Posted on 08/26/2005 11:21:48 AM PDT by anonymoussierra
WASHINGTON - The giant iron ball at the center of the Earth appears to be spinning a bit faster than the rest of the planet.
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The solid core that measures about 1,500 miles in diameter is spinning about one-quarter to one-half degree faster, per year, than the rest of the world, scientists from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The spin of the Earth's core is an important part of the dynamo that created the planet's magnetic field, and researcher Xiaodong Song said he believes magnetic interaction is responsible for the different rates of spin.
The faster spin of the core was proposed in 1996 by two of the current study's authors, Paul Richards of Lamont-Doherty and Song, now an associate professor at Illinois.
The researchers studied the travel times of earthquake waves through the Earth, analyzing what are called couplets. Those are earthquakes that originate within a half-mile or so of one another but at different times.
They analyzed 30 quakes occurring in the South Atlantic and measured at 58 seismic stations in Alaska and found differences in the travel times and shape of the waves, indicating differences in the core as the waves passed through the center of the Earth.
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Analyzing those differences, they calculated that the core is spinning slightly faster than the rest of the planet and is a bit lumpy.
That solid inner core is surrounded by a fluid outer core about 4,200 miles across.
Since the planet is divided into 360 degrees of longitude, a core spinning one-quarter to one-half degree faster than the outer surface could take between 700 and 1,400 years to get one full revolution ahead.
But Song said in a telephone interview that he expected that rate to vary over time and sometimes the core might be spinning slower than the rest of the planet.
"What we see right now is a snapshot of a long time process between the magnetic field and the inner core," he said. "I do expect to see this rate change with time."
"What is surprising for us is that we could actually see it in such a short time scale," he said, noting the measurements had been made over less than a decade.
Geologists are used to thinking in terms of thousands or millions of years for geological processes, he said.
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The work was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Natural Science Foundation of China.
No, not crazy. It's just that the Earth's crust and its core are two concentric "wheels" spinning at measurably different angular velocities.
That damn Bush and Co. and their super strong magnets. What are they doing? First global warming now this....diabolical
Alright, another geek who gets it! Seek my reply #55.
I guess we can blame this one on the Moonies.
Outrageous!
Luna delenda est!
The inside of a wheel doesn't spin faster than the outside. Measured in degrees (RPM) the speed is identical at any part of the wheel. Measured in distance traveled, the speed increases dramatically the further you move on a wheel, not inward.
Uh..you'll have to explain that one to me. According to my protractor, when the outside of the wheel moves 3 degrees the inside of the wheel also moves 3 degrees.
Shorter answer:
examine the slopes of the boundaries in the phase diagram. The liquid-solid boundary has a positive slope. That means that if the pressure around the iron is increased, then more heat is needed to cause the transformation. This suggests that the transformation is vibrationally driven. The phase undergoes a change when the amplitude of the vibrating atoms exceeds a threshold. The effect of pressure is to require greater temperature in order to get the atoms to vibrate with amplitudes above the threshold. They vibrate right out of their potential energy wells and rearrange into a new structure.Really short answer: Pressure turns iron into e-iron, which is really hard to melt
Balderdash! Nothing spins faster than the supporters of Old Crusty.
alas...
Earth's Core Spins Faster Than the Rest of the Planet
NY Times | August 25, 2005 | KENNETH CHANG
Posted on 08/25/2005 8:20:46 PM PDT by neverdem
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1470967/posts
Thank you all :}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Thank you"SunkenCiv"
"I guess we can blame this one on the Moonies.":}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}thank you
"Someone warn the Morlocks!"hehehehehehehehehehehehehe:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}grazie"exile"
"Ya know, I think the water in my toilet when flushed has begun to go counter-clockwise!!! OMG!!!!"this is total classic:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
thank you"Hand em their arse"
Did you ever get the impression we're living on a giant golf ball?
Leni
"How would you say it in Polish. Perhaps someone here can translate directly."
Lizol, Lukasz, Vox_pl; potrzebuje waszej pomocy. Jak moge przetlumaczyc iz to jest artykul wpewnym sensie sarkastyczny i zeby troche rozbawic towarzystwo; no cos dla rozbawy ale i troszke myslenia. Nie moge znalesc odpowiednikow jak to mozna przelozyc na anglika, moze wam lepiej pujdzie wtym. Dzieki
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