1. The Earth’s Rotation

You may have heard by now that the Earth’s rotation probably sped up 1.2 microseconds due to the Chilean quake. It also increased after the Sumatran quake by 6.8 microseconds. Essentially, this means that today will be 8 microseconds shorter than this same day in 2003.

The Nazca plate is all kinds of trouble

Why? The mass of the earth changed, displacing to the north and south axis as the Nazca plate jammed itself under the South American plate. More mass displaced vertically means faster rotation. The local news, surprisingly, described it well by comparing it to an effect ice skaters experience: spinning with your arms out is slower than spinning with your arms tucked in. Earth is spinning with an arm in. (Or, more realistically, a toe)

These quakes also changed the tilt of the Earth’s axis, but I haven’t done any research on that. Moving on…

2. North and South (Magnetic) Poles

We all know that a compass will always point to magnetic north.

The only problem is, magnetic north is shifting rapidly towards Siberian Russia at 25 miles per year. I don’t know if you know this, but the magnetic poles have flipped some 400 times in the last 330 million years. Each flip takes approximately 1000 years to complete.

Our magnetic north has been travelling from Arctic Canada towards Siberia since 1905. Just something to think about.

Google Image search "magnetic pole shift" and you get a bunch of gobbledygook.

3. Gravity is a Constant

Anyone who has ever taken a physics class knows that gravity is a constant (G).

Remember this one?

Except, it’s not. In 2001 a gravitational map was released to the world by nefarious gravitational scientists that showed gravity actually fluctuates. A spot off the coast of India had the least of it, and a place in the South Pacific had the most.

This finding fueled my “there was just less gravity at that time” answer to why dinosaurs were so big, how people made Stonehenge, and why walking to work is so much more tiring now than it was 5 years ago.

4. Your Safety

I think it’s fair to say that we all consider ourselves safe on this little planet we call home. Barring a giant asteroid collision or the sun exploding, we’re pretty content to let the Earth’s various processes continue.  Oh, but you’re ignoring the risk of the cosmic ray.

Artist's rendition

Did you know that a cosmic ray (a single particle traveling at light speed) can whip through your body and actually tear holes in your DNA? I am not kidding; it’s a major risk for manned space projects.

For the time being, those of us on the Earth’s surface are mostly protected from cosmic rays by the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field and by the Sun’s magnetic field. If you’re flying, you’re at a higher risk because cosmic radiation exposure increases as altitude increases. This is so serious that it is addressed by the World Health Organization.

Don't fly from Bangkok to Washington

Enjoy this information. You might want to think about quitting your Very Important Salesman Job.