ABSTRACTS
The Asteroid Belt A Computer Simulation
R. F. Mathis
This initial study uses computer simulation to explore the possibility that the asteroid belt observed today resulted from the breakup of a dwarf planet a few thousand years ago. It is assumed that a catastrophic event occurred, and a computer model of the resulting fragmented dwarf planet is developed. The simulation has two parts. First a model of a planet collision is used to provide a starting point. The output file contains the position, velocity, and size of each of more than 16,000 fragments representing an exploded dwarf planet. In the second part of the simulation, each of the fragments is tracked as it propagates under the gravitational influence of the other fragments, the Sun and the planet Jupiter. In this initial study, collisions are not included. The simulation is run out to 15.75 orbit periods of the original dwarf planet or nearly 82 years in 120-second steps. It is shown that a surprising uniformity of the fragments forms around the entire orbit in this short period of time.
Understanding theOrigin of Homochirality in Amino Acids and Polypeptides
Peter M. Murphy
Origin of Life (OoL) research has produced an amazing amount of scientific experimentation, but no consensus has emerged on any viable naturalistic path from chemical compounds to living, reproducing cells. One example of the accomplishments, optimism, and then futility of OoL research is the search for a prebiotic, naturalistic origin of homochirality in α-amino acids and polypeptides. This review surveys the current research on the significance of homochirality in proteins, the rivalries within OoL research, the abiotic sources of α-amino acids and polypeptides, their chiral amplification, their prebiotic stability, and the difficulty of finding a naturalistic explanation for the origin of homochirality.
Fifty Years of Physics: Some Observations RegardingRadiohalos and Magnetic Fields
Eugene F. Chaffin
Some important evidence regarding tiny, spherical discolorations in rocks, seen in photographs as radiohalos, was reported in the Creation Research Society Quarterly in Volume 3, 1966. In 2002, another report was made regarding the decrease in energy in the earth’s magnetic field over historical time. In retrospect, both of these papers were highly successful in advancing the creation model, and their significance will be reviewed here in honor of the 50-year anniversary of the Creation Research Society and its technical journal, the Creation Research Society Quarterly.