A New Spin

A New Spin (cont'd)

9. What is it that made earth's spin to slow down?

It may have been decaying with the passing eons, but that is not very likely (besides of not being very exciting). On the other hand, there is no reason to think that slowing down happened all of a sudden. In fact, there may not be any direct evidence whatsoever, and it may never be known for sure what caused the earth to slow down. All that can be done to answer this question is to suggest a way that it could have happened (perhaps even likely to have happened) and no more. Hence, the following attempt to explain the cause for the earth's diminished spin is purely speculative (not that the forgoing lacked this element...) and if you don't buy it feel free to substitute your own version.

Clearly, the hypothetical event that will be described below is in no way essential to the forgoing, the goal of which has been to outline the physical conditions which made it possible for the dinosaurs to exist on earth.

So, here comes one take on a possible cause for the earth's slow spin (actually, while we speak, I can think of yet another scenario just as likely...). This one, however, may appear objectionable and bizarre to some. Remember: this is not an eye witness account; I was not there when it happened and it presented here just to start things up.

In an article, titled: 'When Stars Collide', Michael Shara describes a hypothetical scenario whereby a super-dense star, such as a 'White-Dwarf', slices through the sun in a matter of a single-hour and continues on its way unperturbed. Taking this at its face value, and assuming that such a small and dense extraterrestrial object happens to zoom very fast through the solar system, it may have proportionally passed by the earth in a matter of seconds.

If you are all set to go and look for the marks left by such an encounter, good luck! There may not be any. The above article suggests that a grazing encounter, or a near-miss, can affect the stars involved and even fling a star from its location. Such an encounter could no doubt affect the earth's spin.

The scenario for the earth loosing its fast spin is, therefore, set. A small object of high-density could have passed by the earth at a very fast speed (fast even for bodies of this sort) in a direction which happened to be opposite to the earth's rotation. To visualize, think of a wheel rotating fast in a certain direction. If the wheel is hit with the palm of the hand in a glancing angle opposite to the direction of its rotation, the wheel may slow down, come to a complete halt, or even end up rotating in the opposite direction.(Warning! Don't try it at home, just take my word for it, unless you happened to own a workman's heavy-duty leather glove.)

This extraterrestrial body could have done just that to the earth by moving very fast in a direction opposite to the earth's rotation. Its trajectory could have been very close, but not too close to entangle itself in the earth's atmosphere. The effect of the encounter on this dense object may have been only of academic interest but the earth could well have been left with a new spin.

This event could have lasted only a few seconds, but the hell it inflicted on the earth is just mind boggling and defies any imagination. Try to imagine a tidal wave which comprised the entire ocean as a result of the whiplash the ocean underwent. In fact, every object which was not firmly attached to the ground, including all the creatures that inhabited the surface of the earth, must have suffered a similar fate and the bigger they were the harder they were hit.

The biggest dinosaurs fared the worst. The force of the whiplash could have literally ejected them into space. They may have been completely incinerated in the atmosphere, fallen back to the ground scorched or, ended up soaring in space forever. The implication of this may be that no remains of 'live' animals were ever found and all the fossils ever uncovered have been of those animals which were already long dead and buried prior to this encounter.

Terrible as the end of the big lizards may sound, the alternative for them on an earth with a new slow-spin, would have been an agonizing death from lethal overweight with no hope for the future.

Next: Where is the proof?

i. 'What is this?'

ii. --The short answer:

iii. --The long answer:

iv. For the impatient:

v. 'What is next then?'

1. The bigger they are ...

2. Is there a limit to growth?

3. Not convinced yet? What does rate have to do with it?

4. Why aren't any such big animals alive today?

5. What, then, made it possible for them to take their place in the earth's history?

6. But aren't weight and size one and the same?

7. Are we talking change in gravity, then?