Category: Geology

The Lush Forests of Australia and Antarctica During the Mesozoic Period and the Reason Antarctica Became Cold

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Both Australia and Antarctica were once fused together as part of the supercontinent Gondwana, neither being an arid and hot landscape nor a cold desert but instead a vast and lush forest, larger than the Amazon Rainforest, spanning thousands of kilometers in size. The reason Antarctica is no longer temperate and forested is because in contrast to most shorelines which disrupt and disperse ocean currents upon contact with the coastline, the waters around Antarctica encircle it unobstructed, forming the Antarctic Circumpolar Current after the Drake Passage opened 34,000,000 (34 million) years ago. Because there is no land to stop this flow of water, it forces the current to become stronger and deeper over time. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current cut the continent of Antarctica off from the warm waters of the north, a thermal isolation further exacerbated by decreasing carbon dioxide levels over millions of years. In a mere 1,000,000 (1 million) years during a rapid cooling phase, although the full shift took tens of millions of years to complete, Antarctica transitioned from an appearance which resembled Australia during its wetter, forested period of the Cenozoic Era, to become a frozen tundra, virtually uninhabitable by humans until the mid 20th century, due to its subzero temperatures which consistently remain far below any other location upon Earth, as well as being locked in by vast ice sheets which formed 14,000,000 (14 million) years ago

How Armor Was Decorated During the Medieval Period

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Armor was embroidered during the Medieval period by using oil and lead paint to mark off ornate areas which would stand out and perhaps be decorated with gold or other precious metals in a process referred to as “gilding”. Gold does not easily bind to any type of metal and the only way to properly do so is to undergo a process which involves mixing the gold with mercury. Once applied, a mixture of salt, vinegar, and copper sulphate, which is root killer, makes a paste which eats through the metal leaving the painted parts untouched, and resulting in an etched piece of armor. Blacksmiths sometimes heat treated armor which turned it a blueish hue which essentially rusts the metal as it is referred to as an “oxide” and an oxide occurs when a metal comes into contact with oxygen which reacts with the metal and creates a deposit when heated to a very specific temperature, as the heat is what shifts the red color of rust to the blue area of the color spectrum

The Reason the Catacombs of Paris, France Were Created

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There are over 300 kilometres of underground passages underneath Paris, France as underground quarries were made due to the large demand of stone it took to build the city. The catacombs beneath Paris hold nearly 6,000,000 (6 million) human skeletons. During the 18th century, death was quite common and the cemeteries quickly filled up. As such, the city of Paris decided to empty the cemeteries and place the bones underground. The bones were tidied up by making them into walls by stacking skulls and humerus arm bones on top of eachother, making each piece fit in the groove of the next. The collection of bones beneath Paris is essentially the Medieval population of Paris

The Condition of the Earth After the Chicxulub Asteroid Collision Which Caused the Extinction of Dinosaurs

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Immediately after the Chicxulub Asteroid collided with the Earth, heat from the fireball produced reached temperatures of 5500 degrees Celsius and produced a shockwave which broke the speed of sound, causing gale force winds equivalent to a hurricane. Everything within 965 kilometers was instantly decimated. Within 11 minutes of impact, the sky began to darken as debris which had been pushed up into the atmosphere started to settle back down. As these small spheres the size of a grain of sand descended back down to Earth, they heated up upon re-entry, identical to that of an asteroid, which provided the illusion of billions of simultaneous shooting stars. The energy produced during this re-entry barrage of heat was more intense than the sun for a brief period of time and made the sky glow red, as if it was comprised of liquid magma. This debris reflected heat back towards the Earth and effectively caused the Earth to act as an enormous radiator. To add to this damage, wildfires began sprouting up due to the intense temperature which caused heat and smoke to fill the atmosphere, compounding the damage already done. Strong winds helped perpetuate these fires and because so much of the Earth was affected, it only took a few hours to become globalized, engulfing the entire Earth in a mass fire which burned hotter than a regular fire due to the inability to dissipate heat sideways. In addition to this, gypsum which contains sulphur, blocked the sun and cooled the Earth over the long term. Gypsum had a seismic effect upon the world’s oceanic ecosystems as ocean acidification occurred due to sulphuric rain being produced by the gypsum within the atmosphere. The reflecting of the sun caused 75% of all plants to die as the Earth only received as much light during mid day as what is present during a cloudy, moonless night of the modern day

The Advent of the Steam Engine Permanently Changing the World

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Scottish mechanical engineer James Watt taught himself engineering and at age 27 he invented the modern steam engine. Watt was inspired by a pot of tea which he observed boiling, as the lid of the kettle would move when excessive heat had built up. Watt realized from this encounter that steam power may have the ability to be harnessed to perform work. Building upon a design already in existence which used steam to drive a piston to pump water out of mining operations, Watt revolutionized this technology by adding gears and wheels. Early steam engines only pumped up and down, but after Watt discovered how to effectively implement wheels and other facets, he took the idea of steam power and made it transportable via rotary motion. This simple alternate design paved the way for countless machines which succeeded it, as gears and wheels allow an infinite number of combinations to be constructed allowing for adaptations to all forms of industry. The world became smaller and faster seemingly overnight as humans and animals were no longer required to perform all forms of work. Watts’ engine started the Industrial Revolution, one of the most important periods within human history as it nearly autonomously created the modern technological age

The Peculiarity of Isotopes Xenon 129, Xenon 132, and Krypton 80 Upon Mars

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Scientific study of Mars has revealed the existence of the isotope xenon 129 present within the almost non-existent Martian atmosphere. This has puzzled scientists as there are a limited number of understood methods to achieve such an outcome. The first method is via cosmic radiation, specifically galactic cosmic rays and/or solar cosmic rays striking elements like barium or bromine upon the Martian surface which can cause neutron capture, leading to the formation of xenon 129 naturally. This is because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and lacks a global magnetic field, which means it is less protected from cosmic radiation in comparison to the Earth. The second method is to detonate nuclear weaponry upon Mars which has left scientists dumbfounded as to how such an event could occur without third party intervention. Because of this, the majority of scientists believe the former method to be the causation, however there are scientists who take issue with this theory, mainly due to the high ratios of xenon 129, xenon 132, and krypton 80 within the Martian atmosphere which can be a byproduct of the fast neutron fission of uranium and plutonium weaponry, with all 3 of these isotopes able to be created by generating nuclear energy as well, the topography of Mars itself as vast glass like smooth regions exist which strikingly resemble the Trinity nuclear weaponry test detonation site in New Mexico, United States of America, as well as the high concentration of specific isotopes within specific regions (e.g. high levels of krypton 80 in the Cydonia region of Mars etc.)

The First Person to Theorize How Stars are Situated Within the Universe

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Prior to the 16th century, it was believed that the Earth was the center of the universe with a belt of stars which rotated around it, exactly the same way in which planets orbit the central star of any solar system. These stars were believed to be fixed in their position as the constellations observed upon Earth do not alter greatly in their position or intensity in terms of what the human eye can perceive. Thomas Digges was the first person to propose that the stars are placed at different distances and in different positions, not in a ring of stars which stayed fixated, but rather in an infinite universe as distant points of light. Digges built upon the work of Nicolaus Copernicus by changing Copernicus’ original visual sketch of the planets and their orbital paths in that he removed the stellarum fixarum meaning “fixed stars” in Latin, and built a model in which stars were completely different in their distance relative to the Earth, with brightness controlled by how far or close a particular star was in proximity

The Naga Baba Holy Sadhus of India

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Naga babas who are naked holy men, reject the physical world including clothing to be closer to Lord Shiva, one of the most powerful gods in Hinduism. Naga babas live in the Himalayan mountains and smoke incredibly large amounts of cannabis regularly. Naga babas often hand out blessings for a small sum, carrying out the blessing by hitting the person requesting it on the head with a peacock feather wand

The Reason Icebergs Sink Ships

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The reason that an iceberg is able to cut into the side hull of a ship (e.g. Titanic etc.) or any other marine vessel is dual fold. The first reason is because steel becomes more brittle, the colder it gets. Steel created during the early 20th century was not tempered as steel is during the modern day. The second reason is because of inertia, weight, and force. An iceberg can slash through steel the same way a tree can rip through a vehicle that has hit it. An iceberg is a large, immovable object, so whether the hull is comprised of wood or titanium, the ice will always win out as it has more inertia and mass. To provide a frame of reference, bone is incredibly strong and tensile, however if a brick which is harmless while at rest, slams down from a height above the arm, the force it imparts is enough to break said bone

Tudor Period Mining and Metal Smelting

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During the Tudor period, lead was utilized to build roofs and windows because it was easily mailable and resistive to corrosion. Farmers would mine for lead during the summer months when their crops did not need tending to in order to generate additional income. Mining during the summer months could earn an extra £5.00 which equates to £25,000 as of 2012 when accounting for inflation. Entire families often worked within the mines because 50 barrels worth of ore and soil would be extracted per day to meet the quota of what was required to be profitable. Smelting involved the use of white coal which is effectively dried wood from a kiln and was always setup upon windy hilltops or mountains because the wind would cause the fire blaze with more intensity therefore reaching higher overall temperatures. The best wood to make white coal is oak. Kilns must be airtight, so gaps were filled with clay. Knowing a kiln to be airtight was easily verifiable by searching for smoke as if smoke only came out of only the front entrance, the kiln was considered airtight. Ore was smashed into small pieces to help it smelt more rapidly which yielded approximately an 80% return upon investment. Metals were then refined using a secondary kiln, and smelted to remove any ash or impurities. The first burn removes ore from the rock, and the second burn removes impurities with the main impurity being sulphur. Molds were constructed using sand and wood to create divots which allowed the ore to be molded into blocks much the same as a modern day bar of gold. The sand gives the mold an indentation which archeologists use to identify Medieval bars of smelted ore