bascule Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Discoveries/2010/0303/Chile-earthquake-shortened-Earth-s-day-NASA-thinks-so The Chilean earthquake displaced enough of the Earth's mass to affect its axis and shortened the length of the day by approximately one microsecond. I heard a great NPR interview with a NASA geophysicist about this. Apparently they managed to perform this calculation using seismic data alone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Haha, there goes our calendar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I heard a great NPR interview with a NASA geophysicist about this. Apparently they managed to perform this calculation using seismic data alone. This? And the USNO scientist they interviewed? What is he, chopped liver? (I'll tell. He works a few doors up the hall) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bascule Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 This? And the USNO scientist they interviewed? What is he, chopped liver? (I'll tell. He works a few doors up the hall) Can't really listen right now. He was on All Things Considered last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npts2020 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I had heard that the 1.26 microsecond difference wasn't even measurable yet, that is why it had to be calculated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I have felt especially hurried the last few days. Good to see I'm not crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VedekPako Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 So it spend up the Earth? Could geologic forces balance out the pull of the tides by the Moon to ensure the Earth will always rotate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 This effect is similar to pulling your arms closer to you to spin faster. Conservation of angular momentum means you spin faster -- but this does not generate any more angular momentum. Earth is losing angular momentum (it is being transferred gravitationally to the moon via tides). We will eventually match spins with the moon's orbit, so that one side of Earth faces the moon as today one side of the moon always faces Earth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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