The claim made that the earth's magnetic field has experienced decay as a result of the fall in Eden is a fine example of the selective use of evidence practiced by Biblical creationists, who then use this selection of the data set to extrapolate backwards and attempt to support the young earth conjecture by suggesting that if the world was any older than Adam and Eve the strength of the magnetic field would have been impossibly strong.
The data presented in pseudo-scientific form to support this contention is easily demonstrated to be a highly selective representation of the total data set. While the dipole component (which, by the way, is in constant flux) decreased about 6 percentage points over the last century and a half, the non dipole elements have increased proportionally so that the total strength of the field has remained constant. These inconvenient facts are disposed of - the actual measurements are declared to be ‘meaningless'. A mathematical equation (thus sounding very scientific) can then project the ‘decay' of the dynamo backwards in time, and conveniently arrives at an age for the planet that lands us in the Garden of Eden (no surprise, really). In the end the science is found to agree with the dogmas of conservative apologists, which is not proof of anything, and not a coincidence.
The earth itself provides ample evidence for the strength and nature of the magnetic field over time. For example, new iron ore is constantly being produced in the oceans by volcanic activity along the edges of the continental plates. Particles of iron, when produced will always orient themselves in line with the forces of magnetism acting upon them at the time of their creation. This evidence clearly demonstrates that the earth's magnetism has not steadily decayed at a constant rate, but rather has been shifting and in constant flux for a considerable period of time. The polarity and the strength of the attraction at work when these iron deposits were created form mirror images of one another on opposite sides of the ocean, and this indicates that the data is reliable, and not randomly produced. These rocks give a record of fluctuations of the strength and polarity of the field, decreasing and increasing in strength, and also of sudden reversals covering a time period of almost a hundred million years. When this evidence is combined with the evidence from ice core dating, and more modern accurate radio dating techniques, the evidence of the red shift, the fossil record, and other pieces of evidence it all comes together to demonstrate that the young earth conjecture is not supportable by science, but is in fact just a product of conservative Biblical apologetics.
As a part of the overall structure of religious apologetics pretending to be a branch of scientific geology, this theory of magnetism in decay is very important, not only as a pseudo-scientific proof of a young earth only as old as Adam, but also as part of an overall schema explaining away the evidence presented by the fossil record. The dinosaurs, which, of course, went onto Noah's Ark two by two, could not live with the deterioration of the protective shield of magnetism thus explaining their extinction. Furthermore, the evidence the earth presents of fluctuations in strength and reversals of polarity over long time periods can be disposed of as resulting during the time of the global catastrophe of Noah's flood, when, the speculative and unprovable doctrine insists, the magnetic field of course went wild for a time. As well, as a direct consequence of Adam eating the apple in the Garden of Eden, corruption entered the universe, thus being responsible for the decay of natural processes causing the corruption and consequent decay of the magnetic field around the earth as well, and making necessary the restorative atonement blood sacrifice of a lamb, and so on. This is all not science, but rather religous doctrine, looking for apologetic justification through the destruction of scientific evidence which refutes conservative theology.
A Unified Field Theory
The Unified Field Theory
is also available as a zip file -> unified.zip
Introduction :The Pioneer Effect and the New Physics. A brief description of the new physics required to explain the 'Pioneer Effect', which is the constant deceleration of space craft as they fly through space.