Micheal Cranford
----------------

  Tom Scharle writes:

  [ ... ]
  The fossils were hydraulicly (or is it "hydrologically" -- could
  someone tell me?) sorted in the Flood.  So the creationists tell us.
  Wouldn't that be a violation of the second law of thermodynamics?  Or,
  for that matter, any other mechanism which would sort the fossils.
  [ ... ]


No, such sorting does not violate the laws of thermodynamics.  Think about
what happens to the "order" of the displaced fluid.  Also, potential energy
is being converted into kinetic energy as the mass falls.  The idiot sorting
argument originated with Henry (air-head) Morris.  In fact, the sorting that
Morris proposes (simpler single celled life at the bottom and complex multi-
cell organisms at the top) is BACKWORDS!  Oceanographers (and many others)
have know for a long time that given two objects of similar shape and density,
the larger one will fall faster in a fluid.  The terminal velocity is
proportional to the mass (downward directed force due to gravity) divided
by cross-sectional area (upward retarding force due to drag).  If the objects
have similar shape (i.e. similar drag coefficients) and similar densities,
the larger one will have a larger downward force compared to it's cross
sectional area (i.e. mass is proportional to R^3 but area is proportional
to R^2).  Thus the distribution caused by hydraulic sorting would be the
inverse of what is seen in the fossil record (and consequently the inverse
of what Morris claims).  This is precisely why fog and clouds form in the
air but lakes don't.

Isn't it interesting that someone with a Ph.D. in Hydraulic Engineering
could be so ignorant about hydraulic flows?  A useful tip - creationist
arguments are almost always backwards (i.e. they LIKE looking backwards
[pun intended]). For example, evolution does not violate the second law
but creationism does, so creationists claim that evolution violates the
second law.  If you are going to bring in something from outside the
universe (the supernatural) you will end up violating your original
postulate (i.e. having a closed system).