March 02, 2010

The Chilean earthquake may have tipped the earth's axis. The latest quake was big enough to affect the planet's rotation.

Not trying to be flippant... the people of Chile, as well as those of Haiti, have endured much and have exhausting tasks ahead as they rebuild their infrastructure and lives. This is just clear evidence of the magnitude of the latest event.

posted by kinnakeet 14 years ago
  • Yep, sped up the earth's rotation by 1.26 milliseconds a day. The 2004 9.1 earthquake that generated the killer tsunami in the Indian Ocean shortened the length of days by 6.8 microseconds. No word on what the 1960 9.5 Chile quake did, but it must've been a lot more. But then, a millisecond is one MILLIONTH of a second. I was living close to the 1994 6.7 Northridge Quake (with measured lateral thrust a lot worse than your usual 6.7) and the days immediately following that one were so-o-o-o l-o-o-o-ng.
  • "But then, a millisecond is one MILLIONTH of a second". A millisecond is a thousandth. A microsecond is a millionth. Then nano. Then pico. But the real Wendell would have known that ;-)
  • I made the fatal mistake of trusting what I saw in a CNN report. And 'the real Wendell' had trouble converting quarts to liters.
  • Global warming also would shorten a day.
  • My personal theory is that global warming will cause earthquakes. As Antarctic ice melts the change in distribution of weight on the different tectonic plates will cause slight movement and the release of a lot of pent up energy. So around the start of 2010 look out for some large earthquakes. ...and that's how urban legends begin.
  • Sounds like a worthy hypothesis though.
  • And 'the real Wendell' had trouble converting quarts to liters. Yeah, after 'the real Wendell' sucked down about half a quart, he had trouble converting shumshing to *hic* anyshing elsss. Well, MY personal theory is that we're wearing out the daytime converting back and forth with Daylight Savings. Pretty soon, time will get all loose and slippery and the clocks won't work, either.
  • Well, you think THAT'S bad, just think about what causes volcanoes to erupt and spew!
  • They are half way to the truth... In fact extramarital sex fuels global warming. Which in turn causes earthquakes. Q.E.D.
  • Whoa! Being inside the lighthouse seen in photo one during the quake must have felt like the Poxeclipse right then and there.