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| NASA: "Hand of God" supernova |
I. Introduction
Current theories of abiotic evolution (a.k.a. "cosmology" or "cosmic evolution") tell us that supernovas, like the one depicted in the photo to the left, take place when large stars naturally explode.
They then eject molecular clouds into space, including carbon that they have produced internally.
Those molecular clouds are then manipulated by gravitational forces that once again conform, collapse, and condense that vast molecular cloud into yet another star with planets that will eventually be in orbits around that next star.
Eventually, the third iteration of this abiotic replication phenomenon will bring about the evolution of a different star like the Sun, and will also bring about the evolution of planets, some like the Earth.
Our current solar system is one of those third generation abiotic evolutionary results (see On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses - 5, On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses - 6).
II. Abiotic Mutation & Abiotic Selection
One thing that was mentioned in previous posts still remains to be addressed in this series:
Yes, abiotic evolution via abiotic mutation and abiotic-selection (before Darwinian "natural selection" yet existed) is to be explored further in future posts ...(On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses - 4). To give the general idea of "abiotic selection", I will modify the following natural selection text accordingly:
(With apologies to Wikipedia, "Natural Selection"). The gist of it is that abiotic evolution through abiotic mutation, and abiotic selection of various sorts, always precedes biotic evolution.Natural[Abiotic] selection is the gradual process by whichbiological[abiological] traits become either more or less common in a population [of cosmic abiotic entities] as a function of the effect ofinherited[replicated] traits on the differentialreproductive[replicative] success oforganisms[abiotic entities] interacting with their environment. It is a key mechanism of evolution. The term"natural selection" was popularized by Charles Darwin who intended it to be compared with artificial selection, now more commonly referred to as selective breeding.[abiotic selection was not considered by Darwin because he was in reference only to the biotic evolution on Earth which followed ~10.21 billion years of abiotic evolution which produced the Sun and other abiotic entities that biotic evolution requires. Abiotic evolution preceded all biotic evolution.]
Variation exists within all populations oforganisms.[abiotic entities, whether they are forces, atoms, molecules, stars, planets, etc.] This occurs partly because random mutations occur inthe genome of an individual organism,[atoms and molecules,] and these mutations can bepassed to offspring.[replicated.] Throughout theindividuals’ lives, their genomes[existence of abiotic entities, they] interact with their environments to cause variations in traits. (The environment ofa genome includes the molecular biology in the cell, other cells, other individuals,[abiotic] populations, species, [etc.,] as well as the abiotic environment.)Individuals with certain variants of the trait may survive and reproduce more than individuals with other variants.[Cosmic abiotic forces such as gravity act on abiotic entities.] Therefore the [abiotic] population evolves. Factors that affectreproductivesuccess [of replication] are also important, [such as stellar formation,]an issue that Charles Darwin developed in his ideas on sexual selection,for example.Natural[Abiotic] selection acts on thephenotype[type], or the observable characteristics of anorganism[abiotic entity such as a star, altering its longevity eventually, through several iterations of formation and restructuring.]but the genetic (heritable) basis of any phenotype that gives a reproductive advantage may become more common in a population (see allele frequency). Over time, this [abiotic evolutionary] process can result in [abiotic] populations that specialize for particularecological[cosmic] niches and may eventually result in the emergence of new species [of white dwarf stars that are more stable than their predecessors over a longer period of time]. In other words,natural[abiotic] selection is an important process (though not the only process) by which evolution takes place within a population oforganisms[abiotic entities, such as forces, quanta, atoms, molecules, molecular clouds, stars, and planets].Natural[Abiotic] selection can be contrasted with artificial selection,in which[such as Dyson Spheres and Dyson Grids, where] humans intentionally choose specific traits (although they may not always get what they want). Innatural[abiotic] selection there is no intentional choice. In other words, artificial selection is teleological andnatural[abiotic] selection is not teleological.
III. The Consequences of Premature Biotic Evolution
Biological evolution may or may not take place prior to the evolution of a fourth generation white dwarf star in a given solar system during abiotic evolution.
A white dwarf is a type of star that can offer orders of magnitude more time and abiotic stability for biological evolution to take place on a planet near it, than does the first, second, and third generation stars produced during the abiotic evolution of a solar system.
Our Sun and its planets in our solar system are the products of a third generation in the sequence of abiotic evolution.
Thus, if biological life does evolve prior to the fourth generation, when a stable white dwarf evolves, as it did in our solar system, it is a premature mutation in an important sense (e.g. What Kind of Intelligence Is A Lethal Mutation?).
Further, that premature mutation presents very substantial difficulties for the continued existence of that biological realm which evolved by biotic evolution "too early" in the stellar sequence (see The Tenets of Ecocosmology).
Thus, all species on the Earth in order to continue to exist as species, must avoid the solar induced death, which abiotic evolution is slated to bring to the inner planets when further evolution of the third generation star takes place (ibid, The Tenets of Ecocosmology).
Any continued existence of biotic species produced by such a mutation, as has happened on Earth, involves those biological species becoming space nomads.
It involves traveling to another solar system, or instead it involves risky hiding-out, from the slowly inflating Sun, within the confines of our outer solar system.
Hiding out on planets and/or moons further out from the Earth (further away from the Sun) in our own solar system (the risk is guessing which planets will be safe from the affects of the new-rage Sun during that time frame).
This nomadic existence is non-negotiable when the Sun begins to evolve into a Red Giant, and then destroys the inner planets --including the Earth (see On The Origin and Future of Nomads).
Eons later, when the juvenile Sun has finally evolved back down into a White Dwarf, a more stable ("Making Solar Systems For Dummies") solar system is thereafter in the offering (see On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses - 5, On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses - 6, Evolution of White Dwarf Stars).
The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.
This is still National Poetry Month ... so ...
by Simon & Garfunkel
When I think back on all the crap I've learned in high school
It's a wonder I can think at all
Though my lack of education hasn't hurt me much
I can read the writings on the walls
Chorus:
Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colours
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away
...
Dredd: The only reason I think you have few commenters is because very few are on your level with regard to the amazing topics (and your versatility therein) provided here. I learn so much reading your site. Just wanted to say thanks.
ReplyDeleteTom
Thanks Tom.
ReplyDeleteWe are all learning together.
Space travel, even for "short distances" to other places in our solar system has some challenges to our bodies and minds: Link
ReplyDelete"A white dwarf is a type of star that offers orders of magnitude more time and abiotic stability for biological evolution to take place on a planet near it, than does the first, second, and third generation stars produced during the abiotic evolution of a solar system."
ReplyDeleteThe problems with the idea of life evolving in a white dwarf system are discussed at http://www.space.com/21437-alien-life-white-dwarfs-failed-stars.html -- the main issue is that white dwarfs cool significantly as they age, so the habitable zone continually shifts its location to a much greater degree than with a star like ours whose energy source is nuclear fusion. There are also issues with the level of ultraviolet light planets planets would receive in the habitable zone early in the white dwarf's lifetime, and with tidal effects later in its lifetime. As it says in the article:
"All in all, the scientists found it unlikely that planets orbiting white dwarfs would ever be truly habitable. When they are young, white dwarfs would blast planets in their habitable zones with ultraviolet rays that would strip the worlds of water; when they grow older, their habitable zones would shift closer to them, and the amount of tidal heating might also end up desiccating any planets residing in those zones."
The article suggests that if a planet hadn't been in the habitable zone since the early stages of the white dwarf's lifetime it might avoid losing its water, but this would probably depend on rare chance circumstances:
"For instance, a planet might drift into the habitable zone of a white dwarf from a more distant orbit long after the formation of that dead star. It would still have to contend with tidal heating, but it would have avoided radiation that likely would have sterilized its surface."
JesseM,
DeleteThis post you are responding to says: "It involves traveling to another solar system, or instead it involves risky hiding-out, from the slowly inflating Sun, within the confines of our outer solar system.
Hiding out on planets and/or moons further out from the Earth (further away from the Sun) in our own solar system (the risk is guessing which planets will be safe from the affects of the new-rage-Sun during that time frame)."
Staying on the Earth is not an option, when the Sun becomes a Red Giant, because the Earth will be destroyed.
The better choice is to find a suitable solar system elsewhere. But that depends on technology we do not now have.
Hiding out, in our outer solar system, from the Red Giant the Sun will become is risky because some white dwarfs explode too, some are too cold, and some are viable.
The way the White Dwarf develops would have to be monitored carefully and accurately.
The best case scenario would be a stable white dwarf star, because they last a very, very long time.
Buying time is the exercise.
"White dwarfs are thought to be the final evolutionary state of all stars whose mass is not high enough to become a neutron star—over 97% of the stars in the Milky Way ... A white dwarf is very hot when it is formed, but since it has no source of energy, it will gradually radiate away its energy and cool. This means that its radiation, which initially has a high color temperature, will lessen and redden with time. Over a very long time, a white dwarf will cool to temperatures at which it will no longer emit significant heat or light, and it will become a cold black dwarf. However, the length of time it takes for a white dwarf to reach this state is calculated to be longer than the current age of the Universe (approximately 13.8 billion years), and since no white dwarf can be older than the age of the Universe, it is thought that no black dwarfs yet exist. The oldest white dwarfs still radiate at temperatures of a few thousand kelvins." (Wikipedia, White Dwarf Star).
See the link in the post to "Evolution of White Dwarf Stars", the last link.
And let's not forget that a Dyson Grid or Sphere could mitigate the outcome.
ReplyDeleteThat is, a successful Dyson Grid or Sphere could stabilize energy availability for civilizations orbiting white dwarf stars (see e.g. Mystery Bubble - Signal, Grid, or What? , Exploded Planet Hypothesis).
So from my understanding: life is everywhere, has always been everywhere, and will always be everywhere. We just don't understand it...at least not most of it
ReplyDeletesome guy,
DeleteCommunication requires a competent nomenclature.
"Life" is a word that does not have sufficient meaning when used in general conversation, at least with any substantial degree of coherence.
We see different meanings for that word being used within and without different disciplines and cultures: "The definition of life is as enormous a problem as the phenomenon of life itself. One could easily collect from the literature more than 100 different definitions, none satisfactory enough to be broadly accepted. What should the definition contain, to be suitable for all varieties of observable life? Humans, animals, plants, microorganisms. Do viruses also belong to life?" (Did Abiotic Intelligence Precede Biotic Intelligence?).
It would seem, then, that one will participate in a more coherent conversation if the nomenclature of "abiology" is used to refer to the dynamics during the machine epoch prior to carbon based entities evolving.
Likewise, one will participate in a more coherent conversation if the nomenclature of "biology" is used to refer to the dynamics during the organic epoch after carbon based entities ("carbon based life forms") appeared.
But there will be no comprehensive coherence unless both epochs are part of the conversation.
We are cyborgs (mostly machine, partly organic) on a doomed planet (You Are Here).
So there is less confusion, new readers of Dredd Blog posts should note that I have considered the mostly machine-like nature of our universe for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThis new paradigm in main stream science has been recently discussed (The New Paradigm: The Physical Universe Is Mostly Machine).
But way before that, it was considered on Dredd Blog: (e.g. Putting A Face on Machine Mutation, 2/14/09, Which Came First - Cyborg Or Robot?, 6/6/09).
How machines evolve is the difficult subject of this series.
Why anyone should balk at the notion of machine evolution is a subject that is puzzling, at least in the context of machine evolution being more simple than what is contemplated in the theory of organic evolution leading to the evolution of human consciousness.