fossils....?

Question

just curious, but how do bones turn into rock? I thought chemicals were stable unless disrupted by electrical current. How does this process work?

Answer 1

it does not take many years, just a lot of heat and pressure.

Answer 2

First, Stabchopboom's source (evolution-facts.org) is a creationist site and the item shown on that page is not a fossil.
So beware...

This website has some good information, and it is pretty easy to follow.
http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/Whatisafossil.htm

To quote the site:
As the shell slowly decays, water infused with minerals passes through it, replacing the chemicals in the shell with rock-like minerals (Calcite, Iron or Silica). This process is scientifically known as 'permineralization'. Over millions of years the original shell is completely replaced by the minerals and what remains is a rock-like copy of the original shell. The fossil has the same shape as the original object, but is actually rock. This process also results in loss of original colour.

This site has more information, it is for a college geology course:
http://gpc.edu/~pgore/Earth&Space/GPS/fossils.html

Answer 3

Depends on what type of fossil you're referring to. Hard parts are more likely to become fossilized. They need to be covered quickly and kept away from elements of erosion and scavengers. Minerals replace the bone over time.

Answer 4

It take several thousands to several billions years to form it. Earth’s oldest fossils are the stromatolites consisting of rock built from layer upon layer of sediment and precipitants. It is more widely accepted that stromatolites from the late Archaean and through the middle Proterozoic eon were mostly formed by massive colonies of cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green "algae"), and that the oxygen byproduct of their photosynthetic metabolism first resulted in earth’s massive banded iron formations and subsequently oxygenated earth’s atmosphere.

Answer 5

omg..ur serious !