Cambrian explosion

(noun)

the relatively rapid appearance (over a period of many millions of years), around 530 million years ago, of most major animal phyla as demonstrated in the fossil record

Related Terms

  • Ordovician period
  • genomics
  • cranium

Examples of Cambrian explosion in the following topics:

  • The Cambrian Explosion of Animal Life

    • During the Cambrian period, the most rapid evolution of new animal species occurred, but the cause of this explosion is still unknown.
    • It is believed that most of the animal phyla in existence today had their origins during this time, often referred to as the Cambrian explosion .
    • The causes of the Cambrian explosion are still debated.
    • Yet other theories claim genetic and developmental reasons for the Cambrian explosion.
    • Theories that attempt to explain why the Cambrian explosion happened must be able to provide valid reasons for the massive animal diversification, as well as explain why it happened when it did.
  • The Evolution of Craniata and Vertebrata

    • Both fossil and genomic evidence suggests that vertebrates arose during the Cambrian explosion.The Cambrian explosion was the relatively brief span of time during the Cambrian period during which many animal groups appeared and rapidly diversified.
    • Most modern animal phyla originated during the Cambrian explosion.
  • Carbon Dating and Estimating Fossil Age

    • For example, they are not sufficiently precise and reliable for estimating when the groups that feature in the Cambrian explosion first evolved, and estimates produced by different approaches to this method may vary as well.
  • Post-Cambrian Evolution and Mass Extinctions

    • The post-Cambrian era was characterized by animal evolution and diversity where mass extinctions were followed by adaptive radiations.
    • The periods that followed the Cambrian during the Paleozoic Era were marked by further animal evolution and the emergence of many new orders, families, and species.
    • During the Ordovician period, which followed the Cambrian period, plant life first appeared on land.
    • The warm and stable climatic conditions of the ensuing Mesozoic Era promoted an explosive diversification of dinosaurs into every conceivable niche in land, air, and water.
  • Pre-Cambrian Animal Life

    • Early animal life (Ediacaran biota) evolved from protists during the pre-Cambrian period, which is also known as the Ediacaran period.
    • The time before the Cambrian period is known as the Ediacaran period (between 635-543 million years ago), the final period of the late Proterozoic Neoproterozoic Era .
    • The Ediacaran period was the final period of the Proterozoic Era which ended in the Cambrian period of the Phanerozoic Era.
  • The Hydrogen Bomb

    • First, the stages of the weapon are separated into a triggering, primary explosive and a much more powerful secondary explosive.
    • After this, the secondary explosive is compressed by X-rays coming from the nuclear fission of the primary explosive.
    • This process is called the "radiation implosion" of the secondary explosive.
    • Finally, the secondary explosive is heated, after cold compression, by a second fission explosion that occurs inside the secondary explosive.
    • As such, the main explosive force for the explosion still arises from a fission reaction, but the neutron source for it arises from fusion.
  • Nitrogen Compounds

    • Nitrogen compounds, and especially their oxidized derivatives, are important in biological systems and as explosives.
    • Nitrogen is notable for the range of explosively unstable compounds that it can produce.
    • Nitrogen triiodide (NI3) is an extremely sensitive contact explosive.
    • Nitroglycerin, made by nitration of glycerin, is the dangerously unstable explosive ingredient of dynamite.
    • The comparatively stable, but less powerful explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) is the standard explosive against which the power of nuclear explosions are measured.
  • The Atomic Bomb

    • Atomic bombs are nuclear weapons that use the energetic output of nuclear fission to produce massive explosions.
    • Atomic bombs are nuclear weapons that use the energetic output of nuclear fission to produce massive explosions.
    • These bombs are in contrast to hydrogen bombs, which use both fission and fusion to power their greater explosive potential.
    • This X-ray energy produces the blast and fire which are normally the purpose of a nuclear explosion.
    • Two methods have been applied to induce the nuclear chain reaction that produces the explosion of an atomic bomb.
  • Nuclear Weapons

    • A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions—either fission, fusion, or a combination.
    • A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion.
    • A modern thermonuclear weapon weighing little more than 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg) can produce an explosive force comparable to the detonation of more than 1.2 million tons (1.1 million tonnes) of TNT.
    • The death toll from the two bombings was estimated at approximately 200,000 people—mostly civilians, and mainly from acute injuries sustained from the explosions.
  • Chytridiomycota: The Chytrids

    • The evolutionary record shows that the first, recognizable chytrids appeared during the late pre-Cambrian period, more than 500 million years ago.
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