Are you ready for 25 hour days? One day they will be a reality
The Earth rotates around its axis at an approximate speed of 1040.4 miles per hour (1,674.4 km/h), which means that it takes an average of 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds for it to make a complete rotation. Obviously, to round out, each day has been established to last 24 hours.
Photo: Unsplash - Alexey Savchenko
As reported by ScienceAlert, a study from the Technical University of Munich in Germany reaffirmed that the rate at which the Earth rotates increasingly slower. If the trend continues in the future, days on Earth will last 25 hours. But why is this happening? Click on to find out.
The truth is that the explanation is simple: the time it takes for the Earth to rotate on its axis is variable. Elements such as the Moon, the Sun, the distribution of the oceans or climatic or geological accidents influence the length of a day, which can range up to 5 minutes.
Photo: Unsplash - Adolfo Feliz
A study by the Wetzell Geodetic Laboratory in Germany verified that the Earth's rotation speed decreases around two milliseconds per century. To carry out this study in 2023, scientists used a high-precision laser that confirmed the result.
Photo: Unsplash - Alexandru Vicol
In fact, according to Popular Mechanics, 1.4 billion years ago, days on Earth lasted around 18 hours, while 66 million years ago, at the time of the dinosaurs, a day lasted 23 hours.
Photo: Unsplash - Leo
Since then, the length of the days has increased by one hour and, logically, there will come a time when that length will be increased to 25 hours, but when will that happen?
Photo: Unsplash - Pierre Bamin
According to the scientists responsible for the German study, days on Earth will last approximately 25 hours within 200 million years.
Photo: Unsplash - Stijn Te Strake
Halfway there, in 100 million years, the scientists from Germany estimate that the length of a day will be 24 hours and 40 minutes.
Photo: Unsplash - NASA
Obviously, talking about what the planet will be like in 200 million years is creating hypotheses that are impossible to test. What's more, no one knows if humanity will still exist or if the world will be as we know it now.
Photo: Unsplash - Alexis Antoine
In fact, just one more hour a day could have a notable impact on the planet, altering weather patterns, ocean currents and, who knows, maybe even make Earth uninhabitable.
Photo: Unsplash - Gerard Reus
And increasing solar radiation on the planet from one hour of extra daylight could have unexpected consequences.
Photo: Unsplash - Timo Volz
But what can humanity do about something that might affect the world in 200 million years? Absolutely nothing, beyond trying to take care of the planet as much as possible today.
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Photo: Unsplash - Christiaan Huynen