QUOTE(hyperactive @ May 20 2005, 10:35 PM)
QUOTE(The Roswell Man @ May 20 2005, 11:17 AM)
no seriously i'd say her uncles views were probably based
on a wacky author who put this theory up.....
who seemingly didnt go to school....

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actually, there was an article in SA about the poles flipping routinely just recently (last couple of months)
also, there has been a theory about the pole reversal causing the extinction of the dinosaurs for some time now (basically, as the poles reverse, a lot of the protection from solar radiation is lost. dinos were out during the day so they were exposed and destroyed where the mammals needed to hide during the day to avoid being eaten, so they survived. i don't recall if or how it explained plants wrt the radiation though)
don't be so quick to dismiss things.
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I'm not quick to dismiss things
but as you learn more it becomes easier to differentiate
for instance i detected a gap in your knowledge so allow me to help you out (sincere)
You think that solar radiation is only out in the daytime
thats wrong
you think that the sun doesn't shine on the earths surface except in the daytime
thats wrong. It's always daytime somewhere.
You think there has been a theory about the pole reversal causing the extinction of the dinosaurs for some time now
maybe you can tell me what its called then ?
see if you don't know all the facts you can't arrive at a theory.
one fact you've missed is that the protection in the earths atmosphere isn't linked to the earths poles
in other words, if they reversed it wouldn't change anything unless.....
the dinosaurs relied on g.p.s. for navigation
a few of them might have got lost.
Try this one if thats too technical
the dinosaurs were on earth for approx 175 million years
how many times did the poles shift in that time and they not die out ?
Now i know you may be angry reading this, but walk in someone elses shoes for a while and look at it from my point of view
You're smarter than you were when you first started reading this post

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mad? no... you ask for the source and i went and got them....
During their long evolution, the dinosaurs had been capable of adapting to considerable climatic fluctuations and changes in their environment. the mystery of their sudden extinction suggests the possible occurance of a macrofluctuation such as a prolonged period in which the earth was without a magnetic field or a nearby supernova explosion as it is assumed by the russian astronomer i.s. shklovskii (quoted in sagan, 1977).
the present polarity has existed only since 6900,000 years (lowrie, 1976). the reversal of the magnetic north and south poles does not occur in an instant. the magnetic field becomes weaker of a period of perhaps 5000 years and rebuilds equally slowly with reversed poles. this however, implies that the earth is subjected during this period of a weakened or absent magnetic field to the hard solar radiation (the solar wind remembered from lunar experiments)and cosmic radiation to a much higher extent. ... a possible correlation between the reversal of the magnetic field and the extinction of certian species of the ocean fauna has been found. but extinction s hardly the only effect. ... on a grand scale, the galactic shock-wave triggering every 100 milion years nearby supernova explosions is bound to leave its mark on evolution. some scientists make it responsible for the sudden extinction of the dinosaurs 60 million years ago-and thus for a decisive stimulation in the development of the mammals