However unlikely it may seem at the moment, were the average
temperature of Earth to drop enough, cooling, and thus bringing
closer to the centre of the planet our atmosphere and even the
surface layers, we might see an increase in the speed of rotation,
hence shortening of the day and.. voila! Recent mega-engineering
proposals for space-borne sunshades and similar might be one
mechanism whereby sufficiently "rapid" cooling could occur. Climate
modes which result in less water (vapour) in the atmosphere might
also achieve this effect. If everyone on the planet laid down at the
same time, this should also slightly speed things up! I'll agree
though that the general trend is toward slower, not faster,
rotational speeds and hence the need for more, not fewer, leap seconds.
Take care all,
Graeme.
At 02:50 PM 17/03/2009, you wrote:
>>> On 3/16/2009 at 8:11 PM, Paul Gilmartin <[email protected]> wrote:
-snip-
> Hmmm. No provision for a negative leap second. I guess
> we hope that never happens.
Because the rotation of the Earth is slowing over time, it most
likely never will be needed.
Mark Post
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO
Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO
Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
