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Bjarne
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How fast is the rotation of the Earth slowing down ?
Janus said:The period of rotation increases by 2 milliseconds per century.
Perhaps a bit misleading. For example, the length of a day decreased by 3.35 milliseconds over the last century. The excess length of day was 0.36 milliseconds for 2009, 3.71 milliseconds for 1909. Before you accuse you of cherry-picking: Guilty as charged. Excess length of day peaked in 1910.Janus said:The period of rotation increases by 2 milliseconds per century.
Earth's rotation is primarily slowed down by the tidal forces of the Moon and Sun. As these celestial bodies exert gravitational forces on the Earth, they cause the oceans to bulge out towards them. This creates a drag on the Earth's rotation, slowing it down over time.
The exact amount of time it takes for Earth's rotation to slow down is not consistent, as it is affected by various factors such as the composition of the Earth's core and the distribution of landmasses. However, on average, Earth's rotation slows down by about 17 milliseconds every 100 years.
As Earth's rotation slows down, the length of each day increases. This can have significant effects on the Earth's climate and weather patterns, as well as on the behavior of living organisms that rely on daylight for their daily activities. Additionally, the slowing of Earth's rotation can also cause changes in the Earth's magnetic field and potentially impact the accuracy of GPS systems.
At this time, there is no known way to prevent or reverse Earth's rotation from slowing down. However, some scientists have proposed the idea of using large-scale engineering projects to artificially speed up the Earth's rotation. However, the feasibility and potential consequences of such projects are still being studied.
No, Earth's rotation will not stop completely. As long as the Earth continues to orbit the Sun, it will continue to rotate. However, it is possible that Earth's rotation could eventually become synchronized with its orbit around the Sun, resulting in one side of the Earth always facing the Sun (similar to how the Moon always shows the same face to the Earth).