Earth Is Spinning Faster Now Than It Was 50 Years Ago
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Earth Is Spinning Faster Now Than It Was 50 Years Ago
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Dr Who Fan  Send message Joined: 8 Jan 01 Posts: 3206 Credit: 715,342 RAC: 4 
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Earth Is Spinning Faster Now Than It Was 50 Years Ago Compensating for the lost time may prove challenging for scientists. |
 ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20252 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20 
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Thanks for a good article. However, there's no mystery there... The rotation of our Earth should steadily slow down (days get longer) due to the moon steadily being dragged around by the tides. (In consequence, the moon is being pulled into an ever higher orbit.) And for the recent anomalous Earthly speedup instead...? The first clue is from the results of GRACE... No mystery needed. There is a (very scary) very human effect... All on our only one world... Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
betreger   Send message Joined: 29 Jun 99 Posts: 11361 Credit: 29,581,041 RAC: 66
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I find space time to be hard to wrap my head around but I can see how gravity wave could cause the speedup. |
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ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20252 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20
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Good guess, but nope, that ain't any "gravity wave". Not due to our natural moon either! And yet... We are all feeling a shift in the (real world) force... Which comes to the question of what has shifted, and why... (Flat Earthers will need to adjust their view...) All on our only one world, Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
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betreger Send message Joined: 29 Jun 99 Posts: 11361 Credit: 29,581,041 RAC: 66
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A gravity wave distorts space time and this speedup is certainly a distortion of sorts. |
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ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20252 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20
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Mmmm, within the world of my limited understanding, as far as I know, we've not yet developed any sort of physical "Star Trek" styled warp device. Mischievous aliens could be playing tricks on us all... However, there is a much more Earthly reason that avoids breaking any of our present day physics. Mass and momentum and energy remain conserved. So... How might that be? And why does the GRACE probes uncover the 'disturbance'?... And why for only recently and for the immediate future ? Note: Doesn't work for a flat Earth. All on our only one planet, Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
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betreger Send message Joined: 29 Jun 99 Posts: 11361 Credit: 29,581,041 RAC: 66
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I like your hypothesis that Grace posits however I shall continue to crunch for GWs over at Einstein. |
William Rothamel  Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 3756 Credit: 1,999,735 RAC: 4
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I would have bet that the earth is spinning slower now. The rivers which flow to the equator deposit more and more silt and other mass closer to the middle surface of the globe and further from the center of gravity. Therefore, just like the ice skater, rotation speed will decrease as angular momentum is preserved as a constant value. |
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ML1 Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 20252 Credit: 7,508,002 RAC: 20
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Bingo! You've got it!! ... Except... It ain't river silt. So... What on earth are we so industriously shifting to shift the earth itself? All on our only one world, Martin See new freedom: Mageia Linux Take a look for yourself: Linux Format The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3) |
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