Life Darn it, we just lost 1.26 microseconds

T-post Tom · 03-02-2010, 04:47 AM

There just isn't enough microseconds in the day...

Chile quake might have shortened days on Earth

(CNN) -- The massive earthquake that struck Chile last week might have shifted the Earth's axis and created shorter days, scientists at NASA say.

The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.

A large quake shifts massive amounts of rock and alters the distribution of mass on the planet.

When that distribution changes, it changes the rate at which the planet rotates. And the rotation rate determines the length of a day.

"Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth's rotation," Benjamin Fong Chao, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said while explaining the phenomenon in 2005.

That's because pulling in his arms changes the distribution of the skater's mass and therefore the speed of his rotation.

Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used a computer model to determine how the 8.8-magnitude quake that struck Chile on February 27 might have affected the Earth.

He determined that the quake should have moved the Earth's figure axis about 3 inches (8 centimeters). The figure axis is one around which the Earth's mass is balanced. That shift in axis is what might have shortened days.

Such changes aren't unheard of.

The 9.1-magnitude earthquake in 2004 that generated a killer tsunami in the Indian Ocean shortened the length of days by 6.8 microseconds.

On the other hand, the length of a day also can increase. For example, if the Three Gorges reservoir in China were filled, it would hold 10 trillion gallons (40 cubic kilometers) of water. The shift of mass would lengthen days by 0.06 microseconds, scientists said.

Johnny Vegas · 03-02-2010, 04:53 AM

1.26 microseconds closer to 2012!!

**007** · 03-02-2010, 05:18 AM

So this is why the playstation screwed up yesterday.

patteeu · 03-02-2010, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

So this is why the playstation screwed up yesterday.

I wonder if this is going to screw up my alarm clock the way it did when we changed the day we convert from daylight savings to standard time a few years ago.

RaiderH8r · 03-02-2010, 06:21 AM

So this means GoChiefs' premature ejaculation is even more premature?

-King- · 03-02-2010, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaiderH8r

So this means GoChiefs' premature ejaculation is even more premature?

/thread
Posted via Mobile Device

mikey23545 · 03-02-2010, 06:29 AM

Chile owes us, dammit.

Like I didn't have to get up early enough as it was...#&*$^#%!

Braincase · 03-02-2010, 06:38 AM

Hugo Chavez is blaming the United States.

Crush · 03-02-2010, 07:45 AM

Sounds like a Sci-Fi Original Movie starring Stephen Baldwin.

SenselessChiefsFan · 03-02-2010, 07:59 AM

The good news is that the average life span has increased by 34,033 microseconds. Man, I wish I had put a little more back for retirement.

**Bugeater** · 03-02-2010, 08:21 AM

Woo hoo! 1.26 microseconds closer to football season!

niblet · 03-02-2010, 09:00 AM

You have to multiply 1.26 microseconds by the number of days.

Sofa King · 03-02-2010, 09:17 AM

Hey guys, do you know when the next Haley's comet is?

patteeu · 03-02-2010, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sofa King

Hey guys, do you know when the next Haley's comet is?

In new days or old days?

Sofa King · 03-02-2010, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

In new days or old days?

it's not tonight right? I have this cousin Marcus who saw one he said it blew his mind I want to make sure I never ever miss out on a Haley's comet.

03-02-2010, 04:47 AM	Topic Starter
T-post Tom Busy in a Kohl's restroom Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Milk/Honey/Gazland Casino cash: $1747293	Darn it, we just lost 1.26 microseconds There just isn't enough microseconds in the day... Chile quake might have shortened days on Earth (CNN) -- The massive earthquake that struck Chile last week might have shifted the Earth's axis and created shorter days, scientists at NASA say. The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second. A large quake shifts massive amounts of rock and alters the distribution of mass on the planet. When that distribution changes, it changes the rate at which the planet rotates. And the rotation rate determines the length of a day. "Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth's rotation," Benjamin Fong Chao, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said while explaining the phenomenon in 2005. That's because pulling in his arms changes the distribution of the skater's mass and therefore the speed of his rotation. Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used a computer model to determine how the 8.8-magnitude quake that struck Chile on February 27 might have affected the Earth. He determined that the quake should have moved the Earth's figure axis about 3 inches (8 centimeters). The figure axis is one around which the Earth's mass is balanced. That shift in axis is what might have shortened days. Such changes aren't unheard of. The 9.1-magnitude earthquake in 2004 that generated a killer tsunami in the Indian Ocean shortened the length of days by 6.8 microseconds. On the other hand, the length of a day also can increase. For example, if the Three Gorges reservoir in China were filled, it would hold 10 trillion gallons (40 cubic kilometers) of water. The shift of mass would lengthen days by 0.06 microseconds, scientists said.
Posts: 22,376

03-02-2010, 04:53 AM	#2
Johnny Vegas MVP Join Date: May 2008 Casino cash: $3134814	1.26 microseconds closer to 2012!!
Posts: 5,098

03-02-2010, 05:18 AM	#3
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12100126 VARSITY	So this is why the playstation screwed up yesterday. __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,741

03-02-2010, 06:21 AM	#5
RaiderH8r Now it's Willie Time! Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Beating hippies Casino cash: $3533512	So this means GoChiefs' premature ejaculation is even more premature? __________________ “You may think RaiderH8r is just a thinker. But I’m not just a thinker. I’m a doer. Every day I go out there, and rev that engine, fire it up, grab a hold of that line between speed and chaos, and wrestle it to the ground like a demon cobra. And when the fear rises up in my belly, I use it. Fear is powerful, because it’s been there for billions of years. And it is good. And I use it. And I ride it; I ride it like a skeleton horse through the gates of hell.”
Posts: 4,054

03-02-2010, 06:29 AM	#7
mikey23545 MVP Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10015321	Chile owes us, dammit. Like I didn't have to get up early enough as it was...#&*$^#%!
Posts: 12,314

03-02-2010, 06:38 AM	#8
Braincase Banned Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Pond> Me <Barn Casino cash: $11298284	Hugo Chavez is blaming the United States. __________________ BrainCase
Posts: 15,429

03-02-2010, 07:45 AM	#9
Crush Amateur Poster Join Date: Mar 2004 Casino cash: $2207091	Sounds like a Sci-Fi Original Movie starring Stephen Baldwin.
Posts: 15,298

03-02-2010, 07:59 AM	#10
SenselessChiefsFan MVP Join Date: Nov 2008 Casino cash: $10005450	The good news is that the average life span has increased by 34,033 microseconds. Man, I wish I had put a little more back for retirement.
Posts: 5,540

03-02-2010, 08:21 AM	#11
Bugeater The Maintenance Guy Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Renovated Bugeater Estate Casino cash: $3992680	Woo hoo! 1.26 microseconds closer to football season!
Posts: 70,546

03-02-2010, 09:00 AM	#12
niblet Starter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: On your internet Casino cash: $10004910	You have to multiply 1.26 microseconds by the number of days.
Posts: 376

03-02-2010, 09:17 AM	#13
Sofa King Bump it Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: South Dakota Casino cash: $-440000 VARSITY	Hey guys, do you know when the next Haley's comet is?
Posts: 23,467