Lecture on Deep Time and the Age of the Earth

Introduction

The concept of 'deep time' refers to the vast timescales beyond human intuition.
Recent discoveries in astronomy and geology have revealed this vastness.
The quest to measure the age of Earth led to shocking realizations.

Human curiosity about the Earth's age dates back to ancient civilizations.
Sumerians and Babylonians: Early cosmogonies with flood myths and divine narratives.
Religious Influences:
- Early Jews and Christians embraced the idea of a singular creation event (Genesis).
- Irish Bishop James Usher calculated the Earth's beginning as October 22, 4004 BC using biblical texts.

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1778):
- Used cooling rates of materials to estimate Earth's age at ~74,832 years.
James Hutton (1788):
- Introduced uniformitarianism: geological processes are consistent and slow, implying an ancient Earth.
- Suggested endless cycles of geological formation.
Charles Lyell (1830s):
- Expanded on Hutton's work, proposing millions of years of geological history.
- Influenced Charles Darwin's understanding of evolution and natural selection.

Radiometric Dating:
- Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford: Discovery of radioactivity opened new dating methods.
- Carbon Dating: Useful up to 50,000 years for dating organic materials.
- Uranium-Lead Dating: Suitable for dating Earth's age, indicating billions of years.
Arthur Holmes (1920s):
- Suggested Earth's age between 1.6 to 3 billion years using radiometric techniques.

Zircon Crystals:
- Found to be 4.4 billion years old, providing insight into Earth's early crust.
Moon and Meteorites:
- Radiometric dating of lunar rocks and meteorites suggest a solar system age of ~4.6 billion years.

Different cultures have proposed varying timescales, some aligning closely with scientific findings.
Mayan Calendar: Cycles of 63,000 years.
Hindu Cosmology: Epochs lasting millions of years.

Science now comfortably accepts Earth's age at 4.5 billion years, though it's a recent understanding.
The vastness of time is often underestimated compared to human history.

Discussion on black holes and the potential parallels between the Big Bang and white holes.
Clarifications on wormhole theories and Penrose diagrams related to black holes.

The lecture highlighted the evolution of our understanding of Earth's age through geology, physics, and astronomy.
Encouraged reflection on the scale of human existence compared to Earth's history.