like an arrow*

(and, as the witchy one puts it, fruit flies like a banana) (*technically, this is probably wrong anyhow- as nothing is straight in the world of physics, is it)

apparently The Earth used to spin faster and there were over 400 days in a year*, the days each therefore being significantly shorter than the current 24 hours (*a year being calculated by the time it takes the earth to travel once around the sun): you can tell this from growth rings on ancient corals, which are similar to growth rings in trees. . .

The Moon is currently moving 3.5cm a year away from The Earth. . .

all of this makes me think that the cumulative conclusion is that The Earth is spinning ever more slowly and thus days are getting longer and quite possibly at some stage there will be fewer of them in "a year"

longer days means longer nights of course - which might be nice, if one is tired and needs the rest and dreams lovely dreams. . .

fewer days in the year means that it might seem as if your birthday would come around more often. . .

more hours in a day means that there would be more time to drink coffee in the morning. . .

fewer days means that the seasons will be shorter and it might seem as if Christmas would come around more often. . .

it's all giving the impression of sounding rather positive from here

*

POSTSCRIPT: further to vicus' very helpful comments on these wanderings, my mind is now perusing the paradoxes that it previously ignored. . . presumably the human body will not age anymore quickly or more slowly, whatever The Moon, The Earth and The Sun are doing, would it? we are not like trees (are we?) and do not accumulate annual growth rings depending on seasonal adjustments (do we?) (no - seriously, I am asking, cos I don't know)

time itself won't actually speed up or slow down, will it? light bends around stars, but it travels at a constant rate whatever direction it is going, doesn't it? or is it like Top Gear's The Stig and speeds up around bends? as I realise how much I don't understand, is it time I looked slightly more seriously into String Theory - rather than knitting and embroidering in my long lonely evenings?

18 comments:

Mel said...

More time to drink coffee in the morning!!!!!! Wooooohooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:-)

I'm with ya!!!

I, Like The View said...

I'm honoured to be in such good company!

(-:

XXX

Vicus Scurra said...

As you well know, I take a keen interest in physics and like to encourage those who pursue the study thereof. However, I did find a flaw in your logic. Birthdays would not be more frequent, unless the time taken to go orbit the sun changed. There would just be fewer days between them. This would mean that you would find yourself sharing your birthday with more people. The same logic applies to Christmas. Very sorry to have to tell you this.

I, Like The View said...

please don't apologise

personally I think that the time taken for The Earth to orbit The Sun will change as well. . .

I'm basing my initial assumptions on the logic presented by a Mr Tony Robinson (otherwise known as Baldrick), but he didn't mention that; however, I shall now reconsider my propositions

thank you for pointing out my flaws

Sorrow said...

I don't know
I often feel like i have growth rings..

Dave said...

I saw that on TV last night too. I think you'd have to wait quite a few years before you noticed a significant change in the length of the day. By which time you'd be dead, anyway.

Unless you were cryogenically frozen, of course.

Or had a time machine.

Aedh said...

The thing about string theory is it's difficult to understand and also mostly wrong. Like people :-)

I could (p)rattle on about physics but I have to get back to Matt Damon.

katherine. said...

I think first the 29th of February would only come once every five years....then every six....and then...eventually going away.

Anyone born on that day....hmmmm....maybe they could pick their own birth date?

Anonymous said...

Barely daylight and only half a cup of coffee so far...you expect me to understnad THIS?
Maybe ...after breakfast...

I, Like The View said...

sorrow annual ones tho? or ones you put down to experience. . .

for me it's the latter

Dave you're overlooking the fact that I have a magic carpet

(-:

Dim Respons I hope you didn't have any overdue library books

XX

katherine when is your birthday?

dinahmow sorry!

Rimshot said...

Fun Fact: Light does not travel at a constant rate.

I, Like The View said...

see, even I worked that out, and I haven't studied physics since I was thirteen and made my 'O'-level choices

(-:

(how do you know that then?)

Romeo Morningwood said...

I love this def...
String theory is a theory of gravity, an extension of General Relativity, and the classical interpretation of the strings and branes is that they are quantum mechanical vibrating extended charged black holes.

The size of a string section may be expressed with a formula of the type (for example) 10-10-8-10-6, designating the number of first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and basses. The numbers can vary widely; thus in a large orchestra they might be 14-14-12-12-10...

oh crap, who am I kidding?
I am totally out of my league...
string schming!

I, Like The View said...

hey donn, I went out with a First Violinist for four years. . .

. . . I can tell you that they don't even have a league, they are so normal (and the second violinists are all losers, unless you happen to be related to one - in which case I'm sure s/he is very talented)

anyhow, I thought you'd come to my rescue and pick up on the comment about Top Gear's The Stig!! a loaded paragraph for a loaded XY (which vicus and dave both missed out on)

(mel, honey, you'll have to ask The Brit)(about The Stig)(unless you did last time!)

Rimshot said...

I recall reading about how some white coats actually stopped a beam of light, stored it and then let it go again.

Anonymous said...

Well good heavens 'shot! what happened next?

I like the idea of longer days, with longer nights attached, very much.

Rimshot said...

I believe the light sued them for unlawful seizure and detainment.

Mel said...

Wait a SECOND!!!
(Or at least some relative moment in time.....)
All this talk of physics, let's not forget the important stuff.




What about more coffee time?!! I ain't getting cheated outta that, right?



I mean..geeze.......priorities people!!!!!!