"David Williams" <david.williams@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>-> My guess is that ****fting of mass inside the core is more likely to
> -> alter the rotational velocity of the earth than melting water. Even
> -> the entire crust of the earth is infinitesimally thin, in relation to
> -> the size of the earth, and the spinning, molten nickel-iron core is
> -> vastly more massive, and also in motion. At least, that's the current
> -> theory as to how the earth's magnetic field is generated. :-)
>
> But how often does mass within the core get suddenly ****fted?
>
> A good-sized avalanche or landslide on the surface can move a million
> tons or so of material hundreds of metres closer to the axis of
> rotation, in a matter of seconds. I think that's enough to make a
> measurable difference to the rotation speed.
>
> Earthquakes move far more...
Remember, the *entire* crust of the earth is only about 50 miles thick,
and the radius of the earth is about 4000 miles, making the crust only
about 1.25% of the radius. The core of the earth is believed to consist
mainly of nickel-iron and spinning; thought to be the mechanism that
generates the Earth's considerable magnetic field - very much stronger
than any of the other rocky planets. Unless the core is absolutely
uniform in consistency, there will undoubtedly be ****fting of mass as
it spins. Even if it is uniform, precession of the spinning mass would
cause some ****fting, just as the earth itself wobbles. The amount of
material in the core is hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times more
massive than the entire crust of the earth, let alone just the water,
which
is only a tiny fraction of the mass of the crust itself. And the core is
moving fairly rapidly (hence the magnetic field), which the crust isn't.
:-)
--
Judson McClendon judmc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(remove zero)
Sun Valley Systems http://sunvaley.com
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
|
