Claim CE310.1:

Helmholtz proposed that the sun's energy comes from gravitational contraction. Under this theory, the sun could not be more than about 20 million years old.

Source:

McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart, 1981. Reasons Skeptics should consider Christianity. San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life Publishers, Inc. http://www.greatcom.org/resources/reasons_skeptics/ch_12/default.htm

Response:

  1. Helmholtz's theory has been discredited. It is now known that the sun gets its energy from nuclear fusion.

    Even ignoring the evidence for fusion, gravitational contraction fails for other reasons. It does not explain the relationship between stellar temperatures and luminosity, and it is inconsistent with variable stars.

Links:

Johansson, Sverker, 1998. The solar FAQ. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-solar.html
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created 2003-4-22