Forums → WEPR → How old is Earth?

If there was a star on one end of the universe, then it's light could have easily reached the other end.

(curious voice) so when were the stars formed?

<squeeky voice> wait I mean... <explaining voice>...

In the 15 minutes after the big bang temperatures and density were high enough for light elements to be made e.g. lithium, helium etc. in nuclear reactions. After the first 15 minutes, the Universe's rapid expansion meant that nucleosynthesis couldn't happen. For the next 200 million years nothing happened. After this pockets of dark matter began to form causing gravitational instabilities from which clouds of gas formed. This became the stars. The temperatures within these stars restarted nucleosynthesis producing the heavier elements. (pretty much everything that makes the planets and us)

The temperatures within these stars restarted nucleosynthesis producing the heavier elements.

I don;t know how much detail to go into to be honest.

Using a spectroscope (like a prism it seperates light into its component colours) you can see what light is being emmitted by the sun. Atoms emit photons of light as electrons move up and down energy levels. different types of atoms emit diferent photons. The pic bellow is the spectrum for the sun. The black lines show where there isn't any light. From this we can deduce what the sun is made from. It is not very difficult to do Galileo first realised it could be done. But not till recent times could we do it well enough to see what was in the stars.

How come we don't hear much about stars having many different elements in them?

lol...I should have known that too. I learned that in chemistry quite recently, but somehow, I didn't remember. Anyways, how did the stuff get out of the stars? Wouldn't the gravity hold it all in? Of course, stars do explode, but how did the stuff from the exploded stars start orbiting stars several light years away?

Yeah, as the star uses up its last bit of hydrogen it expels other atoms. Some of the carbon (now drifting through space) combines with hydrogen to make PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) "a kind of carbon soot similar to the scorched portions of burnt toast" (yes you heard it here life is made out od burnt toast lol.) These PAH's are the most common organic compounds in space and can be converted into molecules used in cells to make energy (e.g. photosynthesis). PAH's are also a main "ingredient" in certain types of meteorite.

There are different ways to explaining how old the Earth is. That star thing works, and carbon dating can work for something that is older than 10K years. Here's another: what about giant rock formations? How long do you think the Grand Canyon took to get that form? It didn't just collapse in an instant to be turned into what it is. It took millions of years. Not billions; this is a more specific answer.

Oh, and whomever wanted to find something older than Christian history, then take a look at this:

This is supposedly the oldest painting on Earth, recorded at 11000 years ago. With this, you can
safely assume that there was something before Biblical times, and that the "artist"
was a common ancestor to us humans.

Take what you think of it in your own personal opinion ; I say "I recognize that...! I Was
reading up on this in High School art class!"

There are sooo many different versions of the bible.
Just -some- changes over the years.

Grand Canyon took to get that form

That is not a reliable link at all -_-

How can a flood like that cause something like the grand Canyon?

Would it really speed up the erosion process that much?

Sorry to disipiont you Mobyduck , but Wikipedia is made up by random people around the world.

How can a flood like that cause something like the grand Canyon?

Sorry to disipiont you Mobyduck , but Wikipedia is made up by random people around the world.

So was the bible