The Asian Quake May Have Accelerated Earths Rotation: Days Now Shorter

The Asian quake may have cause the earths rotation to accelerate and cut our days short by a fraction of a second:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The deadly Asian earthquake may have permanently accelerated the Earth's rotation -- shortening days by a fraction of a second -- and caused the planet to wobble on its axis, U.S. scientists said on Tuesday.

Richard Gross, a geophysicist with NASA (news - web sites)'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, theorized that a shift of mass toward the Earth's center during the quake on Sunday caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or one millionth of a second, faster and to tilt about an inch (2.5 cm) on its axis.

When one huge tectonic plate beneath the Indian Ocean was forced below the edge of another "it had the effect of making the Earth more compact and spinning faster," Gross said.
Shorter

[edit on 12/29/04 by FredT]

[edit on 12/29/04 by FredT]

I wonder how that will effect tides and the motion of the moon. Also how quickly the moon is leaving us. The moon is what keeps the rotation in order.

Its pretty darn amazing... I wonder what effect it'll have on the earth's magnetic field? Maybe a change for the better - Or worse...

I imagine that this effect is only temporary until those portions of the crust that are being subducted expand out as volcanic magma.

Also this would have nothing to do with the moon. It might have an effect on tides, however.

One scientists word and quite possibly an overstatement, and this catastrophic event's happening upon the Earth's rotation, etc. may well be an over-reaction and overstatement, as well.
Found this:
What things influence the wobble of the earth's axis?

Length of days is relative.
Rotation and spin are relative.
They are simply occurances that have existed and currently exist, naturally.
What is Earth Orientation?

Microseconds, when applied to longer days or shorter days amounts to being nearly negliable, observable effect(s), IMHO.




seekerof

How can a spinning mass change its speed without an outside force? If the earth is spinning faster then additional force must be applied externally. If true it proves an asteroid impact............

I believe the force that acted on the planet was the millions of gallons of water rolling.

Anyone who has ever driven a fuel truck can tell you, if it weren't for the baffles inside the tank that keep the liquid from sloshing, it would be impossible to keep those beasts on the road.

Millions of gallons of water just moved over the surface of the earth, changing for a time, maybe permanently, the distribution of pressure on the face of our planet.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Originally posted by DrHoracid
How can a spinning mass change its speed without an outside force? If the earth is spinning faster then additional force must be applied externally. If true it proves an asteroid impact............

Think of a spinning iceskater. Drawing her arms in, she spins faster. Angular momentum is preserved, although shifted, to allow for a more compact mass.

Originally posted by DrHoracid
How can a spinning mass change its speed without an outside force? If the earth is spinning faster then additional force must be applied externally. If true it proves an asteroid impact............

I was channel surfing and came upon Russian News on T.V last night.

Now I don't understand Russian, but from the images and illustrations they were using it was pretty obvious that they were saying it was a meteor/asteroid! The earthquakes that followed were caused by the impact.

Anybody else heard or seen anything anywhere to substantiate this?

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
I believe the force that acted on the planet was the millions of gallons of water rolling.

Anyone who has ever driven a fuel truck can tell you, if it weren't for the baffles inside the tank that keep the liquid from sloshing, it would be impossible to keep those beasts on the road.

Millions of gallons of water just moved over the surface of the earth, changing for a time, maybe permanently, the distribution of pressure on the face of our planet.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

You are correct about this. it happens every day, with the action of the moons tidal forces on the Oceans of the Planet..I believe however, that particular tidal action, is slowing the Earths rotation.

If the tsunami's actions on the Oceans, was counter to the moons actions we may have gained some speed this way.

Dr. Horacid,

check out the following links

liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov...


www.astro.queensu.ca...

The earthquake resulted from a movment of the Earth's crust in a subduction zone. What happened is that part of the crust was forced under another part and compressed. This shortened the distance of that mass from the center of the earths rotation, thus the Earth sped up a bit to compensate. Over time, the subducted crust will melt and force its way up to the surface via volcanic action. this moves the mass away from the center of the Earth and thus slows the Earth down.

Just found this thread, I had already posted in a new thread.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Would the Gravity Probe B spacecraft be able to measure this change? Or could the change effect the Gravity Probe B test results?

It is testing two effects:

1) the geodetic effect--the amount by which the Earth warps local spacetime in which it resides, and

2) the frame-dragging effect--the amount by which the rotating Earth drags local spacetime around with it.

More info about the probe is here:
www.gravityprobeb.com...

If enough mass was subdued during this earthquake along a few hundred miles of fault to change the spin of the earth, then the mass of zillions of gallons water would effect it daily. Sorry not enough mass change here to make the physics work. Its either BS or external force.

The landmass change is tiny compared to tidal actions.

Originally posted by Psychoses
Russian News ... earthquakes that followed were caused by the impact.

That 's just bad science. That's all.
There has been enough good science
in the news (and posted here) to
disprove that.

FREDT - I'm glad you posted this information. I had heard
on the news that the rotation was effected, but I hadn't seen
any info on it. Thanks.

[edit on 12/30/2004 by FlyersFan]

Wouldn't this be something that happens with any large earthquake? There was an 8.1(ish) quake a week or so before the tsunami producer in that region of the world, would'nt it've also affected the rotation?

You know what the real shame about this is? Even though the days are shorter, work still demands the same amount of time from me! I'm getting less and less free time with every 9.0 earthquake that hits the planet!

The Reuters report says:

��caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or one millionth of a second�.�

Sorry; since a microsecond is, by definition, a millionth of a second, three microseconds are three-millionths of a second. You expect this kind of error from places like Rense; but Reuters has (or, rather, had) a reputation of having writers who actually understood their subjects!

Mizar says:

�I wonder how that will effect tides and the motion of the moon. Also how quickly the moon is leaving us. The moon is what keeps the rotation in order.�

Probably not by much. Tectonic plates subduct all the time, but other plates rise up, thus making the Earth less compact, and, thanks to old Mr. Conservation of Angular Momentum, slowing us down. Don�t like the diameter of the Earth? Wait a hundred years; it�ll change!

Seekerof says:

�Oh, btw: Moderators Are People Too. (and they have opinions)�

Yes they do -- as long as those opinions do not differ from mine.

Horacid says:

�How can a spinning mass change its speed without an outside force? If the earth is spinning faster then additional force must be applied externally. If true it proves an asteroid impact...�

Because of the law of conservation of angular momentum. See Spacedoubt�s post below below.

Horacid�s profile says:

�Texas A&M, MIT, Cornell, PhD ME, PhD Psyc�

No comment.

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
Seekerof says:

�Oh, btw: Moderators Are People Too. (and they have opinions)�

Yes they do -- as long as those opinions do not differ from mine.

Seeing as you chose to address Seekerof's siggy and not his post, I am going to voice my opinion to your post.

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
Horacid�s profile says:
�Texas A&M, MIT, Cornell, PhD ME, PhD Psyc�

MIT and Cornell are good schools.

OFF TOPIC - I majored in Psychology.

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
The Reuters report says:

��caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or one millionth of a second�.�

Sorry; since a microsecond is, by definition, a millionth of a second, three microseconds are three-millionths of a second. You expect this kind of error from places like Rense; but Reuters has (or, rather, had) a reputation of having writers who actually understood their subjects!

Mizar says:

�I wonder how that will effect tides and the motion of the moon. Also how quickly the moon is leaving us. The moon is what keeps the rotation in order.�

Probably not by much. Tectonic plates subduct all the time, but other plates rise up, thus making the Earth less compact, and, thanks to old Mr. Conservation of Angular Momentum, slowing us down. Don�t like the diameter of the Earth? Wait a hundred years; it�ll change!

Seekerof says:

�Oh, btw: Moderators Are People Too. (and they have opinions)�

Yes they do -- as long as those opinions do not differ from mine.

Horacid says:

�How can a spinning mass change its speed without an outside force? If the earth is spinning faster then additional force must be applied externally. If true it proves an asteroid impact...�

Because of the law of conservation of angular momentum. See Spacedoubt�s post below below.

Horacid�s profile says:

�Texas A&M, MIT, Cornell, PhD ME, PhD Psyc�

No comment.

I am not disputing the law of conservation of angular momentum, I am disputing the mass change calculations and not just accepting media reports. Anything else? The old spinning skater thingy doesn't fly here. The mass change there is significant. One small spot on the earths crust does not provide enough change.

[edit on 30-12-2004 by DrHoracid]