StringJunky

I think the ground needs to be inhospitable to a vigorous, densely populated and diverse ecosystem to qualify as a desert. That's why I mentioned humus. If the ground has humus the conditions suit a varied ecosystem and is not desert. Humus will blow away if it has no moisture, plant cover to hold it together and stuff dying on it to keep it going ...it's composted living material.

Ok. exclude the North Pole. What I'm looking for in a definition is a common feature that defines all deserts and is exclusive to them.

Thanks

What maths areas do you need to get a good grip on that book? The writing style seems user-friendly enough; Ive read a couple of pages of the intro.

You could define a desert as land area that is very low in or devoid of humus which is essential to a stable and diverse ecology. That covers sandy deserts and the poles.

Like it. Proponents of freedom of expression must show that the pen is mightier than the sword ...or the Kalashnikov.

Worms rise and move around the surface to improve the oxygen situation; that's why you see them on top of wet lawns on rainy days.

I'd call them black with a hint of brown. If they were black with a hint of blue you would say they were blacker but I haven't searched for anyone with that colouration...

The hottest zone would be at the front and the vapour wraps around the meteor from there to the rear. If the ejecta was blown out from the cooler rear half it probably wasn't hot enough to leave a trail. I saw an amazing Earth grazer once as a teenager and I could see the flames coming from the front to the rear and I suspect this is what happened with this one but it is more gaseous in the video than the one I saw.

It looks like there are people that have eyes that, under normal conditions, appear black. This is some actor called Ben Barnes, if that means anything to you, and this crop I took is as scrutinising as I could find which shows the darkest shade of brown. In all the other pictures of him his eyes appear proper black.

The separation rate would add up wouldn't if it was ejected more or less opposite to the direction of motion; making the ejection speed look faster than it actually was?

Probably had a cavity, where gas inside it was increasingly compressed by the heat, eventually ruptured and blasted a piece off like a shotgun..

This is from the MSDS for Crest toothpaste:

A minor correction: In physics, scientists don't say "deceleration" because "acceleration" is a change in velocity: it expresses both slowing down and speeding up.

That article piqued my interest because it suggested worms might be the very beginnings of intelligence on the evolutionary scale.

You can censor your own choice of forums to view in the New Content page. Go down the left-hand column of the New Content page then select Filter By Forum > Click on the forums you want to view in New Content > Click Save.

Apart from the out-and-out preachers, I ask myself "Why do people want to talk about their faith on a science forum?" and I think it's often because they want to test it.against scientific thought processes. We will hardly ever know the effect on them but I'm sure some go away with new insights, like you say. If there weren't any websites like this one, spreading the scientific view to everyone, and not just the choir, religious doctrine can only continue unabated. I also agree with you that banning religion will only allow it to creep into mainstream stuff like it did before: no point history repeating itself. I hardly post in Religion but it's right that it's there. I'd hate to see this forum become too devout about science and excluding those who challenge it. We wouldn't wish to become like those we oppose would we?

In your neck of the woods, one type of rare worm can grow to 140cm and 11mm diameter.

Yes, it is better to speculate from what is known rather than from fresh air.

I shall most definitely read it. I want to be an oligochaetologist when I grow up.

Perhaps our emotions informs the decision-making process first then it is modulated by our conscious self; if necessary.

Do you know, I thought you mentioned it but couldn't see it at the time. This one is a cleaned up version with no marks on the pages ...probably used OCR.

Do you resemble that remark!

I don't know the answer but it might help to ask yourself "What would be the evolutionary advantage of having the olfactory pathway so short and direct?".