Sunday, March 13, 2011

Japan's earthquake changed the mass distribution of Earth


To appreciate the awesome power of plate-tectonics, look no further than the data that show the entire island of Japan moved nearly 3 meters to the east as a result of the 9.0 earthquake. Additionally, because of the redistribution of mass, the Earth is spinning on it's axis 1.2microseconds faster than before the quake. A microsecond is 1millionth of a second, so it's not that big a deal, but still, any change in the Earth's distribution of mass because of naturally occurring phenomena is a sobering reminder of how insignificant we humans are. We're basically along for the ride and have absolutely no control whatsoever in our destiny, despite the silly pleadings of dumb environmentalists.

3 comments:

  1. This is only sort of related, but I must note that ads for the pure fluff TV show "Access Hollywood" which normally covers trivia about celebrities, say they are going to explore the parallels between H'wood special effects and the real disaster in Japan. I suppose they will ask Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan to comment.

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  2. After watching up close and personal, the dramatic, outrageous, insane tidal wave destroy the northern end of Japan, Hollywood is going to have to ramp up its special effects game to keep up with reality.

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