Steven GollmerCedarville University

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HON-3230

Chance, Emergence or Design

Origin of Habitable Planet

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Uniqueness of Carbon• Desire for 4 bonds

– Basis for 3-D structures– More variety in types of

bonds to one atom.

• Stronger bonds than Si

• Greatest variety in carbon chemistry at temperatures where water is liquid. Tetrahedron

Steven GollmerCedarville University

Fit Planet: Page 3

Uniqueness of Water

• Requires a lot of heat to warm it.

• Conducts heat better than most liquids.

• High surface tension allows biochemical reactions to occur more rapidly.

• Solid form is less dense than its liquid form.

Steven GollmerCedarville University

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Unity and Diversity• Unity

– All interactions involve forces– Energy is basis of all activity

• Diversity– Limited number of basic

particles– Complexity arises from

variations on how groups of particles interact.

Hope for aTheory ofEverything

(TOE)

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Unique Universe

• Inflation - Flat Universe

• Smolin - Evolving universes

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Drake Equation• Probability of contacting intelligent life

fp - planets ne - habitable fl - life

fi - intelligence fc - communication

• Carl Sagan– Over 1 million civilizations/galaxy

• Ward and Brownlee fpm - metal rich fme - mass extinctions

cilep fffnfp

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Crustal Plates

• Recycle sediments on ocean floor

• Magnetic field from molten core

• Atmosphere from outgassing

• Water from comets

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Unique Earth• Water present

in 3 phases• Ozone• Nitrogen

atmosphere• Bound Carbon• Oxygen

present• Probability

– 1069 to 1

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HabitableZone

• Stable sun

• Appropriate distance

• Nearly circular orbit

• Obliquity stabilization by moon

Eq.

N.P.

SunS.P.

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Searchfor Life

Europa

MarsArecibo

Halley

Titan

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Anthropic Principle• If conditions weren’t right for intelligent

life to form, then no life would exist to ponder the question of its existence.

• Barrow and Tipler– There exists one possible Universe 'designed' with the

goal of generating and sustaining 'observers'. Or... – An ensemble of other different universes is necessary

for the existence of our Universe (which may be related to the “Many Worlds” interpretation of quantum mechanics).

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Fit Planet: Page 12

Answers?Panspermia

Lonely Universe

Paper #2• Is the exploration of Mars worth the

investment?– See LA Times article

• Write a 5 minute speech.– ~650 words (~1 ½ pages single spaced)– May focus the thesis tighter than this.– Gather some of your own facts– Consider Argument/Support/Organization/Tone

Steven GollmerCedarville University

Fit Planet: Page 13