Claim CE281:
The Poynting-Robertson effect causes orbiting particles (on the order of a
centimeter in diameter) to slow and fall inward because solar radiation
falls slightly more on their leading edge, like raindrops on a speeding
car. If the solar system were old, the Poynting-Robertson effect would
have caused all particles above a certain size to spiral into the sun,
removing them from the solar system, but we still find interplanetary dust.
Source:
Brown, Walt, 1995. In the Beginning: Compelling evidence for creation
and the Flood. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Scientific Creation, p. 20, 30.
Response:
- The particles are replenished by disintegrating comets and colliding
asteroids. It takes hundreds of millions of years for the
Poynting-Robertson effect to cause centimeter-sized particles to fall
into the sun, so the replenishment need not be particularly rapid.
- For smaller particles, there is a balance between the
Poynting-Robertson effect and radiation
pressure, thereby
preserving the dust in stable orbits. Gravitational effects of planets
can also keep particles in stable orbits.
Links:
Matson, Dave E., 1994. How good are those young-earth arguments?
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind/howgood-yea.html#proof7
Wong, Michael, 2001. Young-earth creationism: pseudoscience.
http://www.stardestroyer.net/Creationism/YoungEarth/Hartman-5.shtml
Further Reading:
Thompson, Tim, n.d. Is the Earth young?
http://www.tim-thompson.com/young-earth.html
created 2001-2-18, modified 2004-4-17
