Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

beatle42 t1_j96espg wrote

It is. A quick read in Wikipedia notes:

> Over millions of years, Earth's rotation has been slowed significantly by tidal acceleration through gravitational interactions with the Moon. Thus angular momentum is slowly transferred to the Moon at a rate proportional to r − 6 r^{{-6}}, where r r is the orbital radius of the Moon. This process has gradually increased the length of the day to its current value, and resulted in the Moon being tidally locked with Earth.

5

triffid_hunter t1_j96elyt wrote

It is slowing down due to tidal forces, and transferring momentum to the Moon which is making the Moon's orbit larger…

3

SnurrDass OP t1_j96fysw wrote

Ok, but then the tide forces get weaker, an less momentum will be transfered, due to a larger orbit, so in one point earth and the moon will reach equilibrium, is life on earth then sustainable?

−2

Subject_Meat5314 t1_j96h6lt wrote

Life on earth is already sustainable. The moon and earth will not reach the equilibrium you’re hoping for, but that’s not really related to sustainability.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for perpetually life sustaining conditions, you’re out of luck. The sun is the problem. Stars have a life cycle and they don’t end well for life on their planets.

3

daikatana t1_j96g5ic wrote

It does, but very slowly. The Earth is very massive and that thin layer of water on the outside, while it may seem impossibly deep to us, is something like 0.00025% of the mass of the Earth. It's like trying to brake a freight train by dragging a toothpick on the ground.

3

space-ModTeam t1_j96hc65 wrote

Hello u/SnurrDass, your submission "so why don't earth slow down do to the drag of the water created in the tidel forces by the moon?" has been removed from r/space because:

  • Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.

Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.

1

Capes_for_Apes t1_j96s0ho wrote

On a long enough time scale this will result in tidal lock where one side of the moon and one side of the earth always face each other.

1