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Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything (2019) - Printable Version +- Forums (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum) +-- Forum: Doom Arts (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/forumdisplay.php?fid=6) +--- Forum: Doom Books (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/forumdisplay.php?fid=13) +--- Thread: Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything (2019) (/showthread.php?tid=5225) |
Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything (2019) - cranefly - 12-26-2019 Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything (2019) by Robert Hazen The author, a musician as well as a scientist, organizes this book like a symphony in four movements (sections): Earth, Air, Fire and Water. It's a masterful work that makes clear how important and pervasive carbon is (we are carbon-based life, after all), how much carbon there is in the universe, how much in the Earth, in its different layers, its origins, its molecular forms, how it cycles, and, well, this is a true tour de force work full of very recent eurekas, thanks to the Deep Carbon Project that he's a part of and that somehow got funded. Rather than try to sum it up further, I'll just provide a few spoilers. Spoilers about reality. All carbon was thought to arise only in supernova explosions, but a very small percentage was actually created just after the Big Bang. Each of us has a few of these rare early-created carbon atoms -- over a trillion, actually, which is still a very small percentage of our carbon atoms. Earth was not alone in its early orbit about the Sun. About 3.9 billion years ago it collided with the smaller planet in our orbit, creating the Earth/Moon system. Mars very likely had life well before Earth, at a time when the inner planets were being bombarded by meteorites. Life is surprisingly resilient and can survive traveling through space, and the Mars ejecta from that time period likely made its way to Earth. Which means a high probability that Earth was seeded by Mars life. Drill down a mile just about anywhere on Earth and you will find life down there. It's persistent and pervasive. If we ever exterminate ourselves and all other surface dwellers with nuclear war, life will survive on Earth. Once infected with living organisms, it's almost impossible for a planet to get rid of it. We will find life on Mars. Global warming is happening at an alarming pace with carbon dioxide levels rising in the atmosphere, with humans contributing a thousand times what volcanism contributes. Methane is the other greenhouse gas, huge amounts of which is locked up in ice. While the author is careful to state that we don't know for sure there is a tipping point, he makes clear that this is an insanely dangerous experiment we're conducting, letting these levels rise unchecked. Anyway, that's just a taste of what it covers. It goes into diamonds, where they come from, what their inclusions can tell us about the early Earth and about the inner Earth; and how carbon is the basis of so many compounds, from glues to gritty sandpaper to lubricants. A wonderfully informative book. Highly recommended. |