Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Gravitation: Gravitation is a fundamental force of nature that attracts any two objects with mass. It is the weakest of the four fundamental forces, but it is also the most pervasive, acting on all objects in the universe. See also Force._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Stephen Jay Gould on Gravitation - Dictionary of Arguments
I 328ff Gravity/evolution/physics/Gould: the earth's rotation decreases by 1/50,000 seconds per year. Gould: this has consequences for evolution. There are tides caused by the moon and - much weaker - tides caused by the sun. Due to its slowing influence on the earth, the moon gains momentum and orbits the earth in ever larger orbits. I 331 Some fossils contain in the patterns of their growth the astronomical rhythms of past times. For more than a hundred years, paleontologists have noticed certain growth lines. >Evolution. I 332 For example, corals, which live near the equator in a constant climate, have practically no annual rings. In higher widths they do have rings, and some had certain lamellae within the growth rings. It was discovered that they indicated the rhythm of the day. Each annual ring had about 360 lamellae. With a group of corals that were about 370 million years old, it was found that there were years of 400 days and more! In this way, it was possible to determine the increase in the length of the day. On the other hand, there was still evidence of the moon's retreat. For this, fossils were needed, which, in addition to the annual rings, also had a characteristic for the months. The old moon cycle would have had less than the 29.53 sunny days of today's cycle. There were hints in the case of the Nautilus (like a snail house): every room between two successive septa, i. e. each chamber contains an average of thirty fine lines, which vary neither from case to case nor from chamber to chamber. The Nautilus, which lives deep down in the Pacific Ocean, comes to the surface every night in response to the days of sunshine. Many animals, including humans of course, have monthly cycles that normally affect fertility. In the fossils of 25 to 450 million years old nautillids, a regular decrease of the monthly lines was found in the fossils: at the youngest about 25 million years old, for the 420 million years old it turned out that the moon orbited the earth in only 9 days of sunshine (when the sun day was only 21 hours long). Then it must have been much closer to Earth._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Gould I Stephen Jay Gould The Panda’s Thumb. More Reflections in Natural History, New York 1980 German Edition: Der Daumen des Panda Frankfurt 2009 Gould II Stephen Jay Gould Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes. Further Reflections in Natural History, New York 1983 German Edition: Wie das Zebra zu seinen Streifen kommt Frankfurt 1991 Gould III Stephen Jay Gould Full House. The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin, New York 1996 German Edition: Illusion Fortschritt Frankfurt 2004 Gould IV Stephen Jay Gould The Flamingo’s Smile. Reflections in Natural History, New York 1985 German Edition: Das Lächeln des Flamingos Basel 1989 |
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> Counter arguments against Gould
> Counter arguments in relation to Gravitation
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-27