Re: It's no joke!

Vernon wrote:
>I suppose a rough and ready analogy for the possible destiny of the marrow
>of an intact thigh bone would be that of the meat in an unopened can. In
>respect of this, I note that experts advise one against eating the contents
>if the can's age exceeds 5 years. Whilst chemical reaction between meat and
>metal would, undoubtedly, be an important factor here surely an equivalent
>reaction between marrow and bone must occur in respect of T.Rex? And what of
>the possibility of further degradation by cosmic ray and natural
>radioactivity over such an extended period of time? In formulating a reply,
>it might be wise to remember that there are 14,000,000 lots of 5 years in 70
> My!

My mother is a pack rat, she has some cans that are older
than I am. Granted, I'm not 70 Myrs old, but that
"5 yrs" is just a general rule. Some canned products
like pinapple can start to expand after a few months,
but I'm sure those mashed carrots could easily survive
unchanged for another 70 Myrs henceforth. Canned spinach?
Well, I'm not sure it was ever edible, but it is preserved.

It is possible to leave large crystals of CuSO4 or sitting
in water for more than 15 years with no change. CuSO4 should
normally dissolve in water, but use very large crystals and
carefully add the water and leave
it undisturbed, and an equilibrium will develop between
the solvent and the substrate that remains unchanged.

The same is possible with the dinosaur bones. The internal
interactions can end up in equilibrium.

Moreover, if the dinosaur happened to be buried under
a landslide (without fracturing the bone in question), there
would not be all that much exposure to cosmic radiation
either. I forget how many cosmic muons go through us
every second but it's something like 100. You need
enormous amounts of rock (mountains in fact) to slow
them down enough to get counts on a detector. X-rays
only penetrate the surface.

I'm not saying it's not a lucky find, it most certainly
is. But as with the canning process, it all depends on
how well you preserved the material, what kind of
container it is in (glass, metal), the kind of seal
(rubber, wax, solder) and the conditions the container
and its contents are exposed to. If betting was allowed
for a Christian, I would probably bet that
a good canner (like my mother) with glass jars and wax
sealing could even preserve a four fruit jam for 70 Myrs.
 
By Grace alone we proceed,
Wayne
Received on Wed Mar 30 08:52:54 2005