A New Spin

"I'm astounded by people who 'want' to know the universe
when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."
-- Woody Allen

'What is this?'

-- The short answer:

It's an attempt to rationalize the existence of the giant dinosaurs in the past, even though their viability on the earth as we know it, is puzzling.

--The long answer:

This isn't the intention to introduce yet another theory for the demise of the dinosaurs. Rather, it explores the past basic physical parameters of the earth (not necessarily its environmental condition) that could enable animals, weighing some 100 ton, to thrive for millions of years. Inevitably, it will lead to conclusions about the dinosaurs' ultimate passing when these parameters suddenly changed, but that aspect is only secondary to the more fundamental question, namely: given their enormous size, what made it possible for these creatures to live and function on earth in the first place?

Not quite a "National Geographic" take

For the impatient:

Given what we know about the size and function of the various giant dinosaurs, their existence in the past is far from trivial. Can an eight ton predator -- twice as big as the African-Elephant -- stalk and give chase to prey similar to how a lion or a tiger would?
(Apart from Jurassic Park III, that is.)

A simple analysis based on fundamental physics seems to suggest that nature sets a limit on how big animals can grow and, yet, remain viable on some hypothetically-existing planet of given size. Where animals maximum possible size is inversely proportional to their planet size (in other words, the larger the planet, the smaller are the animals on it).

This, in fact, refers to animals weight, rather than their sheer-size, which leads to an inescapable conclusion that these giant dinosaurs weight was way less, from what their size suggests, to enable them to endure on earth for millions of years.

An examination of the possible cause that may be responsible for that weight change leads to a conclusion that earth rotation on its axis is the only possible factor. The rotation speed must have been significant higher at that time than what it's at present. A faster rotation gave rise to much stronger centrifugal-force which opposed the force of gravity and, hence, reduced the, actual, animals weight.

(See under comments why dinosaurs remained cold blooded and how a bird, with 40 feet wingspan, could fly.)

Next: The bigger they are ...

i. 'What is this?'

ii. --The short answer:

iii. --The long answer:

iv. For the impatient:

v. 'What is next then?'

1. The bigger they are ...

2. Is there a limit to growth?

3. Not convinced yet? What does rate have to do with it?

4. Why aren't any such big animals alive today?

5. What, then, made it possible for them to take their place in the earth's history?

6. But aren't weight and size one and the same?

7. Are we talking change in gravity, then?