The Age Of Earth
Byeka
Name changed from Freak83Toronto Join Date: 2003-03-13 Member: 14484Members, Constellation
Name changed from Freak83Toronto Join Date: 2003-03-13 Member: 14484Members, Constellation
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Compared to?</div> Ok, I know I've heard this before, I don't think the analogy is that uncommon either, but does anyone here know it by heart or have a link to it?
There's an analogy that compares the lifespan of Earth to I believe a 40 year old man. I really don't remember too much of how it goes, but I'll say as much as I can to throw anyone here onto the right track.
Earth has been around for 40 years
In the first 10 years, there was no psychical life on the planet.
In the next 5 years, dinasours ruled the planet.
etc.
etc.
In the last MINUTE humans have came into existance
In the last 10 seconds we have managed to practically destroy the planet.
Most of those numbers are made up to the best of my memory. Anyone know how this is supposed to actually go? <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
There's an analogy that compares the lifespan of Earth to I believe a 40 year old man. I really don't remember too much of how it goes, but I'll say as much as I can to throw anyone here onto the right track.
Earth has been around for 40 years
In the first 10 years, there was no psychical life on the planet.
In the next 5 years, dinasours ruled the planet.
etc.
etc.
In the last MINUTE humans have came into existance
In the last 10 seconds we have managed to practically destroy the planet.
Most of those numbers are made up to the best of my memory. Anyone know how this is supposed to actually go? <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Comments
Life is about 3.9 billion years old, so life came into being when the man turned 6.
Multicellular life is 1 billion years old, so it started when the man hit 30 years old.
Humans have been around for over 150,000 years, so we became the species we are today about 12 hours before he hit 40.
Human civilization has been around for about 6,000 years, so it started when the man has about 30 minutes before he hits 40.
The US has been around for 229 years, so it was founded when the man has about 69 seconds before he hits 40.
edit: nm, the universe is only predicted to be 2-3x older than earth, so that wouldnt add up either
That book is actually really cool.
Oh man my brother loves those.
All the rest were correct, this one I would have changed it to 10,000 years, but that depends on where you get the information and only moves it a few minutes further back.
I do like that analogy. :-)
But if we imagine a caleder on which each day represents 100 million years, our minds can begin to grasp the eons. On such a scale the Earth, born about 4.6 billion years ago, would be 46 days old. A mere million years passes in less than 15 minutes, a thousand years in just under a second...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[Remember: Each day = 100,000,000 years.]
1. Earth forms by accretion; Oldest Apollo moon rock.
2. Accretion begins to slow, but meteor bombardment is still heavy.
3. Meteor bombardment remains heavy.
4. ""
5. ""
6. ""
7. Era of great impact ends.
8. Iron Catastrophe destroys much of the Earth's original crust.
9. Oldest known rocks on Earth form (found in Greenland).
10. -- [nothing...apparently the universe was lazy]
11. Oldest known life (bacterial stromatolite fossils found in Australia)
12. -- [bacteria lounge around lazily...]
13. Lava floods most of the moon's near side, creating its "seas"
14. -- [bacteria still slack about]
15. Almost all of moons present day surface is now formed.
16. 3 billion years ago
17. Small bits of continental crust constitute Earth's only land area.
18. Ancient rock subject to intense heat and pressure.
19. Photosynthesis by blue-green algae slowly adds oxygen to the atmosphere.
20. Main continental cores forming.
21. Stromatolites increase; first stable continent sized landmasses form, which are thck enough for high mountain ranges.
22. Archean eon ends, Proterozoic begins.
23. First known glacial periods.
24. -- [glaciers are all lazy, too]
25. Early red sandstones form, as oxygen level in atmosphere is now high enough toturn iron to rust.
26. Over 2 billion years before present.
27. Possible asteroid strike in Ontario leaves world's largest nickel source at Sudbury.
28. Stromatolites widespread
29. Deepest layer of the Grand Canyon forms.
30. First oxygen-dependent life.
31. Possible early supercontinent in existence.
32. ""
33. -- [supercontinent is just chillin']
34. Mountain building in eastern Canada.
35. Early supercontinent breaks up into several different landmasses.
36. Over 1 billion years before present.
37. First sexual reproduction.
38. Extensive glaciation underway.
39. First organisms visible to the naked eye.
40. First Jellyfish; early glaciers in retreat.
41. Paleozoic era begins; continents awash, very high sea level, explosion of sea life; first complex fossils; first seashells
42. Sahara lies under an ice cap at the south pole; plants spread to land; North America and Europe collide, northern Appalachians rise.
43. Ages of ferns, giant insects; new ice cap in south; North America and Africa collide, souther Appalachians rise.
44. Pangea forms; Paleozoic era ends, Mesozoic begins; sea level drops, mass extinction in seas.
45. Pangea breaks up; dinosaurs reign; sea reaches levels covering 85% of Earth; oldest still existing sea-floor forms.
46. Today:
8:00AM - Europe and Greenland seperate; dinosaurs wiped out in wave of mysterious extinctions; Mesozoic era ends, Cenozoic begins.
2:15PM - Australia drifting north from Antarctica; India collides with Asia
7:00PM - Red Sea opens; Midway Island is southernmost and youngest of the Hawaiian chain; first great grasslands spread.
10:10PM - Gulf of California opening; giant lake occupies much of Zaire (Congo) Basin; Africa closing Strait of Gibraltar
11:30PM - glacial period referred to as the Ice Age begins
11:45PM - Panama has linked the Americas, spelling death for many species; hominds roam Africa and Eurasia; Ice Age underway
11:59:50PM - First towns; agriculture
11:59:58PM - Jesus of Nazareth is born
11:59:59PM - Normans invade England
[11:59:59:500PM - Americas are "discovered']
11:59:59:800PM - Industrial Revolution begins
11:59:59:900PM - Men land on the moon, seeking rocks older than Earth's. [I would actually have set it at 11:59:59:969, but maybe that's me.]
[Those last two might be a bit off, the book was written in 1983 <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> ; also note that anything in brackets ([]) I added for clarification/because I wanted to/monekys made me]
I suppose you could just apply that to your year-model...except it would need to be 46 years..and the last day thing would be a bit different. Sufficient? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
edit: bah, somehow I'd used 0 instead of 9...