The Earthquake Thread

[Kane52630]

yea i just read that, i think its safe to say that the Mayans were right.

 

[kane9321]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100302/sc_space/chileearthquakemayhaveshorteneddaysonearth

see, see...the mayans were right

 

[Figs]

This is why I hate the damn news on TV. This morning getting ready for work, they briefly mention that the quake has slightly altered the Earth's spin/axis. Then they proceed for the rest of the morning to talk about the typical bull **** stories that truly aren't important in the bigger picture. Once again they spend all this time on another poor bastard who was shot and or stabbed(I do have sympathy for them but reporting every single one is ridiculous)in the CA bay area but don't focus on letting people know that something big that affects the world has just happened.

Kind of scary as well to think that they said this is just about the largest earthquake in recorded history.

 

[Marx]

Shortened days? That's a bit scary to think about.

 

[Figs]

Shortened days? That's a bit scary to think about.

Not if it means you don't have to be at work as long as you do now. t:

 

[Marx]

You do have a point.

 

[enterthemadness]

Earth's day is now 1.26 milliseconds shorter.



I won't even notice day. Big whoop. Now if it was like 15 seconds...then yeah, be a bit more noticeable.

 

[Marx]

Earth's day is now 1.26 milliseconds shorter.



I won't even notice day. Big whoop. Now if it was like 15 seconds...then yeah, be a bit more noticeable.

It might only be a second, but the fact that this quake caused that kind of change is downright scary to think about.

 

[Dr. Evil]

It might only be a second, but the fact that this quake caused that kind of change is downright scary to think about.

It's scary to think about, yes. But I doubt that this means that we are all going to die in two years.

 

[Marx]

It's scary to think about, yes. But I doubt that this means that we are all going to die in two years.

I'm not suggesting that at all.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I'm not suggesting that at all.

Not you. But to say that the Mayans are right is a bit insane. As devastating as this earthquake is, I don't think this spells the beginning of the end of the world in two years.

 

[The Battousai]

Let's put the amount of released energy from this earthquake (8.8 magnitude) into perspective. *adjusts glasses*

A joule(J) is a standard unit of energy; it is equal to the amount of energy exerted when an apple falls one meter straight to the ground, is picked up straight for one meter, an adult moving the distance of a handspan every second, and so on. This is clearly a very low amount of energy.

A kilojoule(kJ) - equal to 1,000 J - is equivalent to the amount of solar radiation received by one square meter on Earth in one second (providing it's a clear day).

A megajoule(MJ) - 1 million J - is the same as a one-ton vehicle traveling at 100 mph.

A gigajoule(GJ) - 1 billion J - is equal to 1/6 of the chemical energy in a barrel of oil.

A terajoule(TJ) - 1 trillion J - is about 1/60 of the energy released by the Hiroshima atomic bomb.


The energy released by this recent earthquake in Chile is equivalent to 2,000 TJ.


I repeat: it is the same as 33.3 Hiroshima A-bombs.


I don't think the planet being skewed a minute amount by that is exactly out of the question.

 

[The Battousai]

yea i just read that, i think its safe to say that the Mayans were right.

Were they right about their civilization's demise?

Oh wait...

 

[Dr. Evil]

Weren't the Mayans the ones that were wiped out by the Spanish in Mexico?

Or was it the Aztecs?

 

[Kelly]

Aztecs....

but the Inca had more survive than any of the indigenous groups in Latin America.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Aztecs....

but the Inca had more survive than any of the indigenous groups in Latin America.

Ah, okay.

 

[-Arya-]

This isn't the first time that a quake has caused the shift of the earth's axis. I have no idea why people are buying into doomsday scenarios all of a sudden...

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Because it's the cool hip thing to do.

 

[-Arya-]

Because it's the cool hip thing to do.

Just as long as they aren't serious about it...

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Shortened days? That's a bit scary to think about.

Want to know something really scary? The Moon is actually causing the Earth's rotation to slow and thus create longer days.

 

[Kelly]

oooooh, so this will all even out in the end....



cool............

I'll sleep better tonight, that shorter day thing might have made me loose some sleep.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Isn't Daylight Savings soon? I think we gain an extra hour.

 

[Carcharodon]

Want to know something really scary? The Moon is actually causing the Earth's rotation to slow and thus create longer days.

So are the oceans.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Because of the Moon

 

[Carcharodon]

Because of the Moon

Yeah, I suppose that is true. I'm pretty certain, however, that the oceans would have some effect even in the absence of lunar tides. Whether the effect is significant enough to be measured is another issue.