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Is The Earth's Rotation Changing?

Posted by Hemos on from the moving-slowly-along dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "We all know about the current controversies associated with the ozone layer or the global warming phenomenon. Now, the NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) is warning us that atmospheric changes or El Niño events can affect the Earth's rotation. During El Niño years, for example, the rotation of the Earth may slow ever so slightly because of stronger winds, increasing the length of a day by a fraction of a millisecond. David A. Salstein, an atmospheric scientist from Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., led a recent study about this possible effect. Salstein looked at meteorological and astronomical measurements from different sources and found they were in good agreement. Check this column for a synthesis. For technical explanations, images and animations, please read this NASA paper, Changes in the Earth's rotation are in the wind."

10 of 372 comments (clear)

  1. well known by lovebyte · · Score: 5, Funny

    This has been known since 1951.

    --

    I'll do it for cheesy poofs.

    1. Re:well known by trotski · · Score: 5, Funny

      Pfffff..... how can the earth rotate if the earth is flat?!?! The realities of the earth have been established a long time ago; it is a plane board, sort of like a game board mounted on top of an infinate tower of turtles. All this stuff about the earth being round? Reactionary bull shit. Check out the truth:

      A flat earth, it's not just a good idea; it's the truth.

      --

      "Entropy is the bad-guy, and he is everywhere"
  2. Days getting longer? by kaszeta · · Score: 5, Funny

    The days are getting longer? Cool, I could use an extra five minutes each day to read Slashdot...

  3. SUPERMAN! by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wish Superman would get off his ass and do that whole 'spin-the-world' backwards so we could go back in time and prevent the term 'El Nino' from being invented - which so many bad stand-up comics have used to no end. Also, I would not buy my Voodoo 3 card.

    --
    I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
  4. Wait a second... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    this is really just a fake news to hype up "The Core", isn't it?

  5. But what about the moon? by OldAndSlow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It seems to me that whatever changes strong winds make in the earth's rotation must be temporary because of the conservation of angular momentum. When the wind pick up, the earth slows down. Wehn the winds die down, the earth speeds up again.

    If you really want to get agitated about the earth's rotation slowing down, consider the moon. Tides act as a brake on the earth/moon system. So the rotation of the earth slows, and the moon (to conserve angular momentum) moves ever so slowly away from the earth.

  6. Short Term? by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 5, Insightful
    When you're dealing in matters of planets, short-term is a thousand years.

    And what are you talking about with your statement about the change being "unmeasurable"? The point of the article is that it is being measured.

    --
    I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
  7. Re:Oh great, by stinky+wizzleteats · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is clearly a problem with SUVs. A vehicle as heavy as an SUV puts down a trememdous amount of torque when it moves, and this action, combined with the great suburban conspiracy of living to the East of their workplace (you go faster going home, so more torque to slow down the Earth), are creating this problem.

  8. All together now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok, everyone, all over the planet...

    Face east, and...

    BLOW...

    now face west and...

    SUCK
    ...and ... EAST ... BLOW! ... WEST ... SUCK! ... EAST...

  9. Every week by rgf71 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've known this for eons. The earth's rotation slows down to a crawl every Monday, and then speeds up really really fast on Saturday/Sunday. Then it slows down again come Monday morning.