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Earth's Core Spinning Faster Than Crust
America Yahoo information news ^ | By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer

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.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: earth
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To: atomicpossum

"We need action to speed up the crust!! "

Maybe if everyone in the world would just start running WEST as fast as they can.....


41 posted on 08/26/2005 11:48:55 AM PDT by Bigh4u2 (Denial is the first requirement to be a liberal)
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To: anonymoussierra

;-)


42 posted on 08/26/2005 11:49:04 AM PDT by My2Cents ("The essence of American journalism is vulgarity divested of truth." -- Winston Churchill)
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To: Mr. K

"now... how to tap into this juice... thinking... thinking...".......................:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}thank you


43 posted on 08/26/2005 11:49:32 AM PDT by anonymoussierra (Nie b¹dŸ pochopny w duchu do gniewu, bo gniew przebywa w piersi g³upców)
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To: anonymoussierra

But..but..Cyrus Teed told me it was hallow, isn't that where the flying saucers come from?
44 posted on 08/26/2005 11:50:06 AM PDT by TheForceOfOne (The alternative media is our Enigma machine.)
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To: bobbdobbs

Hang on, I thought angular velocity = V/R.
Just a sec. I may have embarassed myself...BRB


45 posted on 08/26/2005 11:50:49 AM PDT by GrandEagle
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To: al baby; All

"Would you connect it in parallel or serious ?"no SATA is good:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}thank you all


46 posted on 08/26/2005 11:51:02 AM PDT by anonymoussierra (Nie b¹dŸ pochopny w duchu do gniewu, bo gniew przebywa w piersi g³upców)
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To: anonymoussierra
clearly this is something we need to do something about...at least before someone blames it on Bush.

OR, can we use Michael Moore as a study case?...you know, have him swallow molten lava and spin him around a bit and measure if his outside moves more slowly than his insides? (WARNING: I am not a scientist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so there might be a few variables in this extremely scientific experiment which someone might want to assess prior to commencing)

47 posted on 08/26/2005 11:51:59 AM PDT by ZinGirl
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To: anonymoussierra

I know if I drink to much, my core spins faster that my crust.


48 posted on 08/26/2005 11:52:21 AM PDT by IamConservative (The true character of a man is revealed in what he does when no one is looking.)
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How would the core spin faster than the earth if the two are not separate?


49 posted on 08/26/2005 11:52:30 AM PDT by Tim Long
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To: Roccus

:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}thank you


50 posted on 08/26/2005 11:52:42 AM PDT by anonymoussierra (Nie b¹dŸ pochopny w duchu do gniewu, bo gniew przebywa w piersi g³upców)
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To: Roccus
I thought this was common knowledge.

So did I. Perhaps knowing that a solid crust riding on semi-liquid magma, over a solid core just naturally gives rise to the intuitive notion that they would be spinning at different rates. After all, when a spinning skater extends her arms, she slows down just like one would assume the crust would.

51 posted on 08/26/2005 11:52:42 AM PDT by Socratic (Liberal's motto: Capio ergo sum.)
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To: anonymoussierra

Someone warn the Morlocks!


52 posted on 08/26/2005 11:53:03 AM PDT by exile (Exile - Helen Thomas tried to lure me into her Gingerbread House.)
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To: anonymoussierra

Gee, who would have designed somethat like that?


53 posted on 08/26/2005 11:53:42 AM PDT by TravisBickle
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To: BootsOnTheGround
It's a matter of geometry that the outside of a wheel travels FASTER than the inside

I think it depends on the angle of the .

54 posted on 08/26/2005 11:54:11 AM PDT by al baby (Father of the beeber)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Um, no. The inner and outer parts spin through the same radians per time unit. Thus, the outer most part is going faster to keep up. I know this because I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.


55 posted on 08/26/2005 11:55:03 AM PDT by hollywood (Stay on topic, please.)
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To: anonymoussierra
The spin of the Earth's core is an important part of the dynamo that created the planet's magnetic field

It needs to be magnetic to do that. But, it isn't. The atmosphere is, though.

56 posted on 08/26/2005 11:55:56 AM PDT by RightWhale (Withdraw from the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and open the Land Office)
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To: Jack Wilson

Ya know, I think the water in my toilet when flushed has begun to go counter-clockwise!!! OMG!!!!


57 posted on 08/26/2005 11:56:09 AM PDT by Hand em their arse
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To: anonymoussierra

More here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1471301/posts


58 posted on 08/26/2005 11:56:12 AM PDT by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: IamConservative; All

:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}



"I would like to ask you something; et fore to understand how I can translate; how in your country you will do say I have try to make you happy,"




59 posted on 08/26/2005 11:56:21 AM PDT by anonymoussierra (Nie b¹dŸ pochopny w duchu do gniewu, bo gniew przebywa w piersi g³upców)
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To: anonymoussierra

Well, I never thought that I would be reading such a Hard Core article in FR.


60 posted on 08/26/2005 11:58:02 AM PDT by seawolf101
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