The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

Humphreys, D.R. 2018. New mechanism for accelerated removal of excess radiogenic heat. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism , ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 731–739. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. NEWMECHANISM FOR ACCELERATED REMOVAL OF EXCESS RADIOGENIC HEAT D. Russell Humphreys , Creation Research Society, 8125 Elizabethton Lane Chattanooga, TN 37421 USA drhumph@swcp.com ABSTRACT In a technical paper (Humphreys, 2014), I presented Biblical and scientific evidence that (a) space is a physical material that we do not perceive, (b) this fabric of space , and objects within it, are thin in a 4 th spatial direction we do not ordinarily perceive, and (c) the fabric is surrounded by a hyperspace of four spatial dimensions. End note 27 of the paper explained that light emitted by objects within the fabric ordinarily would be constrained to travel entirely within the fabric. The end note also proposed that under certain extraordinary conditions the Bible calls the opening of the heavens , some of the emitted light could leak directly into hyperspace. Here I point out that such leakage would include other types of electromagnetic radiation, particularly black-body (thermal) radiation. This would allow the interiors of hot objects to cool rapidly, proportionally to the 4 th power of their absolute temperature, according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law. Cooler objects would lose their heat much less rapidly. This mechanism appears to be a good way to get rid of the excess heat generated by accelerated nuclear decay during several episodes in the Earth’s history, and it explains the evidence that this accelerated cooling did occur (Humphreys, 2005). It also would be a good way to get rid of other heat generated in creationist geologic models, such as heat in batholiths and new ocean floors. Last, I will briefly discuss the possibility that the opening of the heavens also caused accelerated nuclear decay. KEY WORDS Radiogenic heat, accelerated cooling, hyperspace, black-body radiation Copyright 2018 Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA www.creationicc.org 731 INTRODUCTION From the beginning of the Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth (RATE) research initiative in 1997, we knew that the large amount of heat that would be generated by our hypothesized accelerated nuclear decay would be a problem (Humphreys, 2000, pp. 369- 373). So we further hypothesized the existence of an accelerated cooling mechanism that could remove large amounts of heat quickly from the entire volume of an object, not just its surface. By 2000, we knew of one geophysical mystery, the distribution of heat flow from the Earth’s surface, which would be solved by the existence in the past of both (and only both) accelerated nuclear decay and accelerated cooling (Baumgardner, 2000, pp. 80-86). By 2005, we knew of two other geological mysteries that would be solved by having both acceleration mechanisms in operation simultaneously. One was the rapid formation of polonium radiohalos near uranium radiohalos (Snelling, 2005). The other was the apparent lack of heating of zircons that had experienced accelerated nuclear decay (Humphreys, 2005, pp. 68-70). In Volume I of the RATE book, I outlined a possible theoretical mechanism for accelerated cooling (Humphreys, 2000, pp. 370- 373). I clarified it in Volume II (Humphreys, 2005, pp. 70-74). This model had several disadvantages. First, it required a two-fold expansion of the cosmos during the year of the flood, whereas the Biblical support for any expansion at all during that period was slim. Second, the cooling was equally efficient for bodies of any temperature. That gave me a problem: how to keep the creatures aboard Noah’s ark from freezing to death. All I could offer at the time was a hope for a future modification of my 2005 theory for low-temperature objects. It has been clear to me for many years that we need a better theory for accelerated cooling. That is the motivation for this paper. My new theory depends on the nature of space. In the next two sections I review several important ideas about space which I introduced in a physical model that helps us to visualize the meaning of Einstein’s gravitational field equations (Humphreys, 2014). EVIDENCE THAT SPACE IS A PHYSICALMATERIAL The first step toward a new theory of accelerated cooling is the idea that space itself is a physical material which we do not perceive. There is scientific evidence for this idea, which I will discuss below, but I would not have as great a confidence in it were it not that a number of Scriptures, straightforwardly (not figuratively or allegorically) understood (Humphreys, 1994, pp. 55-57), strongly imply it. The Old Testament word for “space” appears to be the Hebrew word (always plural) translated “heavens.” Gen. 1:1 says that God made the heavens, a seemingly-empty space, before He made the Sun, Moon, and stars (often called the “host of the heavens,” Gen. 2:1, Neh. 9:6) four days later (Gen. 1:14-19) Generally we think of space as a true vacuum, an empty volume which contains some material here and there, such as air or stars. But Scripture speaks of space as a real material . The heavens can be torn (Isa. 64:1), worn out like a garment (Psa. 102:26), shaken (Heb. 12:26, Hag. 2:6, Isa. 13:13), burnt up (2 Pet. 3:12), split apart (Rev. 6:14), and stretched out and spread out like a tent curtain (Isa. 40:22 and sixteen other verses, Humphreys, 1994, p. 66). These verses make sense if space is indeed a real material. Many of these verses compare the material to a fabric, hence the