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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 118: Jul-Aug 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Song Of The Earth After a major earthquake, the entire earth quivers like a sphere of jelly suspended in space. Already a slightly oblate sphere, the planet becomes successively a bit more oblate, then a bit more prolate, as illustrated. The amplitudes of these deformations are small, just a centimeter or so after big quakes. The tone or frequency of the quivers is just a few millihertz, which translates to periods ranging from 3-54 minutes. We doubt that the telestomping elephants mentioned under BIOLOGY can detect these quiverings. That the earth does indeed "ring" is old news. Geophysicist A.E .H . Love mentioned the possibility in 1911. It is also recognized that large earthquakes can set the earth to ringing (" quivering" is better). What is news is the discovery by N. Suda et al that our planet rings even when no major quakes are occurring, and no one yet knows why. Suda et al write: "The observed "background" free oscillations represent some unknown dynamic process of Earth." Suda and his colleagues detected these oscillations using a superconducting gravimeter, which they installed in a seismically-quiet place: Antarctica. The favorite explanation for the background oscillations is turbulence in the earth's atmosphere. Ocean tides and currents are also on the list as potential "bell-ringers." [El Ninos were not mentioned!] (Suda, Naoki ...
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... for 5.5 million years. Air does leak in through tiny cracks, and water partially fills the cave. What is most remarkable in this sunless, sealed ecosystem is its biodiversity: 48 animal species, including 33 brand-new species. The roster includes isopods, a millipede, a centipede, a water scorpion, and a leech. Of course, bacteria and fungi thrive there, too. In contrast to unsealed caves, where insects, bats, and other sources of food filter in from the surface, life in the Romanian cave seems to derive entirely from hydrogen sulfide present in the cave's rocks. This compound is consumed by microorganisms, which are then grazed by cave occupants higher up the food chain. A NASA scientist has called Movile cave a "Mars analog site." And indeed it might be, for Mars has plenty of rocks and subsurface water. (Skinrud, E.; "Romanian Cave Contains Novel Ecosystem," Science News, 149: 405, 1996) Comments. Fluid-filled cracks and pores extend miles down below the earth's surface. It would be surprising if novel ecosystems do not exist there, too. The ice-sealed Antarctic lakes (see next item under GEOLOGY) may also surprise biologists. As for outer space -- a realm pulsing with energies of many kinds -- we can imagine that matter has assumed many unfamiliar forms, some of which we might call "life." From Science Frontiers #107, SEP-OCT 1996 . 1996-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... many controversies in science, the debates over the origin of the Mima Mounds have been friendly. No one gets overly passionate over bizarre heaps of earth; the Mima Mounds are "fun phenomena." Nevertheless, the biggest of them on the Mima Prairie, near Little Rock, Washington, are very impressive. They are closely-packed, some 6-8 feet high and about 30 feet across. It's kind of eerie walking among them; but they are also fun to ride over in vehicles -- they create a sort of natural roller-coaster effect. There are thousands upon thousands of mounds on the Mima Prairie. Before farmers began leveling them, they stretched for more than 20 miles. If, as some have estimated, they are about 6,000 years old, they were originally twice as high before the elements wore them down. The big question is and always has been: How were these large heaps of churned-up sand, fine gravel, and decayed vegetable matter formed? One has to smile at the dominant theory: pocket! Sure! pocket gophers are bundles of digging energy, but each Mima Mound contains about 100 tons of soil. Multiply that figure by the thousands of mounds, and you begin to wonder about the gopher theory. Also counting against the gophers is the fact that no one has ever found gophers in the mounds, nor has a single gopher bone been found. Now Mima Mounds are found in great numbers in many other locations in North America. South America and Africa also have their "pimpled plains" ...
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... H-bombs. Missing matter . Natural nuclear reactors are finicky. There may be many star-sized, non-luminous objects out there that were never ignited and that we cannot see through our telescopes. (Herndon, J. Marvin; "Examining the Overlooked Implications of Natural Nuclear Reactors," Eos, 79:451, 1998.) Comments. Two additions to Herndon's list. Evolution of terrestrial life . Nuclear reactors produce copious mutagenic radiation. They could have accelerated the evolution of life, especially during the Cambrian Explosion. (See SF#32) Thermal plumes . Deep-seated natural nuclear reactors may create the thermal plumes said to be responsible for such surface hot spots as Iceland and Hawaii. Disposition of six of the Oklo 2-billion-year-old natural nuclear reactors. (From: Anomalies in Geology). From Science Frontiers #121, JAN-FEB 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... -a -whole might be lurching toward other goals or, perhaps, toward nowhere in particular. Enough philosophy! A team of Australian astronomers, led by J.K . Webb, has been trying to determine if the famous fine-structure constant of physics has really remained constant throughout the 12-billion years or so of the universe's history. The fine-structure constant is dimensionless and almost exactly equal to 1/137. (Why 137? That's another question!) Anyway, the Australians got a good fix on the constant's value 2 billion years ago by measuring the composition of the nuclear waste produced by the Olko natural nuclear reactors in Gabon, Africa. It hasn't changed since then. The spectra of distant quasars 7 billion years old also signaled no change. But more-distant and, therefore, supposedly older, gas clouds have suggested that a slightly smaller fine-structure constant held sway then. No known experimental error can account for this difference. "If confirmed, would Webb's findings eventually be explained by a deeper theory, vindicating physicists' faith in a uniform nature? Or would they mean that we live in a frighteningly arbitrary and variegated cosmos, where huge swathes of space abide by alien principles?" (Musser, George; "Inconstant Constants," Scientific American, 279:24, November 1998.) Comment. Even as we write, some distant part of the cosmos may be coming into estrus for life-as-we-do-not-knowit. See SF# ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 109: Jan-Feb 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Nodoroc "Buried behind Phil Chandler's farm three miles east of Winder [Georgia], underneath some scrawny trees and unearthly black mud, is a mystery or terror perhaps thousands of years old. .. .. . "' It's real dangerous,' said Fred Ingram, former director of the Barrow County Historical Society. "If you step off in some of that soupy mess, you're gone.' "Before the Harrises drained and worked the land, the area was more than a geographical oddity. It was a sinister place with a reputation among American Indians and early settlers as a burning lake of fire. "' The Indians called it Nodoroc,' said Mr. Chandler, leading a recent tour along the edges of the pit, 'But what they meant was Hell.' "Although few signs remain today, the area was once a bubbly cauldron, a mud volcano from which a steady stream of foul gases ignited into an eerie plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles, according to numerous accounts from white settlers and Creek Indians inhabiting the area in the late 1700s. .. .. . "The Nodoroc slowly declined in intensity, and one day in the mid1800s it blew up in an awesome explosion of mud and heat and expired." (Stenger, Richard; "Histories of Area Describe Terror," Augusta Chronicle, June 11, 1996 ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 110: Mar-Apr 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Cracks In The Kaimanawa-wall Story?It was bound to happen. The publicity accorded the Kaimanawa Wall by New Zealand newspapers (SF#107) stimulated the scientific community to take a close look at the controversial "wall." The New Zealand Department of Conservation asked geologist P. Wood for his assessment. "He identified the rock as the 330,000-year-old Rangitaiki Ignimbrite. Following the line of blocks both horizontally and vertically, and photographing them in series, he revealed a system of joints and fractures natural to the cooling process in ignimbrite sheets. What Brailsford [see SF#107] had taken to be manmade cut, stacked blocks were no more than a type of natural rock formation." P. Andrews, the author of this article likened the regular jointing of the "wall" to neatly hexagonal prisms seen in many basalt flows. He supplied two photographs of the "wall." One was like the photo in SF#107 and showed regular joints; the second, from the same outcrop, displayed angled fractures and joints that certainly do not look like the work of humans. (Andrews, Philip; "New Zealand: Recent Ash, Ancient Wall," Geology Today , p. 136, July-August 1996. Cr. R.E . Molnar) Comments. If we receive counter-arguments from proponents of the wall's artificiality, we will add ...
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... a shallow pit was pecked out of the granite before drilling began, and the constricted tips show that the first 3/4 inch of the drill bit was of a smaller diameter, perhaps to give it greater penetrating power so that the holes could be started more easily. The smaller "pilot" holes were also trianguloid in cross section." (Anonymous; personal communication, May 27, 1997.) Comment. In SF#69, it was proposed that the triangular holes were made in that shape so that wooden shafts, also of triangular cross section, could be inserted, given a quarter turn, thereby wedging the shaft firmly in place. This idea is behind the speculation that these strange boulders are really ancient "mooring stones." In truth no one really knows how old they are and what their purpose was. The final explanation may be mundane and/or trivial. Reference. The Handbook Ancient Man, mentioned above, presents a wide spectrum of archeological anomalies. For a description, visit here . "Trianguloid" holes drilled in a granite boulder as photographed from 10 feet. Scale length: 13 inches. From Science Frontiers #113, SEP-OCT 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 113: Sep-Oct 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Where do all good deleted data go?It takes just a touch of a button to consign once-valued words and figures to virtual oblivion. If you think this is cruel and heartless, a Buddhist monk in Japan has established a virtual Information Temple. S. Ishiko, the chief priest, will take applications to have memorial services performed for not only deleted data (whether intentional or not) but also "lost" data. He also offers spiritual counseling at his Internet site: http://www.thezen.or.jp (Anonymous; "Feedback," New Scientist, p. 104, June 7, 1997.) From Science Frontiers #113, SEP-OCT 1997 . 1997-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 151: Jan - Feb 2004 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology 7,000-year-old circles in Modern Crop Fields Fingers Lost and Found Astronomy Not Enough TNOs (Trans-Neptunian Objects = KBOs Kuiper-Belt Objects) Was the Big Bang Dodecahedral? Biology Thickening the Ocean's Biomass Sponging on Sponges What else is Meant to Be? Geology Building a Fire with Wood 45 Million Years old The Shrinking of Chicxulub Geophysics The Deadliest Forest Fire in American History The Yellowstone-Lake Bulge Want Big Waves for Surfing? Forget Hawaii and Australia! Anomalous Auroral Flashes Psychology Why Sleep? If we must Sleep, Why must we Dream too? Chemistry Lab-made Microfossils ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 148: Jul-Aug 2003 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Who or What Exterminates the Pleistocene Megafauna? Illinois's Ancient Maginot Line A Cold Barrier to Internal Parasites Astronomy Are there no other Earths out there? Where's the Fuzz? Biology Snakes Aloft Woman's Barr Bodies The Eyes have it A Major Problem for Darwinism Geology Why are old Mountains High? Subterranean Ecosystems Geophysics Milky-sea Phenomenon Is the Min Min Light a Fata Morgana (mirage)? Pre-Quake Anomalies Psychology Correlations of Brain Activity Physics A Revolution in Electrostatics Mathematics Ordering a Piece of Pi Prime Squares ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 158: Mar - Apr 2005 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Untranslatable Mohenjo-Daro Script? A very Early Compound Machine Khufu's Secret Burial Chamber: A Phony Discovery? Astronomy Allez Allez Old Galaxies in a Young Universe Biology Do Dolphins Sense the Coriolis Force? Disappearing Animals Wayward DNA: Does it Affect the Shapes of Family Trees? Geology Bermuda Triangles in the Desert! Plate-techtonics 'theory' is slowly and inevitably Dyning Geophysics Hum Update Psychology Motherese: A precursor of Human Language? Unclassified Multimedia Communications in the Cosmos Computer Bacteria ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 153: May - Jun 2004 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology 5,500-year-old Clusters of Stone Pillars Rock Art and Rock Music Bog Butters Astronomy Parallel Double Meteor Trails Martian Bunnies? Inflation Inflated Biology Genome Fusion in Radically Different Species Animal Fasting in the Wild Nanotubular "Highways" Connect and Trap Cells Geology Hydroplaning in Geology Sand Dunes Invisible at Ground Level Another "Cookie-Cutter" Event Geophysics Will-O -The-Wisps Sicilian Sparks Psychology A Strange Property of Hyperlexia Chemistry The Darwinian Breeding of Nanostructures One "Pathological Science" May Not Be So Sick After All! ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 149: Sep-Oct 2003 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Stringware Old Viking Bones Lied Astronomy A Bridge too Faint The Dark Side of Cosmology Biology The Sweet Sex The Seventh-Story Paradox Great Walls make Divergent Neighbors Liver Delivery Life's Lethal Quality Control? Life's Biochemical Enforcers Geology Natural Ground Patterns on Two Planets What Caused a Global Planation Event? Geophysics Strange Object Observered during Thunderstorm Giant Electrical Jets Flash up into Ionosphere Horizon-to-Horizon Bioluminescent Bands Psychology When Coming Events cast Psychic Shadows before them Sleight of Hand Physics More Light at the end of the Tunnel ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 40: Jul-Aug 1985 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects STANDING-STONE CLUSTER IN EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS "Driving up the roadway into LeBlanc Park in February 1984, I saw a sight I had not seen since my travels in the British Isles. Situated on a mound was a cluster of weathered megalithic stones. I was filled with disbelief -- it just couldn't be -- someone was having fun with my senses; Western Europe, yes, but here, in Massachusetts, no. The reality of the scene before me was very difficult to focus on, the parallel with sites I had seen in Scotland and Ireland was astonishing." Thus wrote James P. Whittall, II, when describing a group of standing stones on a mound called Druid Hill, at Lowell, Massachusetts. The mound itself is 112 feet long by 56 feet wide. The stones are separated into two groups as shown. Since the site is near a highly populated area, it has seen some disturbance, and some stones have been moved. There is no historical record of the site's construction; the stones may have been there for centuries. Neither has there been any archeological investigation or site dating. Obviously, much more research must be done before we can get a clear idea as to who the builders were. Despite its close resemblance to European standing-stone complexes, the Lowell cluster could be a recent construction -- an intentional replica of European sites. Note that it is ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 84: Nov-Dec 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects THE "AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS" CONFERENCE Tennessee Bat Creek stone with supposed Hebrew characters Last summer, the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA) organized a meeting of off-mainstream archeologists at Brown University. As readers of Science Frontiers have long been aware, the New World was not new to many ancient voyagers. A review of the Conference in the New York Times gave wide exposure to some of these controverted pre-Columbian contacts: 5000-year-old pottery found in coastal Peru bears an uncanny resemblance to pottery made in Japan during the same period. How could the Japanese have reached Peru circa 3000 BC? Easy! Storms could have blown fishermen into the trans-Pacific current. (See "Current Treads" item under GEOPHYSICS.) The Zuni Indians of New Mexico may have been influenced by Japanese voyagers in the Thirteenth Century, as suggested by their distinctive blood chemistry, language, and culture. 700-year-old temple art from India reveals detailed depictions of ears of corn, which was supposedly unknown outside the Americas until after Columbus. Jewish refugees from the Roman Empire may have somehow reached eastern Tennessee, if the famous Bat Creek Stone really bears an ancient Hebrew inscription. The grave in which the stone was found has been carbon-dated between 32 and 769 AD. (Wilford, John Noble; "Case for Other Pre-Columbian Voyagers," New York Times , July 7, 1992 ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 84: Nov-Dec 1992 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects THE WOMAN WHO COULDN'T DESCRIBE ANIMALS The astounding complexity of the human brain was underscored recently by a 70-year-old woman, who could describe anything she saw except animals. The woman had an immune-system disorder that had damaged a small portion of her brain's temporal lobe. Her other mental faculties were intact. "The woman could name plants, foods, and inanimate objects and describe them without hesitation. The scientists were impressed that when shown a trellis, not exactly your everyday object, she could correctly name it and describe its cross-hatched geometry. "But when shown a squirrel or a dog, she froze. She couldn't find the right name for either, nor could she describe their size or shape or furry coats. "Her deficit, involving only a tiny portion of her language skills, was amazingly narrow." (Bor, Jonathan; "The Woman Who Couldn't Describe Animals," Baltimore Sun, p. A1, September 7, 1992.) The implications of this strange case were described in Science News: "The peculiar inability of a 70-yearold woman to name animals has led scientists to propose that the brain harbors separate knowledge systems, one visual, the other verbal or language-based, for different categories of living and inanimate things, such as animals and household objects." (Bower, B.; "Clues to ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 4: July 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Stone Alignments In Subsaharan Africa Megalithic sites are found everywhere; many were apparently used for calendar reckoning. Although numerous megalithic circles and other arrangements are known in Africa, particularly Ethiopia, astronomy does not seem to have been a primary objective of African sites. Now, however, a stone alignment in northwestern Kenya called Namoratunga has been found with unmistakable astronomical overtones. At Namoratunga, 19 large basalt pillars are arranged in rows forming a suggestive pattern. Since the site is dated at approximately 300 B.C ., archeologists have taken sightings on seven prominent stars as they would have appeared during this period. (The azimuths of some of these stars had changed by as much as 12 in 2,200 years.) The stars chosen are those employed by Eastern Cushites, the present inhabitants of the region, in calculating their rather sophisticated calendar. Pairs and frequently triads of these pillars line up very accurately (to less than 1 ) with the seven key stars. The people occupying this part of Kenya about 300 B.C ., therefore, probably possessed detailed astronomical information. (Lynch, B.M ., and Robbins, L.H .; "Namoratunga: The First Archaeoastronomical Evidence in Sub-Saharan Africa," Science, 200:766, 1978.) Comment. This astronomical sophistication is consistent with the celestial knowledge of the Dogon tribe mentioned in the controversial book: The Sirius Mystery. For more on African ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 1: September 1977 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Addiction To Placebos A 38-year-old married schizophrenic was in psychotherapy for severe depression and multiple suicide attempts. She was addicted to methylphenidate, taking 25 to 35 10-mg pills per day. She was incredibly adept at persuading pharmacists to refill old prescriptions. With the help of her husband and a drug company, placebos were gradually substituted for the real pills to the point where only two real pills and 25-30 placebos were taken each day. The patient never noticed, indicating that the placebos satisfied the patient's real need-- something to fill an inner void. (Muntz, Ira; "A Note on the Addictive Personality: Addiction to Placebos." American Journal of Psychiatry, 134: 327, 1977.) From Science Frontiers #1 , September 1977 . 1977-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Stone Enigmas Of New England Beginning with the maze of walls, courtyards, and chambers that characterize New Hampshire's Mystery Hill site, M.F . Doran and B.H . Kunnecke review the various types of anomalous stone structures found in northeastern North America. Three major classes are recognized: Covered passageways up to 25 feet in length and analogous to Cornish fogous. Beehive chambers, such as the 10-foot-high chamber at Upton, Massachusetts. Dolmen-like constructions, as exemplified by the 60-ton "balancing boulder at North Salem, New York. Termed a "glacial erratic" by most, the North Salem stone seems distinctly unlike most erratics and more like some European dolmens. Noting that radiocarbon dates from Mystery Hill go back to more than 1,000 B.C ., Doran and Kunnecke feels that these stone enigmas should receive professional attention in the context of world distributions of blood groups and other evidence of early, frequent transoceanic contacts. (Doran, Michael F., and Kunnecke, Bernd H.; "The Stone Enigmas of New England," Anthropological Journal of Canada, 15:17, No. 2: January 1978 Reference. Many more "stone engimas" are detailed in Ancient Man. This Handbook is described here . From Science Frontiers #2 , January 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 2: January 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Will radiohalos in coalified wood upset geological clocks?In some coalified wood, uranium-rich solutions have deposited radioactive particles that subsequently decay and create little rings (halos) that can be seen under high magnification. The ra-dii of the rings depend upon the energies of the particles emitted by the radioactive elements. Each type of radioactive decay has a specific half-life. Thus, the patterns of radiohalos help measure the age of coalified wood. A challenge to geology arises because the radiohalos in coalified wood from Jurassic and Triassic formations, supposedly millions of years old, suggest ages of only a few thousand years. (Connor, Steven J.; "Radiohalos in Coalified Wood: New Evidence for a Young Earth," Creation Research Society Quarterly, 14:101, 1977.) From Science Frontiers #2 , January 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... No. 3: April 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Stone Circles In Saudi Arabia Enigmatic circular stone formations reminiscent of those in Europe are found on remote hilltops and valleys throughout Saudi Arabia. The rings are 5 to 100 meters in diameter and are surrounded by stone walls a foot or two tall. Some of the rings have "tails" that stretch out for hundreds of meters. From the air, the patterns have a striking resemblance to designs etched in Peru's Nazca plateau. Little is known about the circles and virtually nothing about their purpose. (Anonymous; "Saudis Seek Experts to Solve a Desert Mystery," Kayhan International, p. 7, January 1, 1978.) Reference. Additional African megalithic sites are described in Ancient Man. This Handbook is described here . From Science Frontiers #3 , April 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... limestone of shallow-water origin from the submerged mountain tops, but the Alvin explorations resulted in the first eye-witness accounts of dead coral (which grows only near the surface) and rock samples containing strands of dead algae that grows only within 100 meters of the surface. The New England Seamounts have therefore either subsided on the order of a kilometer since Eocene times or sealevel has altered drastically. The Alvin dives also discovered a series of very striking and perplexing buttes obviously the results of erosion (see drawing on cover). The buttes are apparently composed of volcanic rock and are only a few meters high. Some unexplained, extremely vesicular (holefilled) rocks seen on the sea floor during the dives seem to be identical to samples occasionally dredged up and formerly classified as cinders jettisoned from old steamships. The underwater surveys suggested that these "cinders" have a natural (still mysterious) origin. (Heirtzler, J.R ., et al; "A Visit to the New England Seamounts," American Scientist, 65:466, 1977.) Reference. Guyots pose several enigmas, see ETH1 in our Catalog: Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds. Ordering information may be found here . From Science Frontiers #1 , September 1977 . 1977-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... 1: September 1977 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Ancient Iberian Jars Recovered Off Maine Coast While skindiving in the Bay of Castine in 1971, Norman Bakeman discovered two peculiar ceramic storage jars in 12 meters of water. These jars were recovered and have since been compared to Portugese "anforetas" used during the Roman period for the storage of wine, oil, honey, etc. A similar anforeta as also been recovered in Jonesboro, Maine. The clay paste and grit of the Maine jars closely resemble those used in Iberia almost 2,000 years ago. The possibility that these containers might be Spanish olive jars circa 1800 is also discussed. (Whittall, James P., II; "Anforetas Recovered in Maine," Early Sites Research Society, Bulletin, 5:1 , 1977.) Reference. These anforetas and other anomalous artifacts are cataloged in our Handbook: Ancient Man. Book details here . From Science Frontiers #1 , September 1977 . 1977-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 22: Jul-Aug 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Old hannah's explosions December 10, 1899. Staffordshire, Eng land, near Old Hannah's Cave. Two men heard explosions like rifle shots. "Realizing that no one was shooting, they looked up the cliff and witnessed an explosion which emitted a flash from a hole or fissure in the upper part of the cliff. This had a bluish column 'not of steam or fire or smoke, but apparently of aqueous vapour,' which travelled with immense force across the valley (approximately 12 m wide). Within minutes another discharge from higher up the cliff and then 'several ones with crackling sounds producing semi-transparent wavy streaks in the air, not smokey in appearance.' Next came a very loud explosion which 'we had the good fortune to see plainly.' Wardle describes this as 'like a gun but with crackling, a series of continuous reports, cleaving the air in a zigzag or riverlike course in a narrow band about 15 cm to 20 cm broad, of bluish colour." Several other reliable descriptions exist of detonations and flame-like discharges around old Hannah's Cave. The supposition is that natural gases liberated by decaying organic material and, perhaps, geochemical reactions are ignited by static electricity. A recent landslip seems to have extinguished this curious phenomenon. (Pounder, Colin; "Speculations on Natural Explosions at Old Hannah's Cave, Staffordshire, England," National ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 24: Nov-Dec 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Calico Site Revisited The following abstract deals with the purported crude stone tools found at the controversial Calico site in California. "Continuation of the Calico investigation, both in the field and laboratory, has conclusively established the presence of Early Man, through the demonstration of numerous tools in several categories, as proven by a number of significant traits or attributes familiar to archaeologists. Microscopic examination reveals use-wear patterns. Uranium-thorium tests yield a date of 200,000 20,000 years for the artifacts." (Simpson, Ruth D.; "Updating the Early Man Calico Site, California," Anthropological Journal of Canada, 20:8 , no. 2, 1982.) Comment. Evidence or no evidence, the archeological community is not yet ready to believe 200,000 years! Reference. For more on Calico and other purported sites of ancient humans, see our Handbook: Ancient Man, which is described here . From Science Frontiers #24, NOV-DEC 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 8: Fall 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Old tektites in young sediments?A curious little geological debate now going on concerns the Australian tektites. The age of formation for these tektites, as determined by both fissiontrack and potassium-argon dating lies between 700,000 and 860,000 years. Geological evidence, however, suggests that the tektites fell only 7,000 to 20,000 years ago -- a substantial discrepancy. Surely, say some, these old tektites were washed out of some equally old deposits and transported to the young strata where they now reside. Not so, say Australian geologists, because most of these tektites are found in areas devoid of outcroppings 700,000 years old. Furthermore, the rather fragile tektites show little signs of wear, as they should if transported by flood waters for long distances. These and other geological facts militate against the 700,000-year date. Geologists have questioned the two dating techniques, while geophysicists think the geological evidence is shaky. (Chalmers, R.O ., et al; "Australian Microtektites and the Stratigraphic Age of the Australites," Geological Society of America, Bulletin, 90:508, 1979.) Comment. It is important to resolve this issue because the dating methods employed are crucial to the now-dominant theory of plate tectonics. In particular, the 700,000-year figure seems to represent a major crisis in biological and geological history. Reference. We expand on the ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 18: Nov-Dec 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A CELTIC FRONTIER SITE IN COLORADO?In 1980, P.M . Leonard and J.L . Glenn, from the Hogle Zoological Gardens, Salt Lake City, visited a rock outcropping in Colorado that was reputed to be inscribed with 'peculiar markings.' The markings were peculiar all right, for Leonard and Glenn believe they are excellent examples of Consainne Ogam writing, a type ascribed to ancient Celts. Translation by B. Fell suggests that the Colorado site was a shelter for Celtic travelers long before Columbus! One of the many inscriptions was translated as: "Route Guide: To the west is the frontier town with standing stones as boundary markers." (Leonard, Phillip M., and Glenn, James L.; "A Celtic Frontier Site in Colorado," Epigraphic Society, Occasional Papers, vol. 9, no. 223, 1981.) Comment. Although the Colorado Ogam cannot be written off as plow scratches, as it is in the eastern states, one should be aware of the highly controversial nature of these claims for Ogam writing in North America. From Science Frontiers #18, NOV-DEC 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... walls. Hundreds of sites with tumuli also dot the area. One of the pillar-circle sites boasts all of 50 individual pillar circles. Some of the pillars are topped with cupules, raised discs, or balls. The fanciest pillars are V- or Y-shaped with crossbars. Archeological exploration of these impressive sites is incomplete. Preliminary dating makes the Senegambian Complex over 1,000 years old. The functions of this vast array of megalithic sites is unknown, although it is not obviously astronomical. (Hill, Matthew H.; "The Senegambian Monument Complex: Current Status and Prospects for Research," in Megaliths to Medicine Wheels: Boulder Structures in Archaeology, Michael Wilson, et al, eds., Calgary, 1981, p. 419.) Reference. Much more ... s thoughts usually turn to Britain and Brittany, forgetting that North Africa is covered with them. M.H . Hill sketches out in this paper the full extent of the great tract of megalithic remains on the Atlantic coast of Africa near Cape Verde, which he calls the Senegambian Monument Complex because it sits astride both Senegal and Gambia. An archeological inventory of the region discloses 212 pillar-circle sites and 251 "tombelles," which are stone cairns or heaps often surrounded by ring-like stone walls. Hundreds of sites with tumuli also dot the area. One of the pillar-circle sites boasts all of 50 individual pillar circles. Some of the pillars are topped with cupules, raised discs, or balls. The fanciest pillars are V- or Y-shaped with crossbars. ...
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... Beds containing human artifacts at Valsequillo, Mexico, have been dated at approximately 250,000 years before the present by fission-track dating of volcanic material and uranium dating of a camel pelvis. The dilemma posed by such dates is clearly stated in the following quotation from the conclusions of the subject article. "The evidence outlined here consistently indicates that the Hueyatlaco site is about 250,000 yr old. We who have worked on geological aspects of the Valsequillo area are painfully aware that so great an age poses an archeological dilemma. If the geological dating is correct, sophisticated stone tools were used at Valsequillo long before analogous tools are though to have been developed in Europe and Asia. Thus, our colleague, Cynthia Irwin-Williams, has criticized the dating methods we have used, and ... Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Hueyatlaco Dilemma Beds containing human artifacts at Valsequillo, Mexico, have been dated at approximately 250,000 years before the present by fission-track dating of volcanic material and uranium dating of a camel pelvis. The dilemma posed by such dates is clearly stated in the following quotation from the conclusions of the subject article. "The evidence outlined here consistently indicates that the Hueyatlaco site is about 250,000 yr old. We who have worked on geological aspects of the Valsequillo area are painfully aware that so great an age poses an archeological dilemma. If the geological dating is correct, sophisticated stone tools were used at Valsequillo long before analogous tools are though to have been developed in Europe and Asia. Thus, our colleague, Cynthia Irwin-Williams, has criticized the ...
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... of man took place in Africa. This suggestion results from the unusual abundance of fossil material in Africa that is quite ancient in comparison with what is known elsewhere. The theory of an African origin has influenced the interpretation of the age of some non-African archaeologial sites. A case in point is the 'Ubeidiya locality in Israel, which is generally considered to be about 700,000 yr old because it has been assumed by a few that the associated Early Acheulian tool industry, and the persons who used it, would have taken considerable time to disperse from Olduvai Gorge to this non-African site in Israel. Here we evaluate fossil mammals from 'Ubeidiya, which are stratigraphically and directly associated with Early Acheulian artifacts, and find no substantial reason for considering the locality younger than 2Myr ... not man's origin!The following abstract is from a 1982 paper in Nature. "It has been suggested that the evolution of man took place in Africa. This suggestion results from the unusual abundance of fossil material in Africa that is quite ancient in comparison with what is known elsewhere. The theory of an African origin has influenced the interpretation of the age of some non-African archaeologial sites. A case in point is the 'Ubeidiya locality in Israel, which is generally considered to be about 700,000 yr old because it has been assumed by a few that the associated Early Acheulian tool industry, and the persons who used it, would have taken considerable time to disperse from Olduvai Gorge to this non-African site in Israel. Here we evaluate fossil mammals from ' ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 5: November 1978 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A 6,000-YEAR-OLD STRUCTURE IN SCOTLAND Timber fragments from a building 78 feet long, 39 feet wide, and 30 feet high, have been radiocarbon-dated at 4,000 B.C . The size and method of construction of this ancient building on the edge of the Scottish river Dee indicate a high level of civilization 1,000 years before Stonehenge. At the same time civilization was supposed to be getting its start in the Middle East, the precocious Scots were evidently constructing large wooden structures, cultivating barley, and probably tending domesticated farm animals. (Anonymous; "An Epic Find," Time, p. 64. June 26, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #5 , November 1978 . 1978-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 17: Fall 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Were the british megaliths built as scientific instruments?Alexander Thom and his son have meticulously surveyed nearly 100 megalithic sites in Britain and nearby Europe. Archeologists generally applaud the Thoms' careful work but vehemently attack their conclusions. The Thoms see in their surveys evidence that the early Britons built megalithic astronomical instruments with scientific capabilities far beyond their needs for calendar-keeping. Actually, they suggest that these "primitive" people built a society so strong that it could devote time and labor to a program of astronomical research generations in extent. In short, they were precociously bright and socially strong; so much so that they could indulge their scientific desires. The Thoms' prehistoric scenario departs radically from that of the current archeological establishment, which has searched for flaws in the Thoms' work. Naturally, some defects have emerged. Clive Ruggles, the author of the present article, is one of the skeptics. He feels that the megalithic sites are impressive and intriguing but not the work of mental giants. After all, Ruggles says, 72 points of the compass have some lunar significance. Almost any circle of stones built for simple ritual purposes would have some significant lunar alignments! (Ruggles, Clive; "Prehistoric Astronomy: How Far Did It Go?" New Scientist, 90: 750, 1981.) Comment. The kind of statistical argument reminds one of those monkeys who will eventually type out the works of Shakespeare. Presumably, the ...
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... . This cairn site, called the Yuha burial site, possesses no other datable characteristics. On the other hand, many other California burial cairns (the California desert is amply provided with them) have been dated only from 5,000 B.P . to historic times. In this context, Wilke maintains that it is easier to believe that the Yuha bones are merely 5,000 years old, and that the problem is actually in the dating. (Wilke, Philip J.; "Cairn Burials of the California Deserts," American Antiquity, 43:444, 1978.) Comment. Such reasoning is the typical reaction when data contradict prevailing hypotheses -- and sometimes it is correct. From Science Frontiers #7 , June 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ... . The caliche has been dated at more than 21,000 B.P . by radiocarbon methods and 19,000 B.P . by thorium methods -- ages much too large for conventional archeological histories of the Southwest. P.J . Wilke objects that only the age of the soil caliche has been measured and that the bones and their burial may be much younger. This cairn site, called the Yuha burial site, possesses no other datable characteristics. On the other hand, many other California burial cairns (the California desert is amply provided with them) have been dated only from 5,000 B.P . to historic times. In this context, Wilke maintains that it is easier to believe that the Yuha bones are merely 5,000 years old, and ...
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... Project Sourcebook Subjects Ancient camp found 40 feet below colorado surface Outside Fort Morgan, Colorado, workmen digging pits for a landfill uncovered a prehistoric campsite 40 feet under the sandy bed of an ancient stream. The diggers found bones, worked flints, and burnt stones arranged in a ring. Excavations were stopped when the importance of the site became obvious. Estimates of the campsite's age were as old as 30,000 years -- a figure that would have been heresy a decade or two ago. (Anonymous; "Ancient Camp Unearthed at Colo. Landfill," Baltimore Sun, December 14, 1980. AP dispatch.) From Science Frontiers #14, Winter 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 11: Summer 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects More Huge Terrestrial Rings In 1978, J.M . Saul reported the discovery of hundreds of large terrestrial ring structures, many of them tens of kilometers in diameter. Around the rims were concentrated metal ores. Saul surmised that episodes of meteor bombardment about 4 billion years ago created these nearly perfect circles. Unfortunately for this theory, little of the earth's surface is 4 billion years old! Now, a new population of circular structures 8-20 km across have been recognized in New Zealand, where the surface is dated at 100-320 million years. How could 4-billion-year-old meteor craters make themselves felt through all the layes of sediment? One possibility is that the rings are not meteoric but diapiric; that is, expressions of upwelling magma from inside the earth itself. (Hawkes, Donald D.; "More Strange Circles on Earth," Open Earth, no. 7, p. 19, February 1980.) Comment. The orphans in the preceding item may have been forced up from the interior, too. Could the lunar craters have originated in this fashion? Reference. To read more about these huge "mineral" rings, consult Section ETC2 in our Catalog: Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds, which is described here . From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 11: Summer 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Bering Strait Theory Again In Trouble If humans first populated North America via the Bering land bridge 10-20,000 years ago, how did human bones and artifacts get buried under a 50,000-year-old alluvial fan in California? Dogma demands that such finds be discredited. Thus, "Pleistocene Man at San Diego," the Calaveras Skull, and dozens of other archeological anomalies have been dismissed as the hoaxes and misidentifications of nonprofessionals. The latest hint of truly ancient man in America came after heavy rains in 1976 cut through 21 meters of deposits at Yuha Pinto Wash, just north of the Mexican border in California. The artifacts, still firmly in place, and associated bones are undeniably human. The overlying sediments are dated at more than 50,000 years old. (Childers, W. Morlin, and Minshall, Herbert L.; "Evidence of Early Man Exposed at Yuha Pinto Wash," American Antiquity, 45:297, 1980.) Reference. More evidence against the Bering land bridge hypothesis may be found in Ancient Man. This Handbook is described here . From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 7: June 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Rameses Ii Hooked On Tobacco French scientists examining the stomach of the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II found fragments of tobacco leaves. Further analysis of the 3,200-year-old mummy indicated the presence of nicotine in the body. Conventional wisdom has it that tobacco was unknown in the Old World until the Spanish brought it back from the Americas in the Sixteenth Century. (Anonymous; "Tobacco in Egypt," Anthropological Journal of Canada, 16:10, 1978.) From Science Frontiers #7 , June 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... them to be bright like Saturn's . Yet, they reflect less light than the blackest coal dust. T.C . Van Flandern proposes that each ring is actually a single satellite, so small that we cannot see it, and that it sheds gases as it orbits. This small solid body would make the celestial mechanics people happy, and the gases would be invisible to the eye but still absorb light, making the ring of gases detectable when Uranus occults a star. (Van Flandern, Thomas C.; "Rings of Uranus: Invisible and Impossible?" Science, 204:1076, 1979.) Comment. An alternative explanation is that the rings are recently acquired and will soon disappear. An 1847 observation of a ring around Uranus exists, but a datum this old carries little weight. See our Catalog: The Moon and the Planets for this old sighting. This book is described here . From Science Frontiers #8 , Fall 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 8: Fall 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Are the sun's fires going out?After reviewing solar maeasurements from the last 200 years, Jack Eddy, of the Smithsonian Observatory, has concluded that the sun's diameter shrinks by about 10 kilometers per year. This observation fits nicely with the ten-year-old enigma of missing solar neutrinos. A shrinking diameter implies a cooling sun, while the paucity of neutrinos suggests that the sun's nuclear fires are at a low ebb. Something similar may have happened in the 17th. Century when the so-called Little Ice Age prevailed. (Anonymous; "Scientists Shrink from Smaller Sun," New Scientist, 82:982, 1979.) From Science Frontiers #8 , Fall 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 9: Winter 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The Ancient Dispersal Of Useful Plants George F. Carter, a noted geographer, summarizes the botanical evidence for early transoceanic voyages. Domestic cotton. Thousands of years old in the Americas; believed to be a hybrid between New World wild cotton and species from southwest Africa. Bottle gourds. Of African origin but known in Peru about 11,000 years ago; dispersible by ocean currents but appeared in Peru only after humans learned how to navigate on the oceans. Sweet potatoes. A New World plant that has been known in Polynesia for at least 500 years; but the South American name for the sweet potato (kumara) turns out to be a Sanskrit word from India, which is most perplexing. Coconuts. Arrived in the Americas from the Indian Ocean region via Polynesia; can be dispersed by ocean currents, but this long eastward voyage would have been counter to many currents. Peanuts. Well-established on the Peruvian coast thousands of years ago, but the same variety was known in preShang China before 1500 BC. (Carter, George F.; "Kilmer's Law: Plant Evidence of Early Voyages," Oceans, 12:8 , 1979.) Reference. Our Handbook Ancient Man contains much more evidence for Precolumbian contacts with the New World. Information on this large volume is located at: here . From Science Frontiers #9 , Winter 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 10: Spring 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Double hubble: age in trouble A key concept in modern astronomy -- the distance scale -- has been challenged by a new measurement technique. In recent years, the so-called Hubble Constant has been used to determine the distances of the farthest observable galaxies and, by assuming that they are near the periphery of the expanding universe, obtaining the age of the cosmos by dividing distance by the speed of light. Until this current challenge, the age of the universe was generally taken as about 20 billion years. The "old" Hubble Constant, however, was determined from the measurements of the distances to rather close galaxies and then assuming that the Constant thus derived held for the entire universe. The new yardstick reaches farther out into space. It is based upon the observation that the broadening of galaxy's 21-centimeter radio emission depends upon its rate of rotation, plus the belief that the rate of rotation is proportional to its brightness! This "new" Hubble Constant is 95 kilometers/second/ megaparsec, which translates into an age of only 10 billion years for the universe. Both the 10-billion-year and 20billion-year camps claim strong supporting evidence for themselves and also point to serious difficulties in the opposing method. The stage is thus set for a delightful controversy. (Hartline, Beverly Karplus; "Double Hubble: Age in Trouble," Science, 207: 167, 1979.) ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 11: Summer 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects United By An Invisible Cord The largest study of separately raised identical twins has discovered incredible similarities among twins who never set eyes on each other before. There are difference, too, but not as many as expected by psychologists who hold that we are shaped primarily by our environments. Only a few of the astounding (and strange) similarities can be recounted here. Two 39-year-old twins, meeting for the first time, were both wearing seven rings each, two bracelets on one wrist, a watch and one bracelet on the other wrist. Two men both had dogs named Toy, had married and divorced women named Linda, remarried women named Betty, and named their sons James Allan and James Alan. Two other males had similar medical histories: hemorrhoids, same pulse rates and blood pressures, same sleep patterns. Both had put on 10 pounds at the same times in their lives. (Holden, Constance; "Identical Twins Reared Apart," Science, 207:323, 1980.) From Science Frontiers #11, Summer 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 12: Fall 1980 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Little big bangs!The photographic enhancement of plates taken by the UK Schmidt and Anglo-Australian telescopes has revealed that several normal elliptical galaxies are surrounded by shell-like structures. D.F . Malin and D. Carter report that these envelopes are vast -- up to 180 kiloparsecs in diameter. Furthermore, some galaxies are wrapped in a series of thin shells. Malin and Carter believe that the colossal shells are really thin layers of stars either created by a powerful shock wave during galaxy formation or comprised of a debris layer of old stars blown out of the galaxy during some cataclysmic event. (Malin, David F., and Carter, David; "Giant Shells around Normal Elliptical Galaxies," Nature, 285:643, 1980.) Comment. This article typifies the emergence of "catastrophic astronomy" which contrasts sharply with the older vision of a leisurely evolution of stars and galaxies. From Science Frontiers #12, Fall 1980 . 1980-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 17: Fall 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Shergottites and nakhlites: young and mysterious The shergottites and nakhlites are two types of meteorites that have scientists scratching their heads. Both types have been dated by various radioactive clocks at 1,300 million years or less -- far younger than all other meteorites. Where could such young meteorites have originated? The asteroids and moon's surface are far too old. A current guess is the surface of Mars. There, an impacting meteor could have blasted pieces of young lava sheets in space and thence to earth. The shergottites have a shocked structure and could well have originated in such catastrophism, but the nakhlites show no signs of violence and seem to require a separate explanation. (Anonymous; "Mystery Meteorites May Come from Mars," New Scientist, 91:219, 1981.) From Science Frontiers #17, Fall 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 17: Fall 1981 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The gravitational "constant" is not!For too many years, physicists have been content with laboratory determinations of G (the gravitational constant) using the old Cavendish Balance. In this paper, Stacey and Tuck offer a disturbing collection of values of G determined from geophysical measurements; i.e ., measurements in mines, boreholes, and under the sea. These measurements are unanimous in producing G's that are larger than the usually accepted value by about 1%. Furthermore, the deeper the experiment, the greater the departure from the standard value. (Stacey, F.D ., and Tuck, G.J .; "Geophysical Evidence for Non-Newtonian Gravity," Nature, 292:230, 1981.) Comment. These geophysical measurements must be added to recent laboratory experiments indicating that gravity may not be best described by an inverse square law. See our Handbook Mysterious Universe. Ordering details here . From Science Frontiers #17, Fall 1981 . 1981-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 19: Jan-Feb 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A PREHISTORIC TVA?The Hohokam Indians lived along the Salt River Valley, in Arizona, about 300 BC to 1450 AD. They constructed a network of irrigation canals that is certainly one of the wonders of the Ancient New World. Early investigators recorded more than 500 kilometers of major canals and 1,600 kilometers of smaller ones. (Less than 10 kilometers of these remain intact today.) One of the main canals was 3 meters deep, 11 meters wide at ground level, and 14 kilometers long. Old and recent aerial photos show traces of an incredibly complex irrigation network. W.B . Masse, the author of this article, is very impressed by the earth-moving task but even more so by the degree of social coordination and control that must have been exerted all along the Salt River Valley in building and regulating the use of this remarkable canal system. (Masse, W. Bruce; "Prehistoric Irrigation Systems in the Salt River Valley, Arizona," Science, 214:408, 1981.) Reference. Many other ancient canal projects are described in our Handbook: Ancient Man. Ordering information here . Composite map of canals near Tempe constructed from aerial photographs. From Science Frontiers #19, JAN-FEB 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 23: Sep-Oct 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Astronomy At Poverty Point The astounding complex of six octagonal ridges, 4,000 feet across, at Poverty Point, Louisiana, was not recognized until 1953, when aerial photographs were analyzed. Roughly 3,000 years old, the ridges are intersected by avenues that seem to align with summer and winter solstice points as well as some more obscure astronomical azimuths. These alignments represent remarkable astronomical sophistication for the New World in 1,000 B.C . (Anonymous; "Louisiana's 4,000-Foot Calendar," Science Digest, 90:22, July 1982.) Comment. An incredible amount of labor was expended in constructing the six, huge concentric ridges. Actually, sighting lines could have been built with just a few mounds or simple markers. The Indians, if that is what they were, must have had something additional in mind to move all that dirt! Let's not be condescending and say that the ridges were for "ritual purposes," when we really have no idea of their purpose. Note, too, that the better-known hilltop earthen forts in Britain possess similar openings in their walls, undermining any theories that they were purely defensive works. From Science Frontiers #23, SEP-OCT 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 7: June 1979 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Where did chief joseph get a cuniform tablet?Among the effects of Chief Joseph, the famed leader of the Nez Perce Indians, was a clay tablet bearing a cuneiform inscription. The tablet transmits no startling message, being merely a receipt for one lamb changing hands. But where did a Northwest Indian chief get a 3,000year-old tablet? The tablet first came to light around 1878, long before cuneiform tablets became common on the artifacts market. Still, it could have been a gift from some missionary or tourist -- or even planted as a hoax. (Park, Edwards; "Where Did Chief Joseph Get a Cuneiform Tablet?" Smithsonian Magazine, 9:36, February 1979.) Reference. For other enigmatic New World tablets and inscriptions, read our Handbook: Ancient Man, which is described at: here . From Science Frontiers #7 , June 1979 . 1979-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... ONLINE No. 21: May-Jun 1982 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects The earth's other moons Over the past two centuries, night-sky observers have recorded a number of objects that moved too fast to be asteroids and too slowly to be meteors. John P. Bagby has studied this problem for over 20 years, publishing several hotly debated papers during this period. His latest contribution summarizes evidence supporting his contention that the earth has captured chunks of space debris, some of which have disintegrated, some of which are still in orbit amidst tons of artificial-satellite debris. The supporting observations have come from optical surveillance programs, tracking networks, radio-propagation anomalies, and (most interesting to the anomaly collector) old reports of bright objects near the sun (especially the August 1921 object) and the curious group of retrograde objects that passed over Germany in 1880. (Bagby, J.P .; "Natural Earth Satellites," British Interplanetary Society, Journal, 34:289, 1981.) Reference. Material on the August 1921 object is cataloged at AEO1 in our book: The Sun and Solar System Debris. To order, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #21, MAY-JUN 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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