text:
2Properties
4Explosive use
4.1In mixtures
4.2Terrorist use
4.3Detection
5Medical use
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
"PETN" redirects here. For the wind power station, see Taiba N'Diaye Wind Power Station.
Explosive chemical compound
Preferred IUPAC name
2,2-Bis[(nitrooxy)methyl]propane-1,3-diyl dinitrate
[3-Nitrooxy-2,2-bis(nitrooxymethyl)propyl] nitrate
78-11-5 Y
3D model (JSmol)
Interactive image
ChEMBL466659 Y
10L39TRG1Z Y
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
DTXSID2023430
InChI=1S/C5H8N4O12/c10-6(11)18-1-5(2-19-7(12)13,3-20-8(14)15)4-21-9(16)17/h1-4H2 Y
Key: TZRXHJWUDPFEEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y
InChI=1S/C5H8N4O12/c10-6(11)18-1-5(2-19-7(12)13,3-20-8(14)15)4-21-9(16)17/h1-4H2
C(C(CO[N+](=O)[O-])(CO[N+](=O)[O-])CO[N+](=O)[O-])O[N+](=O)[O-]
C5H8N4O12
Molar mass 316.137 g/mol
Appearance White crystalline solid[1]
Density 1.77 g/cm3 at 20 °C
Melting point 141.3 °C (286.3 °F; 414.4 K)
Boiling point 180 °C (356 °F; 453 K) (decomposes above 150 °C (302 °F))
Explosive data
Shock sensitivity Medium
Friction sensitivity Medium
Detonation velocity 8400 m/s (density 1.7 g/cm3)
RE factor 1.66
GHS labelling:
H201, H241, H302, H316, H370, H373
P210, P250, P261, P264, P301+P312, P370+P380, P372, P401, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
Autoignition
190 °C (374 °F; 463 K)
C01DA05 (WHO)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Y verify (what is Y N ?)
Infobox references
Chemical compound
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, PENTA, (ПЕНТА, primarily in Russian) TEN, corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as nitropenta), is an explosive material. It is the nitrate ester of pentaerythritol, and is structurally very similar to nitroglycerin. Penta refers to the five carbon atoms of the neopentane skeleton. PETN is a very powerful explosive material with a relative effectiveness factor of 1.66.[2] When mixed with a plasticizer, PETN forms a plastic explosive.[3] Along with RDX it is the main ingredient of Semtex.
PETN is also used as a vasodilator drug to treat certain heart conditions, such as for management of angina.[4][5]
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate was first prepared and patented in 1894 by the explosives manufacturer Rheinisch-Westfälische Sprengstoff A.G. of Cologne, Germany.[6][7][8][9] The production of PETN started in 1912, when the improved method of production was patented by the German government. PETN was used by the German Military in World War I.[10][11] It was also used in the MG FF/M autocannons and many other weapon systems of the Luftwaffe in World War II, specifically in the high explosive Mine shell.[citation needed]
Properties[edit]
PETN is practically insoluble in water (0.01 g/100 ml at 50 °C), weakly soluble in common nonpolar solvents such as aliphatic hydrocarbons (like gasoline) or tetrachloromethane, but soluble in some other organic solvents, particularly in acetone (about 15 g/100 g of the solution at 20 °C, 55 g/100 g at 60 °C) and dimethylformamide (40 g/100 g of the solution at 40 °C, 70 g/100 g at 70 °C). PETN forms eutectic mixtures with some liquid or molten aromatic nitro compounds, e.g. trinitrotoluene (TNT) or tetryl. Due to steric hindrance of the adjacent neopentyl-like moiety, PETN is resistant to attack by many chemical reagents; it does not hydrolyze in water at room temperature or in weaker alkaline aqueous solutions. Water at 100 °C or above causes hydrolysis to dinitrate; presence of 0.1% nitric acid accelerates the reaction.
The chemical stability of PETN is of interest, because of the presence of PETN in aging weapons. A review has been published.[12] Neutron radiation degrades PETN, producing carbon dioxide and some pentaerythritol dinitrate and trinitrate. Gamma radiation increases the thermal decomposition sensitivity of PETN, lowers melting point by few degrees Celsius, and causes swelling of the samples. Like other nitrate esters, the primary degradation mechanism is the loss of nitrogen dioxide; this reaction is autocatalytic.[citation needed] Studies were performed on thermal decomposition of PETN.[13]
In the environment, PETN undergoes biodegradation. Some bacteria denitrate PETN to trinitrate and then dinitrate, which is then further degraded.[14] PETN has low volatility and low solubility in water, and therefore has low bioavailability for most organisms. Its toxicity is relatively low, and its transdermal absorption also seems to be low.[1] It poses a threat for aquatic organisms. It can be degraded to pentaerythritol by iron.[15]
Production is by the reaction of pentaerythritol with concentrated nitric acid to form a precipitate which can be recrystallized from acetone to give processable crystals.[16]
Variations of a method first published in US Patent 2,370,437 by Acken and Vyverberg (1945 to Du Pont) form the basis of all current commercial production.
PETN is manufactured by numerous manufacturers as a powder, or together with nitrocellulose and plasticizer as thin plasticized sheets (e.g. Primasheet 1000 or Detasheet). PETN residues are easily detectable in hair of people handling it.[17] The highest residue retention is on black hair; some residues remain even after washing.[18][19]
Explosive use[edit]
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate before crystallization from acetone
The most common use of PETN is as an explosive with high brisance. It is more difficult to detonate than primary explosives, so dropping or igniting it will typically not cause an explosion (at atmospheric pressure it is difficult to ignite and burns relatively slowly), but is more sensitive to shock and friction than other secondary explosives such as TNT or tetryl.[16][20] Under certain conditions a deflagration to detonation transition can occur.
It is rarely used alone, but primarily used in booster and bursting charges of small caliber ammunition, in upper charges of detonators in some land mines and shells, and as the explosive core of detonation cord.[21] PETN is the least stable of the common military explosives, but can be stored without significant deterioration for longer than nitroglycerin or nitrocellulose.[22]
During World War II, PETN was most importantly used in exploding-bridgewire detonators for the atomic bombs. These exploding-bridgewire detonators gave more precise detonation, compared with primacord. PETN was used for these detonators because it was safer than primary explosives like lead azide: while it was sensitive, it would not detonate below a threshold amount of energy.[23] Exploding bridgewires containing PETN remain used in current nuclear weapons. In spark detonators, PETN is used to avoid the need for primary explosives; the energy needed for a successful direct initiation of PETN by an electric spark ranges between 10–60 mJ.
Its basic explosion characteristics are:
Explosion energy: 5810 kJ/kg (1390 kcal/kg), so 1 kg of PETN has the energy of 1.24 kg TNT.
Detonation velocity: 8350 m/s (1.73 g/cm3), 7910 m/s (1.62 g/cm3), 7420 m/s (1.5 g/cm3), 8500 m/s (pressed in a steel tube)
Volume of gases produced: 790 dm3/kg (other value: 768 dm3/kg)
Explosion temperature: 4230 °C
Oxygen balance: −6.31 atom -g/kg
Melting point: 141.3 °C (pure), 140–141 °C (technical)
Trauzl lead block test: 523 cm3 (other values: 500 cm3 when sealed with sand, or 560 cm3 when sealed with water)
Critical diameter (minimal diameter of a rod that can sustain detonation propagation): 0.9 mm for PETN at 1 g/cm3, smaller for higher densities (other value: 1.5 mm)
In mixtures[edit]
PETN is used in a number of compositions. It is a major ingredient of the Semtex plastic explosive. It is also used as a component of pentolite, a 50/50 blend with TNT. The XTX8003 extrudable explosive, used in the W68 and W76 nuclear warheads, is a mixture of 80% PETN and 20% of Sylgard 182, a silicone rubber.[24] It is often phlegmatized by addition of 5–40% of wax, or by polymers (producing polymer-bonded explosives); in this form it is used in some cannon shells up to 30 mm caliber, though it is unsuitable for higher calibers. It is also used as a component of some gun propellants and solid rocket propellants. Nonphlegmatized PETN is stored and handled with approximately 10% water content. PETN alone cannot be cast as it explosively decomposes slightly above its melting point,[citation needed][clarification needed] but it can be mixed with other explosives to form castable mixtures.
PETN can be initiated by a laser.[25] A pulse with duration of 25 nanoseconds and 0.5–4.2 joules of energy from a Q-switched ruby laser can initiate detonation of a PETN surface coated with a 100 nm thick aluminium layer in less than half of a microsecond.[citation needed]
PETN has been replaced in many applications by RDX, which is thermally more stable and has a longer shelf life.[26] PETN can be used in some ram accelerator types.[27] Replacement of the central carbon atom with silicon produces Si-PETN, which is extremely sensitive.[28][29]
Terrorist use[edit]
Main articles: Shoe Bomber, 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot, and 2010 cargo plane bomb plot
Ten kilograms of PETN was used in the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing.
In 1983, 307 people were killed after a truck bomb filled with PETN was detonated at the Beirut barracks.
In 1983, the "Maison de France" house in Berlin was brought to a near-total collapse by the detonation of 24 kilograms (53 lb) of PETN by terrorist Johannes Weinrich.[30]
In 1999, Alfred Heinz Reumayr used PETN as the main charge for his fourteen improvised explosive devices that he constructed in a thwarted attempt to damage the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
In 2001, al-Qaeda member Richard Reid, the "Shoe Bomber", used PETN in the sole of his shoe in his unsuccessful attempt to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami.[19][31] He had intended to use the solid triacetone triperoxide (TATP) as a detonator.[20]
In 2009, PETN was used in an attempt by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to murder the Saudi Arabian Deputy Minister of Interior Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, by Saudi suicide bomber Abdullah Hassan al Asiri. The target survived and the bomber died in the blast. The PETN was hidden in the bomber's rectum, which security experts described as a novel technique.[32][33][34]
On 25 December 2009, PETN was found in the underwear of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the "Underwear bomber", a Nigerian with links to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[35] According to US law enforcement officials,[36] he had attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 while approaching Detroit from Amsterdam.[37] Abdulmutallab had tried, unsuccessfully, to detonate approximately 80 grams (2.8 oz) of PETN sewn into his underwear by adding liquid from a syringe;[38] however, only a small fire resulted.[20]
In the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula October 2010 cargo plane bomb plot, two PETN-filled printer cartridges were found at East Midlands Airport and in Dubai on flights bound for the US on an intelligence tip. Both packages contained sophisticated bombs concealed in computer printer cartridges filled with PETN.[39][40] The bomb found in England contained 400 grams (14 oz) of PETN, and the one found in Dubai contained 300 grams (11 oz) of PETN.[40] Hans Michels, professor of safety engineering at University College London, told a newspaper that 6 grams (0.21 oz) of PETN—"around 50 times less than was used—would be enough to blast a hole in a metal plate twice the thickness of an aircraft's skin".[41] In contrast, according to an experiment conducted by a BBC documentary team designed to simulate Abdulmutallab's Christmas Day bombing, using a Boeing 747 plane, even 80 grams of PETN was not sufficient to materially damage the fuselage.[42]
On 12 July 2017, 150 grams of PETN was found in the Assembly of Uttar Pradesh,[43][44] India's most populous state.[45][46]
Detection[edit]
In the wake of terrorist PETN bomb plots, an article in Scientific American noted PETN is difficult to detect because it does not readily vaporize into the surrounding air.[39] The Los Angeles Times noted in November 2010 that PETN's low vapor pressure makes it difficult for bomb-sniffing dogs to detect.[19]
Many technologies can be used to detect PETN, including chemical sensors, X-rays, infrared, microwaves[47] and terahertz,[48] some of which have been implemented in public screening applications, primarily for air travel. PETN is one of the explosive chemicals typically of interest in that area, and it belongs to a family of common nitrate-based explosive chemicals which can often be detected by the same tests.
One detection system in use at airports involves analysis of swab samples obtained from passengers and their baggage. Whole-body imaging scanners that use radio-frequency electromagnetic waves, low-intensity X-rays, or T-rays of terahertz frequency that can detect objects hidden under clothing are not widely used because of cost, concerns about the resulting traveler delays, and privacy concerns.[49]
Both parcels in the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot were x-rayed without the bombs being spotted.[50] Qatar Airways said the PETN bomb "could not be detected by x-ray screening or trained sniffer dogs".[51] The Bundeskriminalamt received copies of the Dubai x-rays, and an investigator said German staff would not have identified the bomb either.[50][52] New airport security procedures followed in the U.S., largely to protect against PETN.[19]
Medical use[edit]
Like nitroglycerin (glyceryl trinitrate) and other nitrates, PETN is also used medically as a vasodilator in the treatment of heart conditions.[4][5] These drugs work by releasing the signaling gas nitric oxide in the body. The heart medicine Lentonitrat is nearly pure PETN.[53]
Monitoring of oral usage of the drug by patients has been performed by determination of plasma levels of several of its hydrolysis products, pentaerythritol dinitrate, pentaerythritol mononitrate and pentaerythritol, in plasma using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.[54]
Erythritol tetranitrate
RE factor
^ a b "Wildlife Toxicity Assessment for pentaerythritol tetranitrate" (PDF). U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. November 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[permanent dead link]
^ "PETN (Pentaerythritol tetranitrate)". Retrieved March 29, 2010.
^ Childs, John (1994). "Explosives" (Google Books extract). A dictionary of military history and the art of war. ISBN 978-0-631-16848-5.
^ a b "New Drugs". Can Med Assoc J. 80 (12): 997–998. 1959. PMC 1831125. PMID 20325960.
^ a b Ebadi, Manuchair S. (1998). CRC desk reference of clinical pharmacology (Google Books excerpt). p. 383. ISBN 978-0-8493-9683-0.
^ Deutsches Reichspatent 81,664 (1894)
^ Thieme, Bruno "Process of making nitropentaerythrit," U.S. patent no. 541,899 (filed: November 13, 1894 ; issued: July 2, 1895).
^ Krehl, Peter O. K. (2009) History of Shock Waves, Explosions and Impact. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. p. 405.
^ Urbański, Tadeusz; Ornaf, Władysław and Laverton, Sylvia (1965) Chemistry and Technology of Explosives, vol. 2 (Oxford, England: Permagon Press. p. 175.
^ German Patent 265,025 (1912)
^ Stettbacher, Alfred (1933). Die Schiess- und Sprengstoffe (2. völlig umgearb. Aufl. ed.). Leipzig: Barth. p. 459.
^ Foltz, M. F. "Aging of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN)" (PDF). Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 23, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ German, V.N. et al. Thermal decomposition of PENT and HMX over a wide temperature range. Institute of Physics of Explosion, RFNC-VNIIEF, Sarov, Russia
^ Zhuang, Li; Gui, Lai; Gillham, Robert W. (October 1, 2012). "Biodegradation of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) by anaerobic consortia from a contaminated site". Chemosphere. 89 (7): 810–816. Bibcode:2012Chmsp..89..810Z. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.04.062. ISSN 0045-6535. PMID 22647196.
^ Zhuang, L; Gui, L; Gillham, R. W. (2008). "Degradation of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) by Granular Iron". Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 (12): 4534–9. Bibcode:2008EnST...42.4534Z. doi:10.1021/es7029703. PMID 18605582.
^ a b Boileau, Jacques; Fauquignon, Claude; Hueber, Bernard & Meyer, Hans H. "Explosives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a10_143.pub2.
^ Winslow, Ron. (December 29, 2009) A Primer in PETN – WSJ.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
^ Oxley, Jimmie C.; Smith, James L.; Kirschenbaum, Louis J.; Shinde, Kajal. P.; Marimganti, Suvarna (2005). "Accumulation of Explosives in Hair". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 50 (4): 826–31. doi:10.1520/JFS2004545. PMID 16078483.
^ a b c d Bennett, Brian (November 24, 2010). "PETN: The explosive that airport security is targeting". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Washington Bureau. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
^ a b c Chang, Kenneth (December 27, 2009). "Explosive on Flight 253 Is Among Most Powerful". The New York Times.
^ "Primacord Technical Information" (PDF). Dyno Nobel. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
^ PETN (chemical compound). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
^ Lillian Hoddeson; Paul W. Henriksen; Roger A. Meade; Catherine L. Westfall; Gordon Baym; Richard Hewlett; Alison Kerr; Robert Penneman; Leslie Redman; Robert Seidel (2004). A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945 (Google Books excerpt). pp. 164–173. ISBN 978-0-521-54117-6.
^ Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information – Sponsored by OSTI. Osti.gov (November 23, 2009). Retrieved 2010-02-08.
^ Tarzhanov, V. I.; Zinchenko, A. D.; Sdobnov, V. I.; Tokarev, B. B.; Pogrebov, A. I.; Volkova, A. A. (1996). "Laser initiation of PETN". Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves. 32 (4): 454. doi:10.1007/BF01998499. S2CID 98083192.
^ US Army – Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items, vol.8
^ Simulation of ram accelerator with PETN layer, Arkadiusz Kobiera and Piotr Wolanski, XXI ICTAM, August 15–21, 2004, Warsaw, Poland
^ Wei-Guang Liu; et al. (2009). "Explanation of the Colossal Detonation Sensitivity of Silicon Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (Si-PETN) Explosive" (PDF). J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131 (22): 7490–1. doi:10.1021/ja809725p. PMID 19489634. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 21, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
^ Computational Organic Chemistry » Si-PETN sensitivity explained. Comporgchem.com (July 20, 2009). Retrieved 2010-02-08.
^ "Article detailing attack on Maison de France in Berlin (German)". Der Spiegel. December 13, 1999. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
^ "'Shoe bomb suspect 'did not act alone'". BBC News. January 25, 2002. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
^ "Saudi suicide bomber hid IED in his anal cavity". Homeland Security Newswire. September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
^ England, Andrew (November 1, 2010). "Bomb clues point to Yemeni terrorists". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
^ "Saudi Bombmaker Key Suspect in Yemen Plot". CBS News. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
^ "Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Attempted Bombing of U.S. Plane". FOX News Network. December 28, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
^ "Criminal Complaint" (PDF). The Huffington Post. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
^ "Investigators: Northwest Bomb Plot Planned by al Qaeda in Yemen". ABC News. December 26, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^ Explosive in Detroit terror case could have blown hole in airplane, sources say The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
^ a b Greenemeier, Larry. "Exposing the Weakest Link: As Airline Passenger Security Tightens, Bombers Target Cargo Holds". Scientific American. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
^ a b Shane, Scott; Worth, Robert F. (November 1, 2010). "Early Parcels Sent to U.S. Were Eyed as Dry Run". The New York Times.
^ "Parcel bombs could rip 50 planes in half". India Today. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
^ "'Underwear Bomber' Could not have Blown Up Plane". Discovery. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
^ "What is PETN explosive device found in Uttar Pradesh Assembly?". July 15, 2017.
^ "Highly explosive PETN found in Uttar Pradesh Assembly: Yogi Adityanath demands NIA probe-India News , Firstpost". July 14, 2017.
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^ Committee on the Review of Existing and Potential Standoff Explosives Detection Techniques, National Research Council (2004) Existing and Potential Standoff Explosives Detection Techniques, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. p. 77.
^ Bou-Sleiman, J.; Perraud, J.-B.; Bousquet, B.; Guillet, J.-P.; Palka, N.; Mounaix, P. (2015). "Discrimination and identification of RDX/PETN explosives by chemometrics applied to terahertz time-domain spectral imaging". In Salmon, Neil A; Jacobs, Eddie L (eds.). Millimetre Wave and Terahertz Sensors and Technology VIII. Vol. 9651. p. 965109. doi:10.1117/12.2197442. S2CID 137950290.
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Cooper, Paul (1997). Explosives Engineering. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-0-471-18636-6.
Vasodilators used in cardiac diseases (C01D)
Nitrovasodilators
Nitroglycerin #
Isosorbide dinitrate #
Isosorbide mononitrate
Itramin tosilate
Linsidomine
Molsidomine
Propatylnitrate
Tenitramine
Trolnitrate
Quinolone vasodilators
Flosequinan‡
Benziodarone
Carbocromen
Cinepazet
Cloridarol
Dilazep
Efloxate
Etafenone
Gapicomine
Heptaminol
Hexobendine
Imolamine
Levosimendan
Nesiritide
Oxyfedrine
Pimobendan
Prenylamine
Serelaxin
Trapidil
Vericiguat
#WHO-EM
‡Withdrawn from market
†Phase III
§Never to phase III
Nitric oxide signaling modulators
Nitroxyl anion (NO−; oxonitrate(1-), hyponitrite anion)
Nitric oxide (NO⋅; nitrogen monoxide)
Nitrosonium (NO+; nitrosyl cation)
Activators/stimulators: Ataciguat
BAY 41-2272
Cinaciguat (BAY 58-2667)
GSK-2181236A
Praliciguat
Riociguat
Inhibitors: ODQ
NO donors
(prodrugs)
Nitrates: Diethylene glycol dinitrate (DEGDN)
Erythritol tetranitrate (ETN)
Ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN; nitroglycol)
Isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN)
Isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN)
Mannitol hexanitrate
Naproxcinod (nitronaproxen; AZD-3582, HCT-3012)
NCX-466
NCX-2216
NCX 4040
Nipradilol (K-351)
Nitrate (NO−
Nitroatorvastatin (NCX-6560)
Nitroflurbiprofen (HCT-1026)
Nitrofluvastatin
Nitroglycerin (glyceryl trinitrate (GTN))
Nitropravastatin (NCX-6550)
Pentaerithrityl tetranitrate (PETN)
Propylene glycol dinitrate (PGDN)
Sodium trioxodinitrate (Angeli's salt)
Nitroso compounds/nitrites: Nitrite (NO−
2); O-Nitroso compounds (alkyl nitrites): Amyl nitrite (isoamyl nitrite, isopentyl nitrite)
Cyclohexyl nitrite
Ethyl nitrite
Hexyl nitrite
Isobutyl nitrite (2-methylpropyl nitrite)
Isopropyl nitrite
Methyl nitrite
n-Butyl nitrite
Pentyl nitrite
tert-Butyl nitrite; S-Nitroso compounds (thionitrites): LA810
S-Nitrosoalbumin (SNALB)
S-Nitrosated AR545C
S-Nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC)
S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)
S-Nitroso-N-valerylpenicillamine (SNVP)
S-Nitrosocaptopril (SNO-Cap)
S-Nitrosocysteine (SNC, CysNO, SNO-Cys)
S-Nitrosodiclofenac
S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO, SNOG)
SNO-t-PA
SNO-vWF; N-Nitroso compounds (e.g., nitrosamines): SIN-1A
Nitrosyl compounds: Metal nitrosyl complexes: Roussin's black salt
Roussin's red salt
Sodium nitroprusside (SNP)
NONOates (diazeniumdiolates): Diethylamine/NO (DEA/NO)
Diethylenetriamine/NO (DETA/NO)
GLO/NO
JS-K
Methylamine hexamethylene methylamine/NO (MAHMA/NO)
PROLI/NO
Spermine/NO (SPER/NO)
V-PYRRO/NO
Heterocyclic compounds: Furoxans: Furoxan
REC15/2739; Sydnonimines: Feprosidnine
Linsidomine (SIN-1)
Molsidomine (SIN-10)
Sydnonimine
Unsorted: Cimlanod
FR144220
N-Acetyl-N-acetoxy-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamide
(inhibitors)
3-Bromo-7-nitroindazole
3-Chloroindazole
3-Chloro-5-nitroindazole
5-Nitroindazole
A-84643
Aminoguanidine (pimagedine)
ARL-17477
Indazole
N5-(1-Iminoethyl)-L-ornithine (L-NIO)
Nω-Methyl-L-arginine (L-NMA)
Nω-Propyl-L-arginine (L-NPA)
Nitroarginine (NNA, NOARG)
Pentamidine isethionate
iNOS
1-Amino-2-hydroxyguanidine
2-Ethylaminoguanidine
2-Iminopiperidine
AEITU
AR-C 102222
BYK-191023
Canavanine
Cindunistat (SD-6010)
EITU
MITU
N6-(1-Iminoethyl)-L-lysine (L-NIL)
Ronopterin (VAS-203)
Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA)
Guanidinoethyldisulfide (GED)
Indospicine
KD-7040
Nitroarginine methyl ester (NAME)
NXN-462
ONO-1714
VAS-2381
Arginase
ABH
Nω-Hydroxy-L-arginine (NOHA)
chlorogenic acid
alpha aminoacids
CAMK
Calmidazolium
Precursors: L-Arginine
Cofactors: NADPH
Heme
Indirect/downstream NO modulators: ACE inhibitors/AT-II receptor antagonists (e.g., captopril, losartan)
ETB receptor antagonists (e.g., bosentan)
L-Type calcium channel blockers (e.g., dihydropyridines: nifedipine)
Nebivolol (beta blocker)
PDE5 inhibitors (e.g., sildenafil)
non-selective PDE inhibitors (e.g., caffeine)
PDE9 inhibitors (e.g., paraxanthine)
cGMP preferring PDE inhibitors (e.g., sildenafil, paraxanthine, tadalafil)
Statins (e.g., simvastatin)
See also: Receptor/signaling modulators
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Kalkaska County is a county located in the state of Michigan. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 17,153. The county seat is Kalkaska. The county was set off in 1840 as Wabassee County, and renamed in 1843. It was organized in 1871. The county's name is a Native American, but its meaning is uncertain.
Kalkaska County is included in the Traverse City, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.
The name Kalkaska is thought to be a Chippewa word meaning flat or burned-over country.
The first settler in Kalkaska County was an Englishman named William Copeland, who purchased land in the northwest corner of the county in 1855. The county was originally called Wabasee. The name Kalkaska is thought to be a Chippewa word meaning flat or burned-over country. Logging was the first important industry.
The discovery of substantial deposits of oil and natural gas resulted in the construction of a processing plant by Shell Oil Company in 1973 and a major economic boom in the community.
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 571 square miles (1,480 km2), of which 560 square miles (1,500 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.9%) is water.
Kalkaska Sand, the state soil of Michigan, was named after the county because of the large amounts deposited in the area from the glaciers in the Ice Age.
The Pere Marquette State Forest covers much of the county. Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is the so-called Grayling outwash plain, which consists of broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges; jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forest. Large lakes were created by glacial action.


Its officially fall but the weather hasn't completely turned. I was looking for a fall drink but still light and I can't resist a little bubbly. I added this simple syrup recipe to my prosecco and kicked it up a notch with a shot of vodka. The best cocktails are the ones that are strong but you can't taste the alcohol.
This one is super easy and you can make a big batch of the symbols syrup and store it in your fridge for up to two weeks. This makes it a quick drink to have anytime!
I love that you smell how good it's going to taste before your first sip.


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Example Simplifications
• The UVA and UVB light are each shown as two identical photons when in reality there are many more photons involved.
• The wavelengths of the two photons used to represent UVA and UVB light are shown to be the same when in reality each consists of a range of wavelengths.
• The ZnO particles are shown as "solid" balls when in reality they are clusters of ions.
• All of the ZnO particles are shown to be the same size, but in reality, there is a distribution of particle sizes.
• The damage of the UV rays to the skin doesn't show the DNA mutations that lead to cancer because of the size and timescale involved.
• The sunscreen solvent is a pale yellow, but it should be clear since it does not scatter (or absorb) light. How else could this be shown in the animations?
For the full version of this activity with all ten questions, please go to http://www.nanosense.org/activities/clearsunscreen/index.html and download the Teacher Materials for Lesson 4: How Sunscreens Appear: Scattering.
Atkinson, William Illsey. Nanocosm: Nanotechnology and the Big Changes Coming from the Inconceivably Small. New York: AMACOM/American Management Association, 2003.
Drexler, Eric K. Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 1992.
Fishbine, Glenn. The Investor's Guide to Nanotechnology & Micromachines. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
Hamakawa, Yoshihiro. Thin-Film Solar Cells. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2004.
Luryi, Serge, and Jimmy Xu. Future Trends in Microelectronics: Reflections on the Road to Nanotechnology. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996.
Scientific American (authors). Key Technologies for the 21st Century: Scientific American: A Special Issue. New York: W.H. Freeman & Co, 1996.
Uldrich, Jack, and Deb Newberry. Next Big Thing Is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2003.
Exploring the Nanoworld, movies of nano-structured materials including ferroflu-ids, memory metals, LEDs, self-assembly, and Lego models. National Science Foundation supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc
G Living.The Phoenix Electric Nano Battery SUV. http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=w-Zv5RFgmWY&NR
Electron-Beam Lithography. Nanopolis Online Multimedia Library. Electron-beam lithography is a technique for creating extremely fine patterns required for modern electronic circuits. http://online.nanopolis.net/viewer.php?subject_ id=139
Cosmetics. Nanopolis Online Multimedia Library. The cosmetics industry was one of the first industries to employ nanotechnology for cosmetics that include creams, moisturizers, and sunscreens. http://online.nanopolis.net/viewer.php?subject_ id=274
Nano Science and Technology Institute: http://www.nsti.org/ NanoBusiness Alliance: www.nanobusiness.org/ Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Newsletter: http://responsiblenontechnology.org/newletter.htm
Nanomagazine (founded 2001, many interviews with leading figures): http://www. nanomagazine.com
Nano Technology Magazine: http://nanozine.com
Small Times: Daily articles covering MEMS, nanotechnology, and microsystems, with a business angle. http://www.smalltimes.com
NanoInk, Inc.: Creator of Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) tools for fabricating MEMS and other nanoscale devices. Chicago. http://www.nanoink.net NanotechNews: News for nanotechnologists and investors: regular updates, many links to other nanotechnology Web sites, archives, search function, newswire. http://news.nanoapex.com/
SOMETHING TO DO
Self-cleaning glass is a nanotechnology consumer product that is available today. But, what is self-cleaning glass and how does it work? For an activity to help you learn more about the product, go to the NNIN Nanotechnology Web site: http://www.nnin.org/nnin_edu.html
NanotechnoLogy for Food, Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture, and Forestry
Nanotechnology has the potential to provide the tools and the research to change the future of food technology. Applying the principles of nanotechnology, researchers can produce more nutritious food and beverages; improve food packaging, and develop special biosensors. These biosensors can monitor food safety and the health of crops, forest areas, fish ponds, and livestock.
According to one report, more than 200 companies worldwide are engaged in nanotech research and development related to food. The United States is the leader followed by Japan and China. All these countries and others will take part in a nanofood market that will surge from $2.6 billion today to $20.4 billion in 2010.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Lumia 530 is all set to launch in India, as the device is listed for pre-order in the country. The pre-orders for the device on Snapdeal are already sold out, and it looks like consumers who haven't managed to get their order in have to wait until the third week of August, which is when the device is slated to launch in the country.
The Lumia 530 is also listed on Flipkart, although the page only mentions that the device is "Coming Soon." Interested users can be notified of when the device is in stock by registering their interest on the site.
As for the details of the Lumia 530, the device is the most affordable Windows Phone 8.1 device, and while Microsoft India hasn't officially announced the pricing yet, it is believed that the device would not exceed Rs. 8,000 ($130) in India. For that kind of money, you get a 4-inch FWVGA screen, 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 CPU, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, microSD card slot up to 128 GB, dual-SIM connectivity, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, 5 MP camera along with a 1,430mAh battery.
How many of you are eagerly awaiting the launch of the Lumia 530 in India?
Thanks to everyone for sending this in!


Welcome to Kevin Hopkins Studio, a place of Stone Carvings and Sculptures. I am a stone carver living in Eastern Ontario who loves working with a variety of different types of stones. Have a look around to see some of my favourite current and past carvings. If there is anything you like or if you are interested in a custom piece, you can get in touch on the Contact page.
Copyright 2015 - 2019. Kevin Hopkins Studio. All rights reserved.


Spitfire is the story about a particularly famous aircraft and about how a mythology grew around it. In exploring this it also captures how as time moves on, the past can grow in stature. The Supermarine Spitfire was a feat of engineering, a design that accommodated several advances in technology allowing it to remain a viable front line fighter throughout World War II. Beautiful and elegant in the air, loved by pilots, it proved an inspiring sight to a public facing invasion. Other planes from that era that played their part in history, yet the Spitfire is fixed in the public's mind as the winner of the Battle of Britain which establishes the myth. The story goes if the Spitfire won the Battle of Britain then it preserved Western democracy for the 20th century and therefore it could be argued it is the most important aeroplane in history. It has come to represent at the very least British supremacy, ingenuity and fortitude in the face of impossible odds. Never mind that the Hawker Hurricane, more readily available, shot down more enemy during the battle.
With the full cooperation of the Royal Air Force, the documentary lovingly frames the famed interceptor against English fields, cinematic sunsets and the iconic white cliffs of Dover. While it does have its cake and eat it too, there are some surprising reflections about that battle, that war and this aircraft. Shown parked in the same airfield with consortium manufactured Eurofighters, we are taken back to a time when Britain produced its own fighters alone and made world-beaters. Modern audiences may not be aware of Leslie Howard's 1942 film The First of the Few but it is referenced here in the telling of Supermarine designer R.J. Mitchell and how the Spitfire came about.
Then to the war and to the young men who flew in combat. Now all much older but still handsome and well measured in their thoughts and reflections. Through them we get the sense of how the Spitfire was designed to kill …and kill it did. There is no glory in that and yet these men were fighting for survival. As their numbers dwindle their reflections are sought more, the fading of one age almost complete. A marked contrast to the well maintained and newly polished flying examples of the plane they once piloted, and yet in so few remaining numbers like themselves.
Other stories are glossed over, with a fleeting reference to the fact that other nationalities piloted the Spitfire in the Battle of Britain. More time is given to the female Air Transport Auxiliary pilots who ferried the planes through hostile airspace from the factories to the airfields. Their contribution having only in recent years been celebrated, includes recently passed away ATA veteran Mary Ellis delighting with her spirit and fond memories at 100 years of age. The defence of the Mediterranean island of Malta is also mentioned, D-Day and the taking down of V1 rockets. No footage is used from films like The Battle of Britain (1969), The Malta Story (1953), Dark Blue World (2001) or even Dunkirk (2017). After honouring the memory of Mitchell and the wartime film that helped create the public's adoration for the aircraft, the focus remains on black and white war footage cut together with filming of the interceptor today.
It is a solid production, thoughtful in its deliberations on the excitement and toll of war, indulging in the legend of the Spitfire while also explaining how it was constructed – both plane and myth. No one film could really give justice to all the stories that can be told about this indelible fighter plane. Yet we have a tightly constructed 90 minute documentary that proves interesting in some moments more than others, but is always considered and respectful to an aircraft and a few from which we owe so much.


The Akord Adult Incontinence Disposal System makes the disposal of incontinence products easy and efficient with its advanced double sealing locking system. This advanced system locks away odors and gives you the confidence you deserve. The Akord's unique hands-free design makes it appealing for numerous living settings.
Your Akord disposal unit arrives ready-to-use with a pre-loaded liner. Replacement liners can be purchased here: JANIBELL 2 Pack Liner 330 Series.
Bought this after the diapers outgrew the Playtex diaper disposal system. Generously sized, fits more than a week's worth of diapers and keeps odours under control. I like how the refill bags come in minimal packaging too. This is a overall a good, well designed product.
The container is easy to use, neat & convenient. I don't find the bags exactly odour proof but I guess they can only do so much. The depends are strictly for urine & there is an odour when putting through the flap & changing the bag but It does mean that I don't have to take a bag out to there garbage every day. I can now change the bag about every 3 days.
I'm grateful for the help.
This product is a perfect way to dispose of sanitary products and looks nice, too.
After a few months of use, the spring on one of the interior door flaps malfunctioned and wouldn't close; even though this product does not come with a warranty, Healthwick Canada sent a free replacement that arrived the day after I reported the issue.
This is the product I was searching for. It holds a fair amount of used briefs, neutralizing and illuminating the odor so that you could leave it in any room of your home without worry. Highly recommend this product to other customers.


CDT has consistently opposed DOS's past social media collection proposals for many reasons including the fact that such collection would chill free speech and association and inhibit the right to anonymity, in return for little security benefit.
CDT urges the State Department to withdraw the agency's proposed information collection under Public Notices 10260 and 10261. The proposal asks all immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants to provide social media identifiers, and email addresses used in the past five years, among other information. This astronomical collection would have an immediate impact on 14.7 million visa applicants, and thousands, if not millions, more third parties whose data could be collaterally reviewed.


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Dead in Vinland Review (PC)
Survive in Vinland – Or Don't!
Dead in Vinland is a turn-based battle strategy/survival management game with a lot of Nordic Viking goodness!
You follow the family of Eirik, an exiled Viking and his family, his wife Blodeuwedd, their daughter Kari (Kari on miehen nimi… the names feel a bit like they were pulled out of a horned nordic hat) and Blodeuwedd's sister Moira. After being chased from their homeland, the family get shipwrecked on a small island, in what the Vikings called "Vinland", a small area in North America. Eirik and family decide to set up camp here in an attempt to start their lives again, making the most of a bad situation! During their stay they'll encounter many other shipwrecked or abandoned people, from all corners of the globe. Which does make me wonder where exactly Vinland is in this canon.
You must build up the campsite, adding a hunting station, a mining site or a healing tent etc, as well as maintaining the needs of our family. To make matters more interesting: a tyrannical Viking ruler is threatening your family and once a week you must hand over some of your resources, or he'll send a huge person to beat the heck out of a member of your tribe.
Viking Life Simulator
While you start out with four family members, more people can join your tribe the more you explore the island. Each person has the same "needs", which is to keep their hunger, sickness, injury, fatigue and depression in check. Part of the gameplay is to stop any of these doom-meters from reaching one hundred percent – kind of like The Sims but lower on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If one of the bars reaches one hundred percent, then they will die. You can build various stations around the camp to help with their needs, such as a napping station to lower their fatigue, a health tent to cure sickness or injury and a tavern to allay their depression. Although I will say that the message that alcohol cures depression is very questionable!
If you don't have a lot of experience in management games and are looking for a nice gentle one to start you off – I would not recommend Lost in Vinland. It is very difficult. It's almost impossible to predict how stats will be affected from day to day, as many variables including weather or encounters with enemies are rather random. Keeping all their stats in the green is pretty much impossible, so it becomes a case of just trying to keep the bastards alive. At one point I had to have one of the characters constantly in the healing tent otherwise she would have died of illness! Then of course we ran out of herbs because no-one could collect them, so she died anyway. Food perishes very quickly if you don't build the storage, and building can take a while, so almost every day you need to have someone collecting food. Some characters have to take one day of rest for every day of work they actually do! So much for the tough and fearless Vikings!
We All Pitch In
If you are experienced in management games, you'll have a lot of fun playing. The wild world of Vinland will keep you on your toes, constantly throwing you new tasks or new ways to improve the lives of your tribe. It has this very addictive nature to it – even though time moves slowly, there is this sense of achievement at the end of each day when you manage to build something new and keep everyone alive!
Twice a day, morning and afternoon, you assign people to tasks around the campsite. This is a great way to play, as you can swap people around a keep an eye on their needs, while still knowing nothing can go terribly wrong whilst you're not watching. Different characters are better suited to different tasks, so it takes a little while to get into the swing of things. The characters only need food and water at the end of the day, so you can prepare to have everything they might need ready.
Just make sure to keep the four main characters alive, otherwise the game will end. There are adjusted difficulty levels to the game, but the changes aren't immense (and you'll be roundly shamed if you play in the easiest mode!)
The Beautiful Scenery
Perhaps the most interesting part of Dead in Vinland is its art style. It's got this bizarre comic book feel to it, that takes the edge off all the suffering and death. All the characters look very unique and individual, along with all the scenery, which is impressive given how many areas there are to explore. It's got this fun and colourful visual element to it, which is kind of funny given how grim the desperate survivalist premise of Vinland actually is. A lot of creativity has gone into this world. When you send people out to explore you don't know if they'll find a cute fluffy sheep or a rotting bull head! I couldn't help but get excited, wondering what I was going to discover next.
The writing falls a little short in areas. The detail settings and grim reality of the gameplay work well to put the player in this Nordic wasteland – but then crude or modern jokes pull you back out of it. That and the characters can seem a little generic at times. The family dynamic feels like it would be better suited in a sit-com than an adventure game, especially the stereotypical whiney, complaining teenage daughter. That being said, you do meet some more interesting people later on in the game, who can come and join your campsite. I would have liked more opportunity to get to know the characters, or more opportunity as the player to affect their relationships. Each character's relationship with the other can affect the gameplay. For example, if one character likes the other they might comfort them when they're depressed or offer to help with their chores, reducing their fatigue. But a lot of the dialogue is predetermined, so your player choices don't affect the relationships that often.
Fighting for Your Life
The combat in Dead in Vinland can drag on a bit and get a little repetitive, but no more than any other turn-based combat system. You can choose three of your people who will enter the battle, each character having different strengths, who will then attack the enemies in a predetermined order. Characters are often either archers or melee fighters, so are more useful in different positions of the battle.
I personally prefer turn-based combat to fighting games, as there is a lot more strategy to be had here, rather than just throwing punches as fast as you can. Each attack your characters have will come with a percentage, showing you how likely they are to work. Maybe it's just me, but the game has a very strange idea of what "100 percent" means. Even when I was promised an attack had a one hundred percent accuracy, I would still occasionally miss. Realistic maybe, but mathematically questionable.
Your enemies are very similar, which is one of the reasons why it begins to get a little repetitive. I can't deny that I began to avoid combat after a while, as it took too long, and you rarely get anything helpful out of it. Even so, it feels like a necessary addition to a game and is another way of keeping the days interesting.
Settling Down
Although there is a lot to nit-pick about Dead in Vinland, how hard it is to maintain the needs of the tribe, how slowly you build the campsite and the repetitive combat – it is just that: nit-picking. What the game ultimately is, is a colourful strategy game that draws you right in and makes you want to improve the lives of this diverse, growing family. I don't even want the things I've complained about to change, they add so much to the game, although the writing could be improved. Every time I pulled someone back from suicide or make the resources for the big scary Viking Mafia, I feel happy for the fictional tribe.
The game even constantly saves for you after each day, so you can go back and redo any decisions you weren't happy with. Besides, this has got to be a lot more pleasant than wandering the wilderness in real life! I can complain about how needy these Vikings are but I would have been crying on the floor in fetal position before noon on the second day.
Final Verdict: 4/5
Available on: PC (reviewed); Publisher: Playdius Entertainment; Developer: CCCP; Players: 1 ; Released: April 12, 2018; MSRP: $19.99
Full disclosure: This review is based on a PC review copy of Dead in Vinland given to HeyPoorPlayer by the publisher.
Tagged Dead in VinlandPCPlaydius EntertainmentReview
Dougie K Powell
Twenty-something journalist, based in both Helsinki, Finland and London, Britain. I'm mostly interested in RPGs, including Fantasy and Horror, but also write topical pieces on gaming culture. I live with my partner and our five-year-old Australian Kelpie, Vernon.
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Review (PC)
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Brings Dungeon-Crawling Adventure To PC Today
The 25 Best Nintendo Games of the Decade (2010-2019)
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Demon Pit Review (PC)
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Frostpunk: The Last Autumn Expansion Review (PC)
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The Mission Preview
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5 Mario Fan Games That You Totally Need To Play
Make an unofficial home for Mario on your PC Nintendo's portly plumber is mostly absent from the PC, not counting a slew of forgettable edutainment titles. This hasn't stopped…
Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom Review (Switch)
A World of Wonder Awaits As an early teenager, I developed a major appreciation for the game Dragon's Curse for the TurboGrafx-16. Originally a game that I'd…
Case Closed Vol. 68 Review
Oh, that tricky kanji! I'm certain I've become a broken record when it comes to these Case Closed reviews, mainly with the following lamentable observation: "as always, there are…
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Bunny Park Review (PC)
Winter Fury: Longest Road Review (Oculus Rift S)
Ski Jumping Pro VR Review (PC)
Wattam Review (PC)
Ritual: Crown Of Horns Review (PC)
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Kevin Stein grew up, like most contemporary poets, believing what he was told, that poetry was a dying form, a noble if outdated genre. His experience as a poet, teacher, and promoter of the art, though, proved that assumption wrong. Poetry is, Stein argues, now more popular than ever. Its obituaries were premature, and its afterlife—after the shift toward the digital, after the institutionalization of the poet as a member of the academy, after supposedly creaking along for the better half of a century—promises to be American poetry's best age ever. Stein sets out three goals in his preface: first, he intends to situate "the individual poetic self amid the pendulum swings of large-scale aesthetic history"; then to explore how technology has affected the writing, distribution, and receptions of poetry; and finally to "scrutinize poets' increasingly institutionalized roles" at university workshops.
His opening essay summarizes two centuries of American criticism concerned with the binary branches of American poetry: the academic (now workshop) and the oppositional, which includes everything from language to slam. Stein is careful not to consider his aesthetic generalizations definitive, as in his essay that explores the liminal nature of James Wright's poetry, which alternately trusts and doubts the legitimacy of emotion. Later chapters discuss top-ten list fetishism, the newspaper as means of poetry distribution, and the computer's impact of the future of literary archives. Stein proves throughout to be a scholar of great breadth, as likely to reference ESPN's Sports Center or MySpace as he is to offer a diagram of how the human eye works. His "Digital Poetry Playlist" ought to be required reading for any poet or scholar over thirty years old, introducing work by Loss Pequeño Glazier, Flarf and Conceptual Writing poets, and others, suggesting sensibly that "the medium[s] can proffer . . . means to poetic ends." That statement exemplifies Stein's general outlook of optimistic realism; he realizes that the digital shift has already happened—we're living in its afterlife—and its legitimacy is best assessed by examining the quality of the work itself.
Stein's final section springs from his experience as teacher and poetry promoter—he has served as Illinois Poet Laureate since 2003. Throughout his discussion of practical concerns, like violence in student poetry (especially since the Virginia Tech shootings), teaching voice, and "Why Kids Hate Poetry," which condemns the dominant early pedagogies employed to teach the subject, Stein maintains his outlook throughout: he views poet-teachers not just as cogs in the MFA-churning system but, more optimistically, considers the classroom "the febrile site where . . . our future poets" first encounter the art form.
A special section devoted to International Literary Journalism headlines the March 2012 issue of WLT, including a fascinating interview with Anthony Shadid.


Dr. Tittle attended Calvin College for a Bachelor's degree in Biology. Immediately after graduating from Calvin, she went to Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and obtained a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. During her time as a student at Michigan State, she also worked in the Orthopedics department for 2 years. Once graduated, she worked at Richland Animal Hospital for almost 2 years before joining Eastown Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Tittle loves the day to day challenges that veterinary medicine provides and she is also very passionate about surgery. Being a part of building and facilitating the health and bond between owners and their pets has been a dream of hers since she was 9 years old. When not at work she lives with her husband Ryan, dogs Ellie and Rylee, and her cat, Sheldon. Dr. Tittle also enjoys time at the barn working with her horse Lyon and competing in 3-day eventing.


There were 20 players headed toward free agency who were given a qualifying offer to stay with their old club, a record number. As Friday's 5 p.m. ET deadline passed, three players accepted the offer for the first time in history, and another signed a two-year deal with his team.
Each of these free agents was offered a one-year deal for $15.8 million. Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus had accepted the offer, as did Orioles catcher Matt Wieters and Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson. Marco Estrada signed a two-year deal with the Blue Jays for $26 million.
That $15.8 million salary was determined by averaging the top 125 player salaries from the 2015 season. Any team making such an offer receives a compensatory Draft pick at the end of the first round if the player rejects the offer and signs with another team. Compensation picks will be made in reverse order of teams' winning percentage from the 2015 season.
It had been tradition for players to turn down qualifying offers. In the four years since the system was put in place, Rasmus, Wieters and Anderson are the only three of 54 players to accept a qualifying offer thus far. Thanks to the record number of qualifying offers made this year, the first round of the 2016 Draft will be a long one.
For now, the compensation picks will take place at Nos. 31-46. There are currently 30 picks in the first round, but there is a good chance that will change. When a team signs a free agent who received a qualifying offer (unless that team has a pick in the top 10), it will forfeit its first-round pick. Teams picking in the top 10 will forfeit their next-highest selection.
If every remaining free agent who received a qualifying offer signs with another team, the San Diego Padres would get the first two compensation picks, for Ian Kennedy and Justin Upton. The Padres will be followed by the White Sox (Jeff Samardzija), the Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma) and the Orioles for two (Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Davis). The Nationals would follow with two (Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond), with the Rangers (Yovani Gallardo) and Mets (Daniel Murphy) next up. Then comes the Dodgers for two (Zack Greinke, Howie Kendrick), the Royals (Alex Gordon) and Cubs (Dexter Fowler). The Cardinals would finish off the round with a pair of compensation picks (Jason Heyward and John Lackey).
Teams don't keep the compensation pick if they re-sign their free agent. It's also possible they would have to forfeit the pick should they sign another qualifying free agent and not have a first-round pick to give up (either because they pick in the top 10, or because they sign more than one qualifying free agent and have previously surrendered their first-round selection).
A year ago, a dozen players were offered a one-year deal for $15.3 million. All 12 turned down the offer, with two players -- Francisco Liriano (Pirates) and Victor Martinez (Tigers) -- re-signing with their previous team. As a result, there were 10 compensation selections made in the 2015 Draft. All were considered first-round picks, and they were picks Nos. 27-36 because of forfeited first-round selections. The Mets gave up their top pick for signing Michael Cuddyer, the Blue Jays gave up their first selection for Russell Martin, while the Padres (James Shields), the Nationals (Max Scherzer) and the Mariners (Nelson Cruz) also forfeited first-round picks. The first-round picks are not reassigned, as they were under the old rules, but rather vanish, shrinking the first round.
The Twins surrendered their second-round pick for signing Ervin Santana, because they had a top-10 selection in the first round. The White Sox also picked in the top 10, so they had to forfeit picks in the second and third rounds for David Robertson and Melky Cabrera. The Red Sox gave up picks in the second and Competitive Balance B rounds for Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez.


Question: What is the significance of the freshwater fish groups represented by the individuals pictured below?
Believe it or not, the answer is as follows: The most recent evolutionary analysis says that nearly all saltwater fishes* evolved from fishes that were members of these freshwater groups!
Confused? You should be. Let me see if I can help clear things up for you. Greta Carrete Vega and John J. Wiens recently published a scientific paper entitled, "Why are there so few fish in the sea?"1 In it, they attempt to explain why there are so few fish species in the seas as compared to the number of fish species found in freshwater sources. After all, the seas cover about 70% of earth's surface, while freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams cover only about 2%. Despite this huge difference in living space, there are significantly more freshwater fish species than there are saltwater fish species. With all the resources at their disposal, while haven't saltwater fishes diversified into many more species?
To answer this question, they looked at DNA data as well as fossil data regarding the ray-finned fishes. This group contains about 96% of all fish species (from both freshwater and saltwater), and it is the most diverse group of fishes in the seas. When they compared all the fishes, they found that the freshwater fish groups represented by the individuals pictured above make up the basal groups for all the ray-finned fishes. In other words, according to their analysis, these three freshwater fish groups came first, and the currently-living saltwater ray-finned fish evolved from them! Indeed, their analysis indicates that the freshwater common ancestor of the Polypteriformes and the Acipenseriformes pictured above appeared about 300 million years ago (using scientifically-irresponsible dating techniques), and the first ancestor that led to the currently-known saltwater fishes evolved from these groups more than 100 million years later!
Our results suggest that ancient extinctions in the marine environment may have wiped out the earliest ray-finned fishes living in the oceans, that the oceans were then recolonized from freshwater habitats, and that most marine fish species living today are descended from that recolonization (leaving less time for biodiversity to build up in the oceans)…This pattern of ancient extinction and more recent recolonization may help explain why the oceans are now so species-poor, even for fish.
So…in order to believe the supposed evolutionary history of most currently-living fishes as well as geological-column reasoning (which doesn't work very well), here's what you are forced to believe: Fish first evolved in the seas, and this eventually led (somehow) to freshwater fish. Then, mass extinctions in the oceans occurred, wiping out nearly all saltwater fish. Then, the freshwater fish were (somehow) able to recolonize the oceans, "rebooting" the evolution of saltwater fish.
I am glad that I'm not an evolutionist! I just don't have enough faith to believe the wild scenarios that evolutionists must concoct in order to force the data into agreement with their cherished ideas.
* Note that "fish" is the proper plural when you are discussing multiple fish of the same species. On the other hand, "fishes" is the correct plural when you are discussing multiple fish of different species. An aquarium with 8 goldfish is full of fish. However, an aquarium with 7 goldfish and one angelfish is full of fishes.
1. Greta Carrete Vega and John J. Wiens, "Why are there so few fish in the sea?," Proceedings of the Royal Society B 10.1098/rspb.2012.0075, 2012.
2. "SBU Researcher Finds Surprisingly Low Fish Biodiversity in the Earth's Oceans," Stony Brook University Press Release, Feb 10, 2012 – 10:36:20 AM, available online.
Wow, I always wondered how salt water fish survived the flood. Guess they didn't!
I expect they did, geek. I seriously doubt this crazy scenario is correct. Here is a good description of how fishes would deal with changing salinity during the Flood.
I have a question, though. How would you answer the question the scientists asked: Why are there so few fish in the seas, as opposed to freshwater ecosystems? I definitely agree with you that their explanation is rather ridiculous.
Thanks Jessica. That's a really good question. Based on what I know, I can give you what I think is a more reasonable explanation. It might not be correct, because I haven't done any real research specifically on the matter, but I have studied baraminology quite a bit, and it indicates that adaptation can lead to many new species. For example, current data indicate that all cats (from lions to Siamese cats) probably descended from members of the original cat kind. I expect one reason so many species formed is that there were so many different ecological niches to fill, and over time, the cats filling each niche became isolated from one another. As a result, the populations in each niche quickly adapted.
If we apply the same kind of thinking to fishes, then, a few distinct fish kinds can lead to all sorts of fish species, as long as there are lots of different ecological niches to fill and those niches lead to isolation between different populations of the same fish kinds. Now if you think about it, the chance for isolation is significantly higher in fresh water, as you have lots of lakes (for example) that are hard to get in and out of. Each lake is probably slightly different, so different adaptation occurs in these isolated lakes, and in the end, lots of species are produced. The seas, on the other hand, don't offer nearly as much chance for isolation. It is easy for a fish to travel quite widely in the seas. As a result, even if a fish population is adapting to a specific niche, it will probably be visited by other fish that are able to reproduce with its members but are not a part of the population. This will "dilute" the adaptation that is going on, slowing down the process of forming species from kinds. As a result, there should be less diversification among saltwater fishes, and that's what we see.
@grace ha ha ha. I read that a certain global warming "expert" thought that UFO sightings are up due to global warming. He thought that the aliens are concerned with what we are doing to our planet.
"Wild scenarios"… really? You think that's a wild scenario? Whether or not it's true, it doesn't take too much stretching of the imagination. An invisible being who made everything in 6 days, only to destroy it all with a flood because in his omniscience he somehow failed to realize that that it would eventually come to displease him, and who later fathered himself through a virgin and got himself killed because it was the only way he could think of to forgive the humans he had created for being so rotten. That, dear old Dr. Jay, is a truly wild scenario.
I think fish populating tributary rivers connected to their marine environments, then later repopulating the marine environment from those same rivers seems rather plausible in comparison.
Thanks for your comment, John. Yes, I do find this evolutionary scenario to be pretty wild. It's not just a matter of "fish populating tributary rivers connected to their marine environments, then later repopulating the marine environment from those same rivers…" First, you must have marine fishes evolving into the freshwater fishes represented by those three groups. That's a difficult task in and of itself. Next, you need a calamity that virtually wipes out the marine ray-finned fishes, but leaves those tributary-dwelling ones unscathed. Then, you have to take the fish that have adapted to freshwater environments and get them to go back to the marine environment and succeed so well there that they establish entirely new populations and "re-evolve" into entirely new marine-dwelling species. Oh, and by the way, none of this can leave any fossil evidence, because the the standard view of fish evolution (which has been taught for decades) was based on the fossil record, and it didn't contain this wild scenario.
However, the Biblical scenario is not wild at all. Given the fine-tuning and amazing design of the universe, it is clear that an almighty Creator is responsible for it all. Indeed, such evidence is what turned me (and others, like double-Dr. Alister Edgar McGrath) from atheism and started me down the road to becoming a Christian. There is also an enormous amount of evidence for a global Flood. In addition, there is an enormous amount of evidence for Christ's death and resurrection.
Perhaps you think this is wild scenario because you don't understand it. After all, God did not send a worldwide Flood to destroy the world because his omniscience failed. He sent it because He gave people free will, knowing that some would use it to turn away from Him. At the same time, however, He knew that the only way people could really be people was with free will, so even though He knew the consequences, He gave them the gift anyway, despite the pain that it caused Him.
Also, the Advent of Christ and the Atonement that his death and resurrection brought was not the "only way" God could think of to forgive people. It was the best way. It showed how much He wants each of us to come to Him. He loves us so much that He gave us his only Son so that through Him, we could have eternal life (John 3:16). That's not a wild scenario. It's the ultimate expression of love!
First of all, I'm looking back at my post yesterday and realize it came off a bit more snide than I would have liked. I do think the Christian God is an incredibly unlikely entity, but I could have imparted that a bit more tactfully. My apologies for my tone.
As to the substance of your response. When you invoke "fine-tuning" and "amazing design," you seem to be saying that the Universe as it is today was a foregone conclusion. That the Universe was some sort of "goal" from the outset. Yes, if the Universe as we know it was a pre-planned end state, then it would be outrageous to believe it could be accomplished by chance. The only way you could achieve this "goal" would be for somebody to design physical laws to work in a particular way. But if it weren't a pre-planned end state, then the Universe we know and love is simply one of any number of possible Universes. This one just happens to be the one we got.
Yes, the Universe is astounding. One could contemplate it for a lifetime and never exhaust one's sense of wonder. And yes, if the initial physical conditions that provided the parameters for the development of the Universe had been different, then of course the Universe itself would have developed differently. It would be unrecognizable to us. Unimaginable to us. We wouldn't exist within it. It would be a different Universe.
So? You seem to be saying, "Imagine if things had been different – then things would have been different!" Perhaps I'm being obtuse, but this does not seem to be a particularly strong proof that the Universe was designed by a sentient being. It just means that if the laws of physics were somewhat modified, we wouldn't be around to contemplate them. I'm comfortable with that conclusion. I don't think my existence was something that was planned. If you *do* think your existence was planned, if you think your human life is so darned special that the best explanation for it is that some supernatural being out there planned to create you and wanted you to live on a lovely orb called Earth, then yes, I understand how the idea of a divine Creator might be attractive to you. The Universe must have been designed in this specific way to accommodate your existence, and only a God could have done that. But if you take the position that you are simply a remarkable product of the existing laws of the Universe rather than a special project of divinity for which the laws of the Universe were designed (a perspective that takes you down quite a few notches in cosmic importance), then you can see the state of the Universe is merely one of many possible states that might have been. That doesn't imply design. At all.
My very long-winded point, which I presume you've gotten by now, is this: stating that the Universe would be different if the laws of physics were different does not argue for supernatural design. It's only an argument for design if you wholeheartedly embrace the questionable assumption (and good scientists, as you point out elsewhere, don't assume things) that the Universe was created for the purpose of sustaining *us*. That seems pretty prideful, if yous ask me. It ranks up there with the notion that Christians long held dear that the Earth was the literal center of the Universe. Another assumption that was good for the ego, but was not ultimately supported by the data.
As for the other links to which you directed me. Well, I was actually hoping for something more. Marine fossils in the Himalayas and in the upper layers of the Grand Canyon as evidence of the great flood? Are you serious? You really accept the "flood" explanation over plate tectonics and uplift? You think the flood is a better supported theory? And evidence #6: "Rocks don't bend, they break – ergo, God created a flood." Wow. And the essay with evidence of Christ's birth and resurrection – all of the citations are from the Bible. Yes, the Bible says that Christ lived, died, and was resurrected. Using the Bible to prove the Bible seems a little, well, unconvincing to one who does not take the Bible as literal truth. If I took the Bible at its word, there we be no need to present "evidence" to support it. I know of other religious texts that say similarly outlandish things about their central figures. But I don't buy it, because there is no evidence outside of those books to support their stories. Any good reason to accept the Bible as actual fact upon which to base scientific opinion as opposed to, say, the Koran or the Tao Te Ching or the Bhagavad Gita?
Anyway, I've ranged far from the evolution of fishes. I apparently have too much time on my hands.
Thanks for your reply, John. I wasn't really put off by your tone. I was more put off by your inaccurate description of the Christian view.
I agree that saying, "Imagine if things had been different – then things would have been different!" is not much of an argument for the existence of God. However, that's not what I am saying. I am saying that in all our experience, the presence of design indicates a designer. Indeed, when archaeologists do their work, they often use designed artifacts, not human remains, to conclude the former presence of humans in an area. They often even make inferences about those humans from nothing more than the designed artifacts they discover. This is proper scientific reasoning. When we see design, we conclude the work of a designer. The same is true for the universe. We see obvious design, and the most obvious conclusion is the presence of a designer.
Your idea that had the laws of the universe been different we wouldn't be around to study it is true, but it means very little. The question to ask would be WHY are the laws of the universe the way they are? Are you really willing to believe that it is blind luck? Imagine that you are put in front of a firing squad. All the marksmen aim their rifles at you, they all fire, and yet you remain alive. Are you really willing to just say, "Well, had things gone differently, I wouldn't be around to think about this, so the fact that I am still alive means that I am really lucky." Of course not! You would seek an explanation as to WHY you are still alive, even though the odds say that you should clearly be dead. The same holds true for the design we see in the universe. The odds say that none of us should exist. However, we do. The obvious question is, "Why?" If luck is your answer, then that is hardly scientific.
Your statement that the argument from design is only a good argument "if you wholeheartedly embrace the questionable assumption (and good scientists, as you point out elsewhere, don't assume things) that the Universe was created for the purpose of sustaining *us*" is also quite false. After all, when I was an atheist, I did not assume that the universe was created for the purpose of sustaining us. Indeed, I assumed the opposite. The same could be said of Dr. Antony Flew and double-Dr. Alister Edgar McGrath. We all started out assuming the opposite, and the argument from design convinced all of us. I am not saying that this shows the argument from design is correct. However, I am saying that it shows your statement to be quite false. The argument from design is a powerful argument, and it is scientifically quite sound.
In terms of your response to the other issues, I was hoping for more. At minimum, I was hoping you would actually read the content of the links. Your comments, however, show that you have not. For example, the Flood evidence article specifically discusses why uplift doesn't work for an explanation of fossils so commonly found at high elevations, and it uses plate tectonics to explain this. In addition, as the article explains, bent rocks are expected in Flood geology, and they are specifically not expected in the evolutionary view of geology. Thus, bent rocks do provide evidence for the Flood. Indeed, the link shows some of the many reasons why Flood geology is the best scientific explanation for the geological features we see on earth.
The link for the evidence of the resurrection does not just rely on Biblical citations. It makes historical arguments and shows that the resurrection is the best accounting of all the facts. So it doesn't use the Bible to prove the Bible. It uses history and sound reasoning to show that the resurrection is the best explanations for the facts as we have them.
Now you do ask a good question: Is it reasonable to accept the Bible over other religious documents? The answer, from a scientific point of view, is absolutely yes. The Bible has been demonstrated to be the most accurate history of its time, and it has been demonstrated to contain scientific, medical, and future knowledge that was simply not available to the people who penned the words.
You are right that a scientist should not make too many assumptions. I started out with an unscientific assumption that there is no God. The evidence, however, convinced the scientist in me that not only is there a God, but He has revealed Himself in the Bible. I am not alone in this. Other scientists have also been convinced. This doesn't necessarily show that Christianity is true, but it shows that there is a LOT more evidence than what you are willing to consider.
I'm going to throw my opinion into the fray with Mr. Wheatly.
I'll leave the science to you, Mr. Wile. I think that you'd be better than I would on that.
In any case, what I wish to address the part on Jesus. Jewish Talmuds speak about Jesus. His crucifixion with Pontius Pilate is definitely real. So that's one bit that isn't outlandish.
I think that it would be good to use the Bible for evidence of the Bible. After all, they would be witnesses to the things that happened in front of them. That does not make them instantly correct, but let's look at the resurrection in three other ways than the testimonies of 500 men and women. They are philosophy, logic, and scientific.
In the realm of philosophy, I could speak for hours on this subject, but I believe that a book clearly answers the question "Did the disciples REALLY mean that Jesus resurrected?" I say read "Socrates Meets Jesus" and go to the last chapter. Definitely a worth while read.
In the realm of logic, we should focus upon the power of deduction. No other explanation can logically explain Jesus' body disappearing from the tomb. Therefore, we should listen more to the eyewitnesses, no matter how radical it seems to be.
In the realm of science, we have at least one possible bit of evidence. The Shroud of Turin. While it is strange, there is research done on the Shroud. You should watch its special on History Channel, it is really interesting. I definitely am not saying that the Shroud actually is Jesus' burial cloth, but if it is, why isn't it wrapping up a body?
Dr. Jay, I hardly know where to begin. So much to address. But let's start with the simpler stuff. Actually, let's just address one point. Let's address your flood. I will admit I originally only read the bullet-point argument for the flood, not the more elaborated arguments the author provided. I could perhaps be faulted for that, except that upon reading the link for the first argument (i.e. fossils in high places), I see that it was even more absurd that I had imagined. Reading it word for word reinforces my opinion that it's nonsense.
You and this guy with the website say the flood happened, and you point to fossils in high places as evidence. It is a good question – how did those fossils get there? On my side, we have loads and loads and loads of EMPIRICAL DATA that explain the presence of those lofty fossils. (If you want me to give you some citations, I can recommend a few good books, but I will assume that you have some familiarity with the empirical evidence and/or are competent to find it if you wanted to examine it yourself.) What do you offer up in response to empirical data? Some guy with a website whose only evidence – literally, his only evidence – is his *interpretation* of a *translation* of the biblical passages. For example, he cites Psalms 104:8 "They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them." This means that as the waters receded, the mountains rose by geologic uplift? For the love of… seriously?! Wow. I wouldn't have gleaned that idea from that verse. Sounds like the water went up into the sky and down into the low places to me. Doesn't sound like geologic uplift. But hey – that's my interpretation, isn't it? If dude with the website wants to think the Bible says the mountains rose through uplift as the flood waters receded, then I guess he'll think that.
Ultimately, this guy says: There can be only one explanation of fossils in high places, namely, a flood must have covered the Earth. So he's not starting out with a null hypothesis and one ore more alternative hypotheses. He says flatly: the Earth was covered in water by a flood.
Then he ponders the questions of exactly how the Earth was covered in water. What evidence does he provide for the mechanisms by which this was accomplished? Empirical evidence? Why, goodness no. Empirical evidence will provide no light to be shone upon the assumed flood. So to what dimly lit corner does he retreat? Genesis. Genesis 7:11 says that when Noah was 600 years old, "the fountains of the deep were broken up." His interpretation of this verse is that not only was there lots of water coming out of the Earth (reasonable interpretation there, I think), but that the crust of the Earth itself was shattered enough to allow hot magma to be spewing forth everywhere on the ocean floor (and apparently ONLY the ocean floor for some reason), and being lighter than the solid crust, effectively became the new ocean floor that rose enough for the ocean waters to spill over the land. I think an objective observer who was investigating the problem of fossil location would be unlikely to find magma and seafloor uplift in Genesis 7:11 and subsequently decide it's fantastic support for a scientific hypothesis. But a highly motivated Christian, apparently, sees magma and seafloor uplift right there in black and white AND thinks it's the best evidence he can provide for a great flood.
So, what we have here is a guy who says, "There is no way this flood could not have happened," and then offers tortured interpretations of Bible verses to prove it. Again, using the Bible to prove the Bible. Empirical evidence of these occurrences? None to be found.
I could eviscerate the other 5 "pieces of evidence" of the great flood, but you and I both have lives to get on with.
I remain quite unconvinced about your flood. I don't think that's a prejudice on my part, either. I think it's because the evidence you have provided is so incredibly scanty and relies almost entirely on a really old book of mythology that I find incredibly difficult to take seriously (and, believe it or not, I tried for many years to take that book seriously). I think this argument would only be convincing to a.) a person who already believes in the occurrence of the flood and/or b.) somebody who doesn't need empirical data to form a foundation for their opinions.
Could the continents have then sunk below today's sea level, so that the ocean waters flooded over them?
No! The continents are made up of lighter rocks that are less dense than the rocks on the ocean floor and rocks in the mantle beneath the continents. The continents, in fact, have an automatic tendency to rise, and thus "float" on the mantle rocks beneath, well above the ocean floor rocks. This explains why the continents today have such high elevations compared to the deep ocean floor, and why the ocean basins can hold so much water.
He also includes a citation to back up his argument. Now…you might disagree with his reasoning, but you have not given any evidence to support your disagreement. Instead, you made a demonstrably false statement about his reasoning. That's not very scientific.
I am very well acquainted with what old-earth geologists say about the fact that there are fossils of marine creatures on top of mountains. I am also knowledgeable enough about geology to understand that it is a very poor explanation and that the Flood explanation is significantly better.
You seem to be very unfamiliar with the basics of Flood geology, because you try to indicate that Dr. Snelling doesn't have any empirical evidence to back up the mechanism of the Flood that he discusses. Let me help you get acquainted with that evidence. Dr. John Baumgardener (another person who probably knows more geology than either of us) has a detailed model for how the fountains of the deep opened, and as you can see from his model, it has an enormous amount of empirical evidence to back it up. If you were familiar with this data, you would know to what Dr. Snelling is referring.
Since you couldn't even accurately describe the first piece of Dr. Snelling's evidence, you will pardon me if I don't believe that you could "eviscerate" the other important evidence that Dr. Snelling gives. Please feel free to try, however.
You might remain unconvinced about the Flood, but until you actually read and understand the arguments, that doesn't surprise me. As Dr. Snelling's analysis shows, there is an enormous amount of empirical, geological evidence for the Flood. That's why I became convinced of it even though I did not want to believe in it. Even after I became a Christian, I believed that the Flood was simply a metaphorical story that communicated some profound truths. It wasn't until after I seriously looked at the data that I realized that the evidence for its reality is overwhelming. As you can see from a simple perusal of this blog, I follow the evidence. Thus, your suggestion as to who would be convinced by such arguments is quite false. I did not want to believe that the Flood was a real event, and evidence means everything to me – it's what turned me from atheist to Christian.
You have missed my point entirely. I will give Dr. Snelling his due – he knows that continental crust is lighter than the material below it. Good for him. However, this "evidence" is not evidence that God put those fossils up high by means of a great flood. It does not bear directly on the question, which is why I did not consider it relevant to his point that a flood occurred.
The only direct evidence he offers in this regard is Biblical, and as I point out, it doesn't even say what he wants it to say! You have failed to address the point – the only evidence he offers are tortured interpretations of the Bible.
I have to wonder to myself if the evidence to which you constantly allude is so derned good for this flood theory, why I am unable to find it in respected peer-reviewed journals? Let me guess – a great conspiracy against the Bible and its adherents? The devil's keeping it out of the classrooms?
I have not missed your point, John. Dr. Snelling gives direct evidence for why uplift is not a good explanation for fossils being at the top of mountains. Sure, he quotes the Bible, too, but that's not his empirical evidence. His empirical evidence is the relative density of the continental and ocean crusts. This is direct evidence, and you seem to want to ignore it because it contradicts the explanation that you prefer. Once again, that's not very scientific.
Flood geology is not found in the standard peer-reviewed journals not because of some grand conspiracy, but because of the nature of peer review. As many scientists lament time and time again, peer review tends to reinforce existing paradigms instead of promoting new ideas.
So the single piece of empirical evidence to support his flood theory of fossils at high altitudes is that the Earth's crust is lighter than the mantle. Well, of course it is – that's why it's on top. Call that "evidence" if you will. It applies equally well to the regular old scientifically accepted theory of fossil deposition, too. Oh, but you also have the Bible stuff on your side. Gee, I don't know how I managed to not be convinced. Our theory doesn't include anything nearly as cool as a 600 year old guy who talks to God.
True, the peer-review process does tend to reinforce already accepted theories. Of course, good data that support surprising conclusions are also quite likely to make it into journals. It would be of great interest to many people, including atheist scientists, to learn that there was good evidence of a great flood. Even atheists like to hear that Biblical stories may refer to real-world events. Why do you think there were so many peer-reviewed journal articles printed about the shroud of Turin?
So it's not that the earth's crust is lighter than the mantle. It's that portions of the earth's crust (the continental portions) are lighter and therefore rise above other portions (the oceanic ones). Note that you are wrong when you say that this fact applies equally well to the standard explanation of the fossils. Indeed, the standard explanation does not work, because you would not expect continental crust to be underwater in normal circumstances. Only a flood could cover continental crust, since it would naturally rise above oceanic crust. Thus, once again, from a scientific point of view, the Flood explanation is superior. You might not like that, but I follow the evidence, regardless of whether or not I like what it says.
There have, indeed, been peer-reviewed articles about the Shroud of Turin. However, they come to the (correct) conclusion that it is of Medieval origin and not Christ's shroud. Now…had the Shroud been dated as authentic, it still might have made the peer-reviewed literature, because Christ's existence and crucifixion have never been seriously doubted by anyone who knows the relevant history. Thus, there would have been no upsetting of paradigms. When data upset paradigms, it is very hard to get them in the peer-reviewed literature. This has nothing to do with conspiracies – just with the nature of peer review.