China Dam: NASA has warned that the Earth’s rotation speed has slowed down due to the huge Three Gorges Dam in China. Due to the large amount of water stored in the dam, the Earth’s rotation has slowed down by 0.6 microseconds per day. The massive Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River has caused the extra water to alter the Earth’s moment of inertia, causing changes in its speed as it rotates.
Three Gorges Dam is the main reason for slowing down the Earth’s rotation speed
For example, how a skater spins faster by pulling his arms inward and slows down by extending them. Similarly, the expansion of water affects the speed of Earth’s rotation. When an object’s mass is closer to the Earth’s center, the Earth rotates faster. However, as the mass spreads across the Earth’s surface, its speed slows down. For this reason, the water stored in the Three Gorges Dam is considered to be the main reason for slowing down the rotation speed of the Earth.
What do NASA scientists say?
NASA scientist Benjamin Fong Chao said, ‘The Three Gorges Dam has slowed the Earth’s rotation by 0.06 microseconds per day. However, this change is quite small. But it shows how man-made structures can affect Earth’s natural processes.’
How is the speed of the Earth’s orbit affected?
Moment of inertia plays an important role in understanding the rotation speed of the Earth. This shows how mass is spread relative to the Earth’s rotation axis. When large amounts of water accumulate, this mass expands towards the equator, changing the Earth’s ‘moment of inertia’. The Three Gorges Dam can store 40 billion cubic meters of water. Due to this the mass shifts towards the equator. This slightly increases the Earth’s moment of inertia, causing the Earth to slow down.
Three Gorges Dam a technological marvel
The Three Gorges Dam is also a great miracle from the technical point of view. The dam is 185 meters high and over 2 kilometers long, making it the largest power generating dam in the world. At its full capacity it generates 22,500 MW of electricity, powering millions of homes and industries.
