Tell me more ×
Physics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for active researchers, academics and students of physics. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite
1

The book of Genesis floats (pardon the pun) some interesting numbers when discussing the Great Flood. For example, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and at the end of that time, the entire planet was covered in water.

I think we can deduce how much water that would have had to be, estimating that the highest peaks in the Himalayas were covered with water. (8,848 meters above sea level)

My questions are, how fast would the rain have had to come to raise the ocean level that high in 40 days and nights, how much would the mass of the earth have changed for this event, and would that significantly alter the strength of gravity on earth?

share|improve this question
@CrazyBuddy There are other ways of adding water to earth, which are happening continually btw: csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/comets/smallcomets.html. There are theories that the water on earth comes from comets too so it is not overly imaginative. – anna v Sep 2 '12 at 16:02
@annav: Sorry & Thank you (For that link) - But, According to yourself - water from comets continue for 40 days & nights, increase the mass of earth & even alter the gravity - Oh!, I didn't know that... Sorry, I didn't mention the Himalayas part... please comment is this imaginative or not? – Crazy Buddy Sep 2 '12 at 16:35
@CrazyBuddy The imagination comes from the Bible. The Himalayas come in because supposedly the arc of Noah stopped on mountain Ararat. If one wants to find the level of myth there to the level of physics it is not a bad question. The earth could have fallen in a bunch of water commets for forty days, for example and certain regions flooded all through, though the Himalayas are excessive. – anna v Sep 2 '12 at 16:43
Well the bible states the earth was completely covered in water. If that is the case, then the highest point above sea level would need to be covered. That's about 5 miles of water, and I cannot help but think that sort of thing would be significant for mass, gravity, and the spin of the earth.. – Jeremy Holovacs Sep 2 '12 at 17:14
From the FAQ, under questions that should not be asked here: "Questions about fictional physics." – Colin McFaul Sep 2 '12 at 19:36
show 5 more comments

closed as off topic by David Zaslavsky♦ Sep 2 '12 at 19:49

Questions on Physics Stack Exchange are expected to relate to physics within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

A typical tropical storm drops about 40inches/rain in 24hours (sorry for the medieval units!)

So 40days/nights = 1600inches, or 40metres of water. If you want to cover even reasonable mountains you have to rain a lot harder than that = 200x harder.

share|improve this answer
Well that's one of the questions, and it doesn't look like I'll be getting any others. I don't understand why this sparked such a controversy, I was just trying to recreate conditions. – Jeremy Holovacs Sep 2 '12 at 23:24
up vote 1 down vote

The closest to a physical discussion of the Great Flood may be http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html#flood

share|improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.