Index to Creationist Claims,  edited by Mark Isaak,    Copyright © 2004

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Claim CH410:

Response:

1. The gravitational potential energy of the comet must have been converted mostly to heat when the comet fell to earth. This would have raised the temperature of the water past boiling. Any initial kinetic energy of the comet would make the problem worse.
   
   
2. Soroka and Nelson (1983) calculate that the impact of a comet large enough to cause the flood would release about 5 × 10²⁹ joules. For comparison, the energy released in the asteroid impact which likely caused the extinction of the dinosaurs is estimated at 10⁸ megatons, or about 4.2 × 10²³ joules (University of Texas 2000). A comet bringing enough mass to cause a global flood would cause a far greater catastrophe.
   
   
3. Soroka and Nelson (1983) also consider a flood caused by waves large enough to cover the continents. The energy released as the water fell back into the ocean basins, they calculate, would heat the oceans to about 2000 degrees C.

References: