science Archives

August 12, 2024August 11, 2024

Tornadoes Are Not the Wrath of God

Some people try to tell us that tornadoes are God’s retaliation against humans for not obeying Him. Atheists and skeptics often say that disasters disprove the existence of a loving and all-powerful God. Now, we are seeing some preachers and religious periodicals saying that God is spiteful and taking it out on humans. This is not only a denial of scientific fact, but it contradicts the nature of God as revealed in the Bible. Catastrophes such as tornadoes are not the wrath of God.

The science behind tornadoes is well understood. They are a natural response to Earth’s changes and human abuse of what God has given us. A tornado happens when hot air becomes trapped under a layer of cold air. Hot air rises, and the Coriolis Effect of the Earth’s spin causes the rising column of air to spin as well.

How can hot air get under cold air? There are several causes, but the main one is the Sun heating Earth’s surface. Dark surfaces can get very hot. Several years ago in Oklahoma, I saw a weatherperson fry an egg on the hood of her car on a scorching day. Hundreds of square miles of blacktoped parking lots and plowed-up land guarantee rising air masses. Older native Americans who lived in Tornado Alley told me that they had never seen a tornado as a child, and their native language had no word for it, although they did have a word for dust devils.

The Bible clarifies that Jesus does not bring destruction, and tornadoes are not the wrath of God. Peter tells us God “..is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 ). Repentance is simply thinking differently. It does not always mean we must confess some great sin–although that could be the case. “Repent and be baptized” in Acts 2:38 means thinking differently, and Peter spoke those words to a large crowd. Romans 8:28 says, “In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.” James 1:13 tells us that God tempts no one with evil.

If God zapped us every time we made a mistake, the planet would have no humans in a matter of minutes. Tornadoes are not the wrath of God. They are mainly a product of human abuse and carelessness. Building flimsy structures in areas prone to tornadoes is asking for trouble. Not managing the use of what God has given us has caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. Let us work on using the things God gave us more intelligently as we understand that God is a God of love (1 John 4:16) and forgiveness (John 3:16).

August 9, 2024August 8, 2024

The Bernoulli Effect and Flying Slowly

We have marveled at the ability of birds to reach incredible speeds and make quick turns. However, the greatest challenge is flying slowly. The wing shape allows flight, as air traveling along the top surface moves faster than air on the wing bottom. This is an application of a principle of physics known as the Bernoulli effect.

The Bernoulli effect says that when air moves rapidly, it exerts minimum pressure at right angles to the direction of the motion. You can demonstrate that with a simple experiment. Place two identical books on a table with a small space between them. Lay a piece of paper over the top of the two books and blow through the channel between them. The paper will collapse because the pressure of the moving air is lower than the air pressure above the paper. Blow hard, and the paper will collapse rapidly. Blow slowly, and the paper will bend down a little.

Airplane wings use this principle to get lift. As the plane moves faster, the lift increases, and the plane can rise. When the plane slows down, there is less lift, and the plane decreases its altitude. Birds do the same thing but have a unique design feature that allows slow flight. This special structure called a bastard wing or alula enables them to stay aloft even when flying slowly.

The alula consists of several feathers attached to the first digit of the wing bones. By moving that digit, the bird can separate the feathers of the alula from the rest of the wing, creating a slot that helps channel air over the wing. This enhances lift and allows the bird to stay aloft when flying slowly, such as when landing. When a bird seems to hover, the Bernoulli effect created by the alula design gives them that ability. Humans have not found a way to duplicate all the designs of the bird wing, so hovering is still a challenge for modern aircraft.

Much of what engineers know has come from studying the design God built into His creatures. Birds continue to teach us a lot about flying in various applications, including slowly flying. (See Romans 1:20.)

July 31, 2024July 30, 2024

Volcanoes Are a Design Feature of Earth

Planet Earth has roughly 1350 volcanoes and is far and away the most geologically active planet in the solar system. The only astronomical body that is even close to Earth is Io, a moon of Jupiter with more than 400 volcanoes. Io’s volcanoes result from gravitational flexing because it is tidal-locked with Jupiter while being pulled by the gravity of Jupiter’s other moons. Earth, however, has volcanoes because of the movement of tectonic plates. These plates move very slowly and are related to the convection motions of materials from the core of the Earth to its surface. Volcanoes are a design feature of Earth.

The benefits of volcanoes are immense. They bring precious metals to the Earth’s surface from deep within, constantly create land masses in the ocean depths that are now teeming with life, and recycle materials to the Earth’s surface, enriching soils where plants thrive and providing food for animal life. The Hawaiian Islands stand as a classic example of land masses produced by volcanoes, showcasing the positive impact of these geological features on our planet.

The recent eruption of Villarrica in Chile reminds us that volcanoes can be very destructive. In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted, producing 20 feet of ash. What skeptics miss is that people built these cities on lava plateaus, and there were constant warnings that an eruption would occur. Mount St Helens in the United States is an American example of how volcanoes function, and even today, there are warnings of eruptions in various places around the world.

The situation with volcanoes is akin to that of earthquakes. It’s a scientific fact that certain zones on Earth are prone to both volcanoes and earthquakes. Despite this, humans continue to build large structures and settle in areas at risk. Volcanoes, while offering many benefits, can also cause significant damage and even loss of life. We must recognize that volcanoes are a design feature of Earth as we exercise wisdom in choosing where we live and how we prepare for their potential activity.

Reference: apod.nasa.gov for 7/17/24

July 30, 2024July 29, 2024

COVID and Other Disease Outbreaks

The lives of every person reading this discussion were probably touched by COVID-19 in one way or another during the last few years. COVID took the life of my son, so I know the pain and frustration that goes with a loved one dying due to a virus. As of July 2024, there have been a little over seven million confirmed COVID-induced deaths worldwide. What most people are not aware of is that comparing COVID and other disease outbreaks makes the COVID-19 pandemic death toll seem small.

Smallpox was another disease caused by a virus, and thanks to a vaccine, it was completely eradicated by 1980. It is the only human disease to be eradicated, but in the last 100 years of its existence, it took the lives of an estimated 500 million people. Its history goes back further than that because evidence of the disease showed up in Egyptian mummies around 1500 B.C.

Bubonic plague (the black death) was a bacterial disease that killed between 75 and 200 million Europeans from 1347 to 1351. It wiped out over 30-50% of Europe’s population, requiring over 200 years for the population to recover. It probably originated in rats and was spread to the human population by fleas. Since it was a bacterial infection, it can be treated with modern antibiotics.

When we look at COVID and other disease outbreaks, we find that more deaths resulted from the Spanish flu (50 million) and HIV/AIDS (25-35 million). A dozen other bacterial and virus disease outbreaks in history killed more people than COVID-19.

Modern medicine, including antibiotics and especially vaccines, has eliminated the horrible ravages of the bubonic plague and smallpox. Vilifying science and modern medicine is wrong, and so is blaming God. HIV/Aids came about because of human sexual activity with monkeys and spread through the human population by sexual practices inconsistent with God’s design. Other viruses came about through human actions or contact with wild animals.

Most people seek medical help when they are seriously sick. Few people refuse to take a prescription the doctor gives us for a disease or an infection. My son died because a caregiver had declined to take a vaccine, and the group home and workshop where he lived and worked would not allow vaccinations. I would not wish that frustration and pain on anyone else. COVID and other disease outbreaks remind us of the importance of medical science. This is just one more example of God giving us a solution to a problem, and people refuse to accept it.

Data from Discover magazine for June 2020, page 11, and Wikipedia HERE and HERE

July 29, 2024July 28, 2024

Three Basic Questions About Creation

In our day of complicated philosophical questions, politics, and power struggles, it is easy to forget the fundamental questions relating to the existence of God. The evidence for God’s existence is simple and straightforward. There are three basic questions about creation:

#1) Was there a beginning?
Taking the position that matter/energy is eternal flies in the face of all the evidence and violates scientific laws, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

#2) Once we establish that there was a beginning, the next logical question is: What caused this beginning?
To say existence is uncaused means maintaining that something can come from nothing. That is a violation of scientific laws, including the laws of conservation.

#3) If we understand there was a beginning and that it was caused, what or who caused it?
Was the cause blind mechanistic opportunistic chance, or was it Intelligence? If it was Intelligence, there would be a purpose for the creation, and the creation should show order and design. Chance is random and chaotic.

The Bible spells out the purpose of the Intelligence that did the creating. It explains how humans are created in the image of that Intelligence. Our role in the war between good and evil is not hard to understand. Denying the existence of evil is a refusal to look at history. Theologians and philosophers have complicated this simple picture, but the average high school student can understand it.

What we believe about creation and about ourselves has massive consequences. Getting away from the basics has caused division in the various denominations and generated conflict between special interest groups and individuals. This column explores many of the challenges to faith, but the three basic questions about creation should not be a matter of debate. We all need to work to address the challenges of a world rejecting God and setting itself up for tragedy.

July 25, 2024July 23, 2024

Smalltooth Sawfish “Pocket Protector”

An interesting creature lives in the ocean off southern Florida and the Bahamas. The smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) is a member of the ray family with a snout lined with needle-sharp teeth that it can use to cut vegetation or chop up a predator that gets too close. The amazing thing about this fish is that the babies are live-born. The question is how can a baby sawfish avoid cutting up its mother or siblings before birth.

The answer to that question has come from researchers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Charlotte Harbor. They found that the baby sawfish’s teeth are housed in a sheath during its life inside the mother. It’s essentially a second skin that the smalltooth sawfish sheds about four days after birth. The researchers say the sheath feels like paraffin wax, which you can’t peel off, but with a slight give. The chemical composition of the sheath shows that it has two layers made of proteins similar to ordinary skin.

The ocean is full of living things with incredibly complex and specialized designs, enabling them to exist in unique environments. The lead researcher, Gregg Poulakis, said, “It’s a cool thing Mother Nature figured out to protect mom from those calcified teeth and protect siblings from sword fighting in the uterus.” Trying to explain such design by gradual evolution requires intermediate steps leading to the design features we see today. Those intermediate steps do not exist.

Every discovery speaks of an intelligence that filled in ecological niches and survival techniques like what we see in the sawfish. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know God exists through the things He has made. The number of examples of cases like the smalltooth sawfish continues to grow as science learns more about the complexity of the world in which we live.

Reference: Science News magazine for July 13, 2024, page 5 and sciencenews.org

July 24, 2024July 23, 2024

Baobab Trees – Tree of Life

Fossil evidence of ancient trees known as baobabs found in Madagascar shows that they are among Earth’s oldest life forms. This genus, known as Adansonia, has eight species in Madagascar, Africa, and northwest Australia. People call them the “upside down trees” because of their shape. The nickname “tree of life” comes from the fact that they can live for thousands of years and grow to huge sizes.

The fruits of baobab trees are a superfood, and people use their trunks to make fibers for rope or clothing. The baobab’s large white flowers open at dusk, attracting bats as pollinators. The branches of the trees are nesting sites for birds. These trees look very different from modern trees. They have a pyramid shape with a large trunk that stores huge amounts of water and no limbs or leaves except at the top. They might remind you of a giant toadstool, but the shape is ideal for storing water and the safety of bats and birds.

DNA studies show a starting point for baobab trees in Madagascar, tracking their journey on ocean currents to Australia and Africa, where local conditions shaped them into what we see today. Scientific data shows no connection between baobabs and gymnosperms like pine trees and modern trees like oaks and palms.

Attention has been drawn to the fact that baobab trees are so useful that they are being overharvested. Genesis 2:9 tells us that “God made all kinds of trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” The diversity we see in creation speaks of an intelligent purpose for plants, and everywhere we look, we see the benefits plants provide. Baobabs remind us that we live in a very special place, and we must not let greed, ignorance, and selfishness destroy what God has given us.

Reference: BBC News for May 15, 2024, and the journal Nature.

July 22, 2024September 5, 2024

Solar Storm Affected Mars

A massive solar storm affected Mars on May 20, 2024, shortly after it caused impressive auroras on Earth. This latest storm is part of the normal eleven-year cycle of solar maximums, but it is the first time such a storm has occurred while astronomers have the equipment to record its effect.

Xrays and gamma rays, which travel at the speed of light, reached Mars first and were followed minutes later by charged particles. According to NASA, the Curiosity rover at Gale Crater near the Martian equator took pictures showing white streaks resembling snow but were actually charged particles. The radiation from the solar particles was so intense that the star camera aboard the Mars Odyssey orbiter temporarily shut down.

Curiosity rover’s measurements of the radiation reaching Mars’ surface show that an astronaut standing next to the detector would get radiation equal to 30 chest X-rays. Earth has a strong magnetic field to shield it from energized solar particles, but Mars does not. At the same time, the thin Martian atmosphere could not give protection as the solar storm affected Mars.

Planets with a functional atmosphere and located in the Goldilocks Zone, where liquid water on the surface is possible, are rare. All stars go through cycles that pose threats to life on their orbital planets. Mars, a potential target for human visitation and a place where people speculated that life might exist, has received significant attention. This new data from a common solar event suggests that conditions for life to exist are even more challenging than previously thought.

The fact that a solar storm affected Mars is important. It tells us that Earth’s creation and the life on it are the product of intelligence and design, not opportunistic chance. They also tell us we must take care of the Earth because, in reality, there is no other place to go if we mess up this planet.

Reference: CNN Reports on Space Science for June 14, 2024.

July 17, 2024July 16, 2024

Trout Fins Are Designed for Efficient Swimming

Technology has allowed us to see the design of things in the natural world. Dr. Haibo Dong at the University of Virginia has used 3D computer models to study the turbulence created with each fin of a trout. American Scientist magazine states, “Interactions between swirling eddies created by a swimming trout show how its body is optimally laid out for energy-efficient movement.” Trout fins are designed for efficient swimming.

A trout’s body is shaped to swim through the water with less drag than any other shape. However, the role of various fins is not easy to see. Virtually all fish have a dorsal fin on the back and a caudal fin on the tail. Trout have other fins, including pectoral fins near their heads and pelvic fins near the center of their bellies. Toward the back of the trout’s body is a small adipose fin on top and an anal fin on the underside. The researchers have shown that the fin locations increase the thrust the tail produces. The anal fin produces 8.6% more thrust reducing the drag by 18.6%. Trout fins are designed for efficient swimming, or as the researchers conclude, “the whole trout is optimized for efficient swimming.”

Other fish have different fin arrangements to match their survival needs. A tuna living in the open ocean has a different layout of fins because it is designed for speed rather than efficiency. Fish that confine their existence to the bottom of a lake or river will not have the same fin layout as the tuna or the trout. For example, catfish have a fin arrangement designed for protection. Those of us who have grabbed a catfish incorrectly may have suffered a painful jab from its fins. Trout fins are designed for efficient swimming since they make long migrations, swimming upstream and sometimes over waterfalls.

Our technology allows us to understand the various designs seen in living things. Trout fishermen know that catching a trout differs from catching any other fish because of their mobility and muscular nature. Research has shown that the trout’s design shows wisdom right down to the shape and location of its fins. We suggest that this design is the product of a Designer, not just blind opportunistic chance. Genesis 1:21 tells us, “God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems..” Thanks to technology, we understand how over-simplified that statement is.

Reference: “Fins Working Together” in American Scientist magazine for July-August 2024, pages 204-206.

July 11, 2024July 8, 2024

Genetics Dictate Biological Gender

A significant issue in America today is what to do with young people who have decided to change their gender. Without getting into the theological issues, the scientific fact is that a person’s genetics dictate biological gender. Men and women are biologically different.

One of several demonstrations I used in my physics class was to have a boy and a girl stand with their heels against the wall and lean over to pick up something. Another demonstration is to have a man and woman of equal height kneel with their head in their hands and then put their hands behind their backs. Women can do that easily, while a man will fall on his face. This is due to the anatomical makeup of women compared to men. A woman’s pelvis is typically larger than a man’s pelvis. Thus, women tend to have a lower center of gravity. The position of the center of gravity in women is 55% of the total height, while in men it is 57%. Women’s center of gravity is vertically lower than men’s because their bodies are larger in the pelvis, but their shoulders are narrower.

The point of this is that genetics dictate biological gender. Changing your gender does not change the anatomical makeup given to you at birth. In practical terms, what does that mean for young people today?

1) In athletics, the birth gender will dictate the competence in certain sports. You won’t see trans males playing in the NBA. In swimming and track, there will be striking differences in performance with trans females who have a male body.
2) The long-term effect of hormones used to maintain a gender change is unknown, but most medical experts say it will not last for more than a decade, if that. The probability that a trans person will have a shortened life expectancy is very high.
3) Surgical procedures to accommodate trans changes cannot be reversed.
4) Some will use the whole trans agenda to take advantage of others. Allowing a transgender student to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice is going to lead to abuse by typical non-trans teenage students. Boys who want to go into a girl’s restroom and ogle females can do so by simply declaring they are trans.
5) Private colleges will not be able to have dormitories that are only for one sex. This is a massive problem with conservative Christian colleges who, for religious reasons, wish to remain able to offer boys’ dorms and girls’ dorms free of the opposing gender.

A U.S. appeals court rejected the Biden administration’s effort to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that align with their chosen gender. The Biden administration was trying to protect the rights of LGBTQ students, but the question is whether they were violating the rights of non-LGBTQ students.

Genetics dictate biological gender. We suggest that from a Christian apologetics standpoint, the result will be catastrophic whenever humans try to change God’s plan and design for anything. This is just one more example of that.

Reference: “Biden administration loses bid to revive legal protections for LGBTQ students” by Daniel Wiessner on Reuters news service (June 14, 2024).