A NASA scientist said on Monday that the massive earthquake which struck Chile on Saturday may have altered Earth’s rotation and the length of our days.
Don’t fret that you will have even less time to complete all the items in your busy schedule, though. The scientist said the quake should have shortened the length of a day by just 1.26 milliseconds. You probably won’t notice.
No doubt the recent disasters in Chile and Haiti are fueling speculation among “2012” believers that the world really will come to an end soon!
Charlie: Wow! That earthquake was strong enough to actually change the length of a day!
Annie: From what I’ve read, it’s not that unusual for a strong quake to have an effect like that. They cause the Earth’s center of mass to shift around which, in turn, alters the rate of spin slightly.
Charlie: Still, if we have too many more quakes like that, we’re not going to have any “day” left!
Annie: Don’t be silly! A millisecond is almost too short a period of time to comprehend.
Charlie: Are you kidding? I can’t afford to lose even that much nap time!
Annie: I think you’ll survive.
Charlie: What if all those dire predictions about the world coming to an end in 2012 are true and all these quakes are just the beginning?!?!
Annie: I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over it; people have been predicting the end of the world for as long as there have been people!
Charlie: You’re probably right, but it wouldn’t hurt to have Mama and Papa start stocking up on our favorite gourmet cat food now, JUST IN CASE!
Annie: I guess it couldn’t hurt…
Charlie: …And if the world DOESN’T end, it certainly won’t go to waste!
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Related Reading: Earthquake Alters Earth's Rotation
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