Evolution Definition and 706 Threads

1. Is the common ape ancestor common for all the human races? 2. Why don't we see another non-human animal, but very similar to humans-in terms of brain power? For every non-human animal, there exist other species, somewhat similar in terms of appearance or skill set. Did human's advanced...

Hi, I'm totally lost here...Quantum physics seems to be just incomprehensible to me! Hope someone can help me out! That would be great! Homework Statement (a) A spin system with 2 possible states, described by (E1 0)=H (0 E2) with eigenstates \vec{\varphi}1 =...

Physical state to subjective "Qualia" and evolution - why? I'll try to make the points I'm getting at as concise and clear as possible. We all have sensations/emotions of pain, joy, hot, warm, cold, fear, curiosity, and the direct senses of light, sound, etc. Let us for the moment...

Homework Statement Consider a physical system with a three-dimensional state space. In this space the Hamiltonian is represented by the matrix: H = hbar\omega \[ \left( \begin{array}{ccc} 0 & 0 & 2 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 2 & 0 & 0 \end{array} \right)\] The state of the system at t = 0 in...

Hi, Just revising for my Advanced Stellar Evolution exam, was wondering if anyone knew if there was a good detailed Colour Magnitude (HR) diagram on the internet which went into some detail of different Stellar Mass' and Chemical Compasitions (so more like a poster than a HR diagram)! If...

Have two previous species ever evolved convergently enough to successfully mate?

Apart from evolution and intelligent design what other serious origin theories are there?

i apologize if my terminology is not correct because I am kind of new to this theology stuff. I know there is a theory, I'm not sure if it's chaos theory, that states that all things move toward disorganization or chaos rather than organization. This seems to be true in the broad sense of...

Is the theory of evolution still considered a theory or is it considered a fact now, because of the overwhelming fossil and dna based evidence? If so is there a paper, or a journal to cite from that states that evolution is a fact, and not just a theory?

Hi all, I read fairly recently -I'm afraid I can't remember where- a biologist saying that whilst Richard Dawkins' books had probably done more than anyone else's to promote the public understanding of evolution, the metaphor of the selfish gene was beginning to outlive its usefulness, and that...

I have a friend who is a creationist. Lately, she has been trying to convince me that the theory of evolution is full of inconsistencies. She sent me this link to an article: http://www.drdino.com/read-article.php?id=8&c=27" She thinks that that article really proves that the theory of...

Well, if we say that evolution is some gradual change of an organism from some form S to S* over a period of time. should there be some mechanism already in place to even allow evolution to occur? To be even more clear. For organism of form S, and successive generations S* , S**...

The thing I don't understand about evolution is how if at one time on Earth no creature had eyes to see with, how so many species today have eyes and eye sight. If many isn't related to several, if not most, of the pre-historic man/ape like species you would also expect that man isn't related...

Is it generally true that the further away a galaxy is (and more red-shifted), the more it tends to contain lower metal content stars? I'd always assumed this was one of the main bits of evidence for the Big Bang, but I've also read that the globular clusters that surround (and are...

Hi All As most of us know, in a qualitative sense, the Sun will eventually become a Red Giant before its core explodes (the Helium Flash) and it's heaved onto the Helium Main Sequence, to shine merrily for about 100 million years. What I want to know, in a quantitative sense, is just how its...

Does evolution model predict what's next for each species? What's next for humans?

What are the best books (upper undergraduate / beginning graduate) for stellar structure, stellar evolution, compact stars, etc. ?

How does a entangled state evolve in the time?? How can i get the state for 't' arbitrary??

Well I know I'm not allowed to debate about my religion here, but I want to attempt to SCIENTIFICLY refute any claims of proof for evolution, and then proof it to be impossible. So does anyone have any proof for evolution they consider to be unrefutable...

Can you see a logically justifiable, non-religious argument to oppose the fact that evolution happens? Do you think that there is sufficient evidence to say that the existence of evolution is almost certain, or as close to certain as many other comparable scientific observations? Do you know...

Let's say we have a star of 0.7 solar masses on the main sequence. Can somebody describe what happens to it when it comes off the main sequence? Thanks Maria

Hi, When the core of a star shrinks during its evolution, does it always lead to the expansion of the star? If not, why? What cases would cause it to expand? Thanks in advance, Maria

Suppose I know an initial state \Phi(x)= \exp(-x^2), the Hamiltonian is H = p^2/2m + x^2/2 where p is the mometum operator. If I want to find the time evolution of the state \Phi(x), should I write it as the following? \Psi(x, t) = \exp(-i H t/\hbar)\Phi(x) However, since H contains...

Hey, does anyone have any insight to theistic evolution(the idea that God used evolution to bring about humankind) and why or why not it really makes sense? t'would be awesome if you have some answers. Tor

Personally I regard the ToE as a fact, but is the BBT just as much of a fact? Can we trust both theories 100%, or are there gaps that need to be filled first?

I for one am not sure that umnas have evolved from monkeys or apes however i am quit certain that natrul selection is true. i have read many arguments on how living things canot come from non living things, that would therefore imply a higher power, the creator of space and time. If there is a...

I know random gene mutations determine which animals will survive and which will die out in their environment. I have some questions though, What usually causes the gene mutations? Is it possible for the genes to "learn", if you will, to program an animal so it is better off suited for...

Hello, I am fairly new to quantum physics (I'm actually an engineer, not a physicist). I think I am getting a decent grasp on things, but I have a question. Suppose you have two time dependent states: \Psi_{1} and \Psi_{2}. Also, suppose that we have a constant potential, represented in our...

At first I was completely against the use of the term evolution to describe non-living things changing... such as stars and planets etc.. But, when I thought about it, it became increasingly obvious that life is composed of matter and that matter had evolved in order to produce life as we...

Mississippi lawmakers are proposing a disclaimer on textbooks discussing evolution "This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore...

Ecosystematic Evolution: Simple idea Its that, species do not evolve alone, but are reliant upon the ecosystem at the time. (anyone familiar with this). So, an ECOSYSTEM, evolves, not just a singular animal. Each facet, attaining some semblance of balance, with everything else or bye bye...

The https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=282116" in the Cosmology section kicks off with a reference to a late 2005 Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conference presentation on some recent research results on high-z quasars, from the SDSS. Much of the discussion in that...

I have a small problem I was thinking about earlier.. Evolution is blind and only rewards behavior. Things like reproduction, fitness, and placing the bodyparts in the right place for survival would be rewarded. All beliefs, cognitive faculties etc would be invisible to evolution and its...

I am no biologist, but I have read a few laymen books on evolution and I have a bit difficulty accepting one part of evolutionary theory, The notion that genetic mutations and genetic variances occur solely by chance. It would seem to me, that the evolutionary process would favor organisms...

Earth first formed about 4.6 billion years ago, condensing out of the gases & dust in the proto-Sun's Planetary Disk. But, for about the 1st billion years, the proto-planet was repeatedly pummeled by swarms of Impactors. They deposited gargantuan quantities of energy onto the Earth's surface...

It seems likely to me since the first tools we used as primates-early man. Think about it, those early, pre-homosapien primates who have mutated an inheritable trait which makes them smart enough to discover the benefits of rocks, sticks etc. to enhance their ability to gather food will...

Would highly recommend the book reviewed here - shows how evolutionary models are supplanting the simple physics-based models of neoclassical economics http://www.sciam.com/arti...mics-skeptic-january-2008 Evonomics Evolution and economics are both examples of a larger mysterious...

That is, if these cells even had anything to do with it. We're only going by the endosymbiotic theory.

Evolution mutations not completely random according to an experiment I wondered for a while where to post this link, but since it will probably provoke questions on the origins of this new guiding mechanism of evolution, i decided it had to land here(it will be a matter of time till someone...

Homework Statement Suppose the state of a single-mode cavity field is given at time t=0 by |\Psi(0) \rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|n \rangle + e^{i\phi}|n+1 \rangle) where phi is some phase. Find the state |\psi(t)\rangle at times t > 0. Homework Equations I'm a little...

Hi, I'm trying to derive a wave equation for a gaussian wavepacket for both the position (x) and the momentum (k), for a wave packet of width sigma, at some initial position x0 and with an initial momentum k0. Now I have worked out the initial wavepacket equation to be: psi(x) =...

Hi There, A square pulse of light has the form f(x) = A exp(ik0x) for |x| < L/2 and f(x) = 0 everywhere else. I want to know how that pulse evolves overtime. I want to graph it in Mathematica. I did a Fourier transform to find the wave number spectrum, with the general form: F(k) =...

What role do you think variations play in the process of evolution?

I'm not quite sure where to put this, in Physics or Biology. Mentors, please move this to the most appropriate location. A common argument put forth by creationists/intelligent design proponents is that evolution/abiogenesis violates the second law of thermodynamics, by causing a decrease in...

The general consensus I think is that evolution is still occurring in modern times but just being driven by different factors than geography, climate, predation, etc. But doesn't the process require time as well? Flora and fauna (including humans) evolve characteristics because of...

could we do QM without time evolution ?? that is the idea, could we perform QM without referring to any coordinate called 'time' in the sense that the Hamiltonian and Schroedinguer equation would be H \Psi (x) =0 and time and energy only appear as the pair (p_0 , t) the idea is ...

A frequently seen opinion, for example expressed by Popper in reflecting over what he calls the "the fundamental problem of chance in his classic "The logic of scientific discovery", is to reject the subjective interpretation of probability because he thinks it is not falsifiable. This really...

hey folks, i'm just curious. are there any biologists who don't accept the theory of evolution? if yes, how do they scientifically explain the diversity of species (other than believing in Intelligent Designing stuff)? cheers

Evolution bibliography [Urgent] Hi, I'm writing an article for my college magazine. As always, I'm already behind the deadline. I need to include a very basic bibliography on evolutionary theory. I've included Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype as introductory...

My knowledge of biology is very limited and I know just the basics, so please enlighten me. This evolution phenomenon has started way way back in the past and as a result, today we see varieties of species including humans. My question is: are WE (present species) still being evolved and...