth. Magnetic fields could have been created in water. These fields produced electrical currents that have decayed to the present. This agrees with the Bible since the Bible seems to imply things are young and the Bible actually mentions the Earth being formed out of or with water in the beginning.