Re: Thanks all, was Re: Bacteria question.

From: Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Date: Tue Jan 02 2001 - 16:16:16 MST


"J. R. Molloy" wrote:

> "About 5 billion years" the physicist answers.
>
> " Oh Thank God" the man says greatly relieved, " I thought you said
> 5 MILLION".

The true figure is a lot less, since the solar constant kinetics is
going to go explosive a lot earlier, rendering Earth unfit to inabit for
anything but extremophiles, and soon not even them.

Three orders of magnitude of difference gives a different species a
chance to go sentient and then off-planet, in case we screw it up,
so there *is* a difference between megayears and gigayears. (Though
it does not make a lot of difference to us personally, then,
admittedly, but I can't help rooting for a good case, so).



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