What caused the world to recently lose time, and where did this lost time go?

22crows

The powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled Chile over the weekend likely shifted the Earth's axis and shortened the day, according to NASA geophysicist Richard Gross. The scientist explained that the huge shake altered the distribution of mass on the planet, causing Earth's axis to shift an estimated three inches and shorten the day by 1.26 microseconds. http://holykaw.alltop.com/nasa-scientist-chilean-earthquake-shifted-ear Mar 02 10, 3:20 AM

star_gazer

Correct! Where did that 1.26 microsecond go? Mar 02 10, 6:10 AM

queproblema

It didn't go anywhere--we're just spinning a tad faster. Copy-and-paste: David Kerridge, the head of Earth hazards and systems at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, likened the change in rotation speed to what happens when a figure skater draws her arms in close to her body while spinning. "As she pulls her arms in," Kerridge told Bloomberg, "she gets faster and faster. It's the same idea with the Earth going around: If you change the distribution of mass, the rotation rate changes." http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/nasa-chile-quake-shifted-earths-axis-shortened-day/19378491 Mar 02 10, 8:28 AM