


The Nautilus
The
nautilus is living evidence of creation, proved by the fossil
record to have undergone no change in the last 500 million
years, and sufficient on its own to undermine the theory of
evolution. The creature takes its name from the submarine
in Jules Vernes' famous novel, and attracts the interest of
scientists with its impressive design. The nautilus has special
chambers in its shell. There are 4 of these chambers in newly
hatched specimens, and up to 30 in mature individuals. The
creature occupies only the outermost chamber. The job of the
other chambers is, just like in a submarine, to hold in and
release air to allow the creature to descend to specific depths.
The nautilus is thus capable of swimming at ease in depths
between 90 and 450 meters.
The nautilus rises by filling these chambers with air, and
descends into the deep by expelling that air. But where does
it find that air? Scientists seeking an answer to that question
encountered a miraculous system. A special gas is produced
by biochemical means inside the nautilus' body. This gas changes
places with the water in the chambers. This technique, which
man began to employ in submarines in the 20th century, has
been used by the nautilus for millions of years.
The
nautilus employs another interesting technique to move; jet
propulsion. It expels the water it collects under its shell
from a hole under its arms.
The nautilus' shell allows it the possibility of camouflaging
itself. In this technique, known as ”countershading” in camouflage,
someone looking down on the nautilus from above will be unable
to see it because of the thick stripes on its surface. Someone
looking from below, on the other hand, perceives its light-colored
underside as the same color as the surface of the water.
It is quite impossible for the nautilus itself either to
know the chemical reaction which produces the gas or to set
up the structure to carry out that reaction inside its own
body. Neither the nautilus nor blind chance designed the complex
structure within its shell.
This incomparably superior design is the work of God, Who
created all that exists. His attribute of al-Badi' (The Originator
of all creation) is revealed thus in one verse of the Qur'an:
He is the Originator of the heavens and the Earth...
(Qur'an, 6: 101)
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