How the dinosaurs became extinct
All important information
The extinction of the dinosaurs, also known as the K-T event, occurred about 65.5 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. This event led to the mass extinction of not only the dinosaurs, but also many other life forms on Earth.
There are several theories about the cause of the dinosaur extinction, but the most widely accepted is the so-called Chicxulub impact theory. This theory states that a huge asteroid or comet about 10 kilometers in diameter struck Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The impact had catastrophic consequences for the Earth.
The impact of the asteroid released enormous amounts of energy and caused a gigantic explosion. Huge fireballs were formed, which immediately set the surrounding vegetation on fire. At the same time, a huge amount of rock material was ejected into the atmosphere, causing severe forest fires all over the world.
In addition, a large amount of dust and ash was ejected into the atmosphere. These particles blocked sunlight and caused a drastic drop in the average global temperature. This climate change had devastating effects on Earth's ecosystems.
The lack of sunshine led to a dramatic decrease in photosynthesis in plants, causing food chains to collapse. Herbivorous dinosaurs did not have enough food to survive, and as a result, carnivorous dinosaurs also became extinct as they were deprived of food.
In addition, the asteroid impact had other devastating effects. The explosion ejected huge amounts of rock material from the crust of the Earth and catapulted it into the atmosphere. These rock particles fell back to the Earth's surface as glowing projectiles, causing massive fires and earthquakes worldwide.
It is estimated that the impact released the energy of several billion atomic bombs. The earthquake was so powerful that it caused huge tsunamis that flooded coastal regions and caused further damage. The atmosphere was filled with toxic gases that affected air quality and made it difficult for many organisms to survive.
However, the K-T event also had positive effects on the evolution of life. The mass extinction allowed other life forms, such as mammals and birds, to evolve and eventually become the dominant species on Earth. This evolutionary change laid the foundation for the formation of today's ecosystems.
Over the past few decades, scientists around the world have been gathering evidence for the Chicxulub impact theory. Crater structures consistent with an event of this magnitude have been discovered on the coast of Mexico. In addition, traces of elements such as iridium have been found in the rocks, indicating an extraterrestrial origin.
Overall, the extinction of the dinosaurs remains a fascinating chapter in Earth's history. Although the exact details of the K-T event are still being researched, evidence has shown that the asteroid impact played a key role in the extinction of the dinosaurs and caused massive changes on Earth that significantly affected the evolution of life. The K-T event also had an impact on the oceans. The asteroid impact resulted in the release of large amounts of water vapor and carbon dioxide, which led to ocean acidification. This had negative consequences for marine organisms such as corals and shellfish, which are sensitive to changes in pH.
The mass extinction of dinosaurs allowed other animal groups, such as mammals, to diversify and occupy new ecological niches. Small mammals that had previously lived in the shadow of the dinosaurs were now able to reproduce and develop new habitats. Over time, these small mammals evolved into various forms and species that eventually led to the mammalian species we know today, including humans.
The extinction of the dinosaurs also had an impact on the plant kingdom. With the decline of plant-eating dinosaurs, plants had the opportunity to develop freely without being decimated by the large herbivores. This change led to the emergence of new plant groups and a diversification of the flora.
Another theory on the extinction of the dinosaurs deals with volcanic activity as a possible cause. It is thought that massive volcanic eruptions in what is now the Deccan Trapps of India may have played a role in the extinction of the dinosaurs. These volcanic eruptions resulted in a massive release of gases and ash into the atmosphere, leading to effects similar to the Chicxulub impact - global cooling and blocking of sunlight.
However, it is important to note that volcanic activity likely played a secondary role and the K-T event was ultimately triggered by the asteroid impact. Scientists continue to work to understand the precise relationships between these two events.
In recent years, advances in the fields of geology, astronomy, and paleontology have helped deepen our understanding of the extinction of the dinosaurs. New discoveries, such as evidence of microorganisms that may have survived the asteroid impact, provide further insight.
Overall, the extinction of the dinosaurs ushered in a new chapter in Earth's history. It was a drastic event that dramatically changed life on our planet. The mass extinction gave other animal groups the opportunity to evolve and take over the role of the dinosaurs as the dominant land animals. This laid the foundation for the emergence and evolution of today's biodiversity, including humans.
Accurately reconstructing what happened 65.5 million years ago remains an exciting task for science, but the findings so far have helped us better understand the puzzle of the dinosaur extinction and appreciate our own position in the history of life on Earth.
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Which Greek philosopher taught at the lyceum?
In the annals of ancient Greek philosophy, one figure stands out for his profound impact on Western thought, his rigorous methods of inquiry, and his enduring influence across centuries of intellectual discourse. His teachings spanned ethics, metaphysics, politics, and the natural sciences, shaping the foundations of modern philosophical inquiry and scientific methodology. Born in Stagira, a Greek colony in the Macedonian region, he studied under Plato at the Academy in Athens and later established his own school, known as the Lyceum, where he delved deeply into the nature of existence and the pursuit of knowledge.
By Marveline Meraba day ago in History
INDIA&PAKISTAN
This is the Golden Temple. People come here from all over the world to bathe in its waters, to look at the Holy Book that is inside of this middle Golden Temple and to just experience the holiness of this place. This place is the epicenter of Sikhism. It sits right here in northern India in a city called Amritsar. Close by there's another important Sikh site called It was established by the founder of Sikhism more than 500 years ago. It's the place where he spent the last years of his life and it is the second holiest place in Sikhism. For centuries, Sikhs have been able to make pilgrimage between these two sites to move freely throughout their heartland. But in 1947 a British lawyer drew a border here turning what had been British India into two new countries, India and Pakistan. I could only call it one of the most bizarre lines, which were ever drawn across a map It went right here with the Golden Temple on one side and Katarpur on the other. Thanks to this border Sikhs in India are now cut off from their holy site. So many come here to a platform that the Border Patrol set up. The platform looks across the border where with the help of telescopes, Sikhs can look at their holy place just three or four kilometers away. In addition to cutting off communities from their sacred sites, this border separated families, cut across rivers, forests, farms, railroad tracks. Today this border is heavily fortified with nearly all 3,000, plus kilometers fenced. It's lit so well that you can see it from space and barely anything or anyone crosses over it When we talk about the drawing of the line, what was the most painful was the division of families which took place and that is a very big reality. This is the story of a violent separation. One of the most traumatic events of the 20th century It's the story of how a hastily drawn line on a map separated one people into two. This is a horror story. What we saw was a town soaked with the stench of death. In the train of murder and arson, come the refugees. Their suffering is the new tragedy of India. Many will never reach their new land. These are the things that are setting the heart burning on either side of the line. The sun is setting and I'm walking along one of the oldest roads in Asia One that used to connect this region but today a border runs through it and instead of connection and trade what you see here is this: There's barbed wire, there's fences, there are officers everywhere and yet, there's also ice-cream and popcorn and paraphernalia. This feels like a sporting event. You can buy keychains of machine guns. Thousands of spectators file in, filling this stadium that looks down on the border. On the other side Pakistanis are doing the same. Then, both sides start their different show. Two hours of chanting and dancing Then the finale, a face-off between the two sides. They strut back and forth in this coordinated choreography and it all ends with the lowering of each flag and the closing of this gate. This bizarre border show plays out every evening. But this ceremony, this fence, this intense nationalism If you rewind just a little in time, none of this existed. The British controlled parts of India for nearly 200 years but by 1947, a strong movement of independence was swelling across the subcontinent while back in Britain, the country was in massive debt after fighting World War II and didn't have the resources to hold on to their colony so they started making plans to leave India. British officials thought that a proper transfer of power would probably take around five years but when the British leader in charge arrived in early 1947, he hastily decided to shrink their exit timeline and so what needed five years would now need to be done in just four months. British India was to be split into two independent nations, a mostly Muslim Pakistan and a Hindu majority, but officially secular India. To do the actual drawing of the border, the British brought in a lawyer from London. He arrived the month before the British were supposed to leave India. He hadn't been to British India before and didn't know much about the region. He had no idea about India, no idea about Indian geography, no idea about Indian politics. And yet, he was the one drawing the lines on the map that would affect millions of lives. During his visit, this British lawyer looked at maps and census data, focusing on the maps that showed religious identity of people in India. India has a wide variety of religions and based on these census maps, you can see that people of all religions lived amongst each other all over the region. So to draw the line the British lawyer looked at individual districts putting any district that had a Muslim majority population into the new country of Pakistan, while Hindu and Sikh majority districts would be kept within India. Based on this method the lawyer began to see what a border might look like. He only had five weeks to do this. He later wrote that it would have taken years to settle on a proper boundary and that's because this method of drawing the line conceals that within these districts there were sizable communities of all religions that had been living side-by-side for centuries all throughout India. August 15 1947, Independence Day for India and Pakistan The British lawyer left that day. He would never return to India again. Two days after independence the borders were made public, prompting more than 14 million people to leave their homes, their lives for what was now their side of the border. We were told that you have to cross the border to India. Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan moved into India and many Muslims in India moved into the new Pakistan. These were people who were indeed forced to lose their entire homes, their memories, their childhood and the things they saw. It was one of the largest forced migrations of people ever and it was chaos, a chaos that led to widespread unspeakable violence cities on fire, sexual violence against women, trains, full of dead bodies. The survivors I talked to were just children when all of this happened. The division of the sub-continent became known as the partition of India. A phrase synonymous with trauma fueled by the reckless mismanagement of an imperial power. I'm in a small village right near the border on the Indian side that used to be a Muslim community before partition. And in the middle of town is this shrine where residents would conduct ornate Muslim burial practices on these graves. Look at the original maps at the British drew up when they were trying to draw this line. This town was actually in Pakistan in most of the maps. But in the end the British lawyer decided to draw the line here. The people here discovered that they were now a part of the new country of India and so many of them fled just across the border to the new state of Pakistan and they left this place empty. But just as Muslims were leaving this village for the new Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan were coming across into India and some ended up here. The Hindus and Sikhs that now live in this community have taken it upon themselves to continue the Muslim traditions that this community was based off of. They continue to maintain these graves and these symbols even though they don't necessarily pertain to their own religion. This is a sign of respect, of common identity in spite of the border. But this is just one side of the story. The sub-continent echoes and shudders to the sounds of a full-scale undeclared war. Within just a few months of drawing this border, India and Pakistan were fighting an all-out war. One that centered on this region in the north, which both sides claimed as their own. The new countries would fight several more wars over the years, a border fence would eventually fortify the majority of this boundary, and both countries would acquire nuclear weapons turning up the tensions and deepening the division. But if you take away the geopolitical bluster, the nukes, the barrier, the trauma of partition, you can still see how much these two countries have in common. I'm at a school in Delhi. Students are skyping with a school in Pakistan. These kids are speaking a similar language and it takes them just minutes to dive into the common roots of their culture. This shared identity with these kids are feeling isn't uncommon in India and Pakistan. Same language, same taste, same food Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs used to live together, attend each other's social functions, marriages, everything. We have this divide now. If you stand in the wall city in Amritsar and you stand in the walled city in Lahore believe me, the smells, which is a kind of giveaway are the same. I'm visiting a group of Sikhs coming off the train. They were able to get a visa to go visit this religious site that most have to see through a telescope. So with all these cultural similarities, all these happy faces, shared interests? How do you explain this? You see, it is a politician, who poisons people's minds. The divide is created, nurtured, fostered because it suits a certain politics. Over the years, politicians on both sides have exploited tension with the other side to stoke feelings of nationalism. Back here at this viewing platform, there are construction vehicles everywhere. For years, the Sikhs have lobbied for easier access to their holy site and after years the two governments finally agreed to build a little notch into this border, a corridor that will allow Sikhs to freely access their site without a visa. These four kilometers will restore a small part of what was once the Sikh heartland. But for millions of Indians and Pakistanis who continue to live with the repercussions of the traumatic events of 1947, this fortified and volatile border remains unchanged. If anything, it's getting thicker. Seventy years later, the shadow of partition continues to divide families, halt trade, cut connection, stop cooperation, instill fear, promote hatred and the people who live in its shadow on both sides, old and young, continue to live with this division that's superimposed upon their history of deep connection.
By Timothy Mwiti4 days ago in History
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