The Chilean earthquake has shortened the length of the day by making the Earth rotate faster, according to Nasa scientists. But you might not have noticed, as it was only by about one-millionth of a second.Richard Gross has revealed the disaster shortened the length of a day by about 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second). The 8.8-magnitude disaster struck the South American country on Saturday, killing at least 795 people and injuring hundreds more. The quake would have moved the axis of the planet by about 8cm.
Mr Gross, of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said the 9.1-magnitude Sumatran earthquake in 2004 has also shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds. He claimed the calculated changes in the length of a day are permanent. However, Mr Gross added: ‘These changes are very, very small.’
The length of a day is the time it takes for the planet to complete one rotation - 86,400 seconds or 24 hours. An earthquake can make Earth rotate faster by nudging some of its mass closer to the planet's axis, just as ice skaters can speed up their spins by pulling in their arms. Conversely, a quake can slow the rotation and lengthen the day if it redistributes mass away from that axis, Mr Gross added. (Daily Mail)
