Below is the online edition of In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood,
by Dr. Walt Brown. Copyright © Center for Scientific Creation. All rights reserved.
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The launched material—totaling less than 1/2 of 1% of Earth’s mass—includes all comets and asteroids, including the irregular moons2 (asteroids captured by the giant planets). Table 33 estimates the magnitude of this energy. Some factors were derived in the comet and asteroid chapters (pages 286–348).
Perhaps ten times more energy than 1.7 × 1036 ergs was needed because (1) other mass was launched besides that in comets, asteroids, and irregular moons, (2) the launch mechanism was inefficient, and (3) some heat was held in the chamber’s ceiling and floor. Let’s assume that the total energy required was 1.7 × 1037 ergs.3 Since this energy was released over many weeks, it is more accurately described as coming from an “engine”—an “Earth-size nuclear engine” (as you will see)—not an explosion.
As shown in Table 33, much more energy is needed to launch into space the rocks and water that later merged to become asteroids than that needed to form comets or irregular moons. Therefore, the methods for calculating the mass of all asteroids deserves special comment. In the early 1990s, much to the dismay of evolutionist astronomers, moons were discovered around some asteroids. Before then, asteroid mass could be estimated only by multiplying an asteroid’s volume by its assumed density. Such assumptions produced considerable error, because from Earth each asteroid looked like a big, solid rock, not a flying rock pile containing ice and voids. Now that moons can be observed orbiting many asteroids, their masses and extremely low densities4 can be directly calculated. Using their average density, the total mass of all asteroids can be more accurately estimated. While not all asteroids have been identified, the volumes of the largest thousand or so have been measured. Statistically, their size distribution shows that the smallest asteroids, although numerous, contribute relatively little to the total mass of all asteroids.