Problems that are difficult for scientists to understand

Chapter 6 Geographic Mysteries (2)
There are also various explanations today: some say that it is the refraction of lights at the foot of the mountain, some say it is formed by fireflies flying below the mountain, and some say that there are ores that emit fluorescence in the mountain.The most common is the theory of phosphorus fire, that is, "wild fire".They believe that it is caused by the spontaneous combustion of phosphorus contained in the bones of dead animals in the mountains for thousands of years, or released from phosphorus-containing strata, in the air.However, some researchers believe that there are many flaws in the phosphorus fire theory.One is that the phosphorous fire swims slowly close to the ground, and it is impossible to rise very high, let alone "the one who is as high as half a day" or "someone who comes out of the clouds"; The altitude of the lantern pavilions is more than 3000 meters, and the Emei Golden Summit is more than [-] meters above sea level, so it is impossible to see so clearly.

Guo Xianyu, who worked as a naval aviation officer, believes that the Buddha lamp is "a phenomenon in which the stars in the sky reflect on the clouds".Because when there is no moon at night, if you fly an airplane over the clouds, the overwhelming clouds are like a mirror. Looking down from the top, it is difficult to see the shadows of the clouds, but only the countless stars reflected by the clouds.In this situation, pilots tend to have the "flying upside-down illusion", that is, they feel that there is no distinction between the sky and the earth, or even feel that they are flying head-down.From this, he thought that on a moonlit night, if there are clouds floating under the Manjusri Platform in the Great Tianchi of Lushan Mountain, and the stars in the sky are reflected on the clouds, the phenomenon of Buddha lamps may appear.Because the clouds in midair are of different heights and drifting, the glowing starlight it reflects is also not fixed.Maybe one piece is reflected at this angle, and another piece is reflected at that angle, resulting in the phenomenon that the Buddha lamp flickers, clutches and changes endlessly.However, why can't we see this phenomenon of cloud reflecting starlight in other mountainous areas?Moreover, even on Mount Lushan, Mount Emei and Mount Qingcheng, only certain places can you get a glimpse of the elegant demeanor of Buddha lamps and magic lamps. It can be seen that this statement is not yet conclusive.

Some people also think that Manjusri Terrace is close to Shimen Stream, and Shimen Stream is a waterfall that gallops down to the bottom of the valley.The Buddha lamp is because the water splashed by Shimenjian Waterfall sprinkles in the clouds and fog in the valley, increasing the humidity of the clouds and fog. The water content in the clouds and fog increases and the density expands, which reflects under the light of the moon and stars, thus showing flickering light.In addition, some people once discovered that a kind of fungus in Lushan Mountain glows when it encounters water, and the higher the water content, the brighter its brightness. Therefore, these people classified the phenomenon of Buddha lamps as biological phenomena; It is composed of quartzite-like sandstone, and has small crystals and active faults. The small crystals can emit light under the moonlight, so some people attribute the phenomenon of Buddha lamps to geographical reasons.

However, there is no scientific evidence for these claims, and why Buddha lamps appear is still a controversial topic.

where does sea salt come from
Seawater is salty. This may be something that humans have known since birth, but how did the sea salt in the seawater that accounts for 2/3 of the earth's surface come from?Is it natural?of course not.Where did that come from?
We all know that seawater is salty because it contains a lot of sea salt.But where the salt in seawater comes from has never been clear.People are still discussing this issue to this day.Most scientists believe there are two main ways sea salt is produced.

(1) Salt is the original organism in the ocean. When the earth was first formed, due to heavy rainfall and volcanic eruptions, a large amount of water vapor from the volcano and salt in the magma merged with the flowing water into the original ocean, and the seawater became salty.However, the sea water at that time was not as salty as it is now.

Later, as the soluble salts of the seabed rocks continued to dissolve, and the volcanoes on the seabed continued to erupt salt, the seawater gradually became salty.

(2) On the way to the sea, the rivers on the land continue to wash away the soil and rocks, and bring the dissolved salt to the sea.It is estimated that at least 30 billion tons of salt are brought into the ocean from rivers all over the world every year.

However, both explanations have imperfections, especially the theory that sea salt mainly comes from land rivers.Because people's calculations of ocean material composition, chemical properties and river input show that the numerical difference between the two is very large.In recent decades, scientists have put forward various theories to explain these differences, but none of them are convincing.After the 20s, people seem to have found new evidence for explanations from the hydrothermal reactions on the newly discovered large submarine fault zone.Scientists have studied the chemical reaction process of seabed hydrothermal minerals and found that although the flow rate of water passing through the seabed fault system is only 70/5 of the river runoff, the chemical changes caused by the heat accumulation of the fault are faster than those carried by the river. The changes caused by dissolved salts are hundreds of times larger.The idea that seafloor hydrothermal reactions are an important complement to sea salt has been accepted by many marine scientists.However, this explanation did not finally solve the mystery of the source of salt in seawater.It is just one way to provide the source of salt in seawater, but it is by no means the only way.

How the Arctic Ocean was formed

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on earth, with an area of ​​only 1310 square kilometers, about 1/14 of the Pacific Ocean, accounting for about 4.1% of the world's total ocean area.The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by land and is almost semi-enclosed.It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Norwegian Sea, the Greenland Sea and Baffin Bay, and communicates with the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait.The Arctic Ocean is roughly centered on the North Pole, and its ocean surface is frozen all year round.

How was the Arctic Ocean formed?Some geologists believe that it is the result of the expansion of the ocean, while others say that the Arctic Ocean is the impact crater left by the earth's annexation of an asteroid.

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's four oceans, but so far people don't know how it was formed.

Recently, some scientists said that more than 2000 million years ago, the Arctic Ocean was just a freshwater lake, and the lake water flowed into the Atlantic Ocean through a relatively narrow channel.But by 1820 million years ago, due to the movement of the earth's plates, the narrow passage gradually became a wider strait, and the seawater of the Atlantic Ocean began to flow into the Arctic Circle, slowly forming today's Arctic Ocean.They based their judgment on a section of sediment collected from the Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean.A scientist named Jackson said that this sediment was formed between 1820 million and 1750 million years ago, and it is divided into three sections with different colors. The bottom layer is black sediment, which contains a lot of undecomposed organic matter, which shows that the Arctic Ocean bottom at that time Not enough oxygen is available for degradation.They guess that starting 1820 million years ago, the Ferm Strait, which connects the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, began to widen.Freshwater from the Arctic Ocean flows from the Arctic water surface, while Atlantic seawater flows in from below, and this oxygen-poor seawater leads to the formation of black sediment.

Another theory is that the Arctic Ocean is the impact crater left by the Earth's annexation of an asteroid (Earth's co-orbiting sister star).Through simulation experiments, some experts believe that the "S" shape of the Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean and the cracking of the curved outer arc bell mouth are the result of the top pressure of the two continental shelves. The Lomonosov Ridge also extends downward for a long The distance indicates that the Lomonosov Ridge is a straight body section where a solid surface segment exposes the seabed.

Only asteroids annexed by the earth have such power.

Which statement is more accurate remains to be further studied.

Why do lakes eat people?

Mysterious homes always bring us surprises. The beautiful and calm lake is originally pleasant and comfortable, but it will suddenly change its gentle appearance and open its mouth to eat people who are boating on the lake.These are the man-eating lakes, in which many people or animals are swallowed up, but the bodies of these people or animals cannot be found.In Russia, a seemingly peaceful "pond" once swallowed 300 horses, 500 cows and 25 people.There is also a "man-eating" lake in our country. It is located in Inner Mongolia, where quicksand flows into the lake all the year round, but the strange thing is that this lake has never been silted up by quicksand. Where did so much quicksand go?Nobody knows.Legend has it that many livestock fell into the lake, but appeared in a lake more than 100 kilometers away.

There is a small lake called "Sobolho" in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, with a diameter of only 30 meters and a depth of more than 20 meters.But it is this small lake that kills people invisible.

The Yelavninsky District, where Lake Soborkho is located, is located on the watershed between the Baikal lake system and the Lena River.There are more than 200 large and small lakes dotted across the land, and Lake Soborho is the smallest of them, with a diameter of only about 30 meters. Even if a child goes around the lake, it only takes a few minutes.

On a windless day, the still water is as smooth as a mirror.

However, it is such a seemingly calm "pond" that makes many people creepy.People or animals often disappear here for no reason, and their bodies cannot be found.According to statistics, more than 20 horses and 90 cows drowned in this lake in the 300s; from 500 to 1999 alone, 2000 people were killed here.On clear moonlit nights, a hazy layer of rose-colored light can be seen on the surface of the lake.Local residents believe that the souls of the victims are seeking help, and they ask people to help them find their bodies so that they can find eternal rest.The locals are more accustomed to calling Lake Sobolho "Lake of Terror" or "Lake of Devils".

As a result, scientists began to explore Lake Sobolho, and found that its depth was uneven, and the depth in some places exceeded the measurement range of the 20-meter-long detection steel rope.At the same latitude, the depth of lakes with a similar area hardly exceeds 5 meters.

Scientists believe that Lake Sobolho lies on a fault zone at the edge of an extinct volcano, an anomaly that often occurs in such conditions.The bottom of Lake Sobolho should be much larger than the surface of the lake, and there are huge caves or tunnels connected to other water systems.The temperature of the lake is low all the year round, and the hottest time in summer is only 12°C to 14°C. The viscosity of the silt at the bottom of the water is too high, coupled with the perennial ice layer at the bottom of the silt, all these have caused a series of mysterious casualties.As for the rose-colored light on the surface of the lake, it may be because there are mineral springs overflowing from the rupture of the earth's crust below the lake, containing carbonic acid or radon, which will glow under certain magnetic field or atmospheric conditions.

In 1995, a team of diving enthusiasts from ×Irkutsk tried to find the bottom of the lake, but failed many times.A daring diver was sucked into a vortex while exploring, passed through a long underwater tunnel, and emerged in the Viking River a few hundred meters away.He is the only one who survived entering the vortex at the bottom of the lake.His oxygen tank was at zero when he emerged from the Viking River.

Coincidentally, there is also a terrifying lake named "Zhahanguan" on the northern edge of the Hunshandake Sandy Land in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of my country.According to the people here, there are quicksands around Zhahan Palace, and the quicksand will flow into the lake, and the strong wind in the grassland will also blow the sand into the lake. However, for many years, no matter whether it is drought or flood, Zhahan Palace has never been silted up by quicksand. .Where did all the quicksand go?Nobody knows.Someone once tied a 15-meter-long rope and threw stones into the Zahan Palace, but they didn't reach the bottom.

Moreover, Zahan Palace is as terrible as Lake Soborho. Whatever falls into it will sink and never come up again.Some people say that there is an underground river under the Zahan Palace.Legend has it that a cow fell down here, but it came out of a lake more than 100 kilometers away.Local geological experts could not confirm whether there is an underground river in Zahan Palace, but this strange phenomenon is related to the special local geological structure.And why can't humans and animals float up after falling into the Jahan Palace?Some experts say that there may be methane and toxic gases in the lake, and there may be undercurrents.However, it is necessary to carry out field investigations to draw conclusions.

Why "Long Man Island" Makes People Grow Taller
Do you believe?There is an island in the world that can make adults who are no longer physically growing grow taller. This island is called Martinique and is located in the Caribbean Sea.From 1948 to 1958, a strange phenomenon appeared on the island: the adult men and women living on the island grew a few centimeters taller, the average height of adult men was 1.9 meters, and the average height of adult women was more than 1.74 meters.If the young men on the island are less than 1.8 meters tall, they will be ridiculed by their peers as "short".

What is even more surprising is that adult outsiders will grow taller quickly after living on the island for a period of time. For example, the 64-year-old French scientist Dr. After living for two years, the two have increased by 57 cm and 8 cm respectively. The 7-year-old Brazilian zoologist Feli only conducted an investigation on the island for more than 40 months, and he had grown 3 centimeters when he left the island.Mrs. Parker, a British traveler, is nearly sixty years old and has grown 4 centimeters after traveling on the island for a month.

Because the adults and even the elderly living on the island can grow taller, the island is called "Long Man Island".In fact, not only people, but also animals, plants and insects on the island have grown particularly rapidly.The lizards and snakes on the island grew 10 times faster than normal in those 10 years, especially the mice on the island grew as big as cats.

What kind of mysterious force caused the island's adult, animal, plant and insect bodies to grow so rapidly?What kind of substance does this mysterious power come from?

In order to unravel this mystery, many scientists have traveled thousands of miles to the island for long-term detection and investigation, and put forward various hypotheses and conjectures.Some people believe that in 1948, a flying saucer or other extraterrestrial beings may have crashed in the Billy Mountains of the island, and that an unidentified radiation that caused the rapid growth of the island's creatures came from a buried in the Billy Mountains of the island. In the wreckage of a flying saucer or other extraterrestrial object in the ground.However, some scientists doubt and deny the above statement, because whether there are flying saucers or other extraterrestrial creatures in the world is still an unsolved mystery so far.

Some scientists believe that the island contains some kind of radioactive mineral deposits - it is this radioactive material that causes specific changes in biological functions, thus "fueling" the body.

Why Ghost Island disappeared and reappeared
There are many islands in the ocean that suddenly disappear from the sea, only to reappear elsewhere later.

People call such islands ghost islands.

In the South Pacific Ocean, due to the eruption of submarine volcanoes, a small island was formed on the sea surface, and with the continuous eruption of volcanoes, it gradually formed an island with a height of more than 60 meters and a radius of nearly 5 kilometers.However, when people were still talking about it and making plans, it disappeared on the ocean like a ghost.After a few years, when people had forgotten all about it, it appeared from the sea again like a ghost.According to historical data, in 1890, it was 49 meters above the sea; in 1898, it sank 7 meters underwater. In December 1967, it emerged from the sea again, but in 5312, it disappeared without a trace.In this way, the island appeared many times and disappeared many times, changing constantly. In June 1968, the island grew out of the sea again.According to scientists' prediction, if the volcano does not erupt in the future, the island may still sink and disappear.

There are many similar strange things. Scientists call this mysterious and flickering island "ghost island".They are different from the floating islands that are common on tropical rivers, where swells or storms wash away parts of their banks or swamps.So, how did Ghost Island form?Where did this small island that appears and disappears come from, and why did it go?

Most geologists attribute the formation of the island to the eruption of submarine volcanoes.At the bottom of the ocean, there are many active volcanoes.When these volcanoes erupt, the ejected clastic material and lava cool, solidify, and accumulate on the seabed. As the erupted material continues to increase, when the accumulation is higher than the sea surface, a new island is formed.There is also a view that the foundation of the "ghost island" on the ocean is granite rocks, rather than sediment accumulation.It has been formed for a long time, and there are lush plants and fauna on the island, which cannot be crushed by the turbulent dark river.

As for the disappearance of the small island, some scholars attribute it to the fact that the lava formed by the eruption of volcanic magma failed to form a solid base connected with the bedrock of the seabed. It is attributed to the fact that after the island was formed, another violent submarine explosion destroyed the island; some scholars believe that volcanic activity caused the crust to sink at the same place, so the island fell.

Various hypotheses have their own reasons, but none of them can explain how such small islands appear and disappear in the same place again and again, but there are no strong earthquakes or tsunamis in the adjacent sea areas and turbulence?These phenomena have always puzzled countless scientists.

Why do mounds arrange themselves

In the United States there is a prairie covered with orderly rows of curious hills.

There is a prairie area in Washington State, USA. The prairie is covered with strange hills as high as a person arranged in a certain order.But exactly how it formed is debated by geologists.

Some say the mounds were built by the gill rat, an American digging rodent.Although the mounds usually dug by the cheek rats are much smaller than these mounds, biologist George Cox believes that there are some cheek rats living under each of these mounds for a long time. They were built into the structure they are now.

Geologist Andrew Begg believes the mound was created by an earthquake.He had nailed a doghouse out of plywood that had been covered in a thin layer of dust, and he noticed that when a hammer hit the plywood, the dust arranged in little mounds on the board that resembled mounds on a prairie.Begg believes that an earthquake in the Washington state area sometime ago knocked the prairie soil into mounds.

But George Cox pointed out that the area is not a seismically active area, and geologists emphasized that the gill mouse is widely distributed in the United States, but why haven't similar mounds been seen elsewhere?The formation of the mound remains a mystery to this day.

(End of this chapter)