5 ms·
I thought about that also, but I think it would take much longer for the crust to change to a spherical shape; much the way that large parts of the northern hem
by billswift 16y ago
I thought about that also, but I think it would take much longer for the crust to change to a spherical shape; much the way that large parts of the northern hemisphere are still rebounding from the loss of ice cover at the end of the last ice age.
- strait 16y agoAlso providing a dampening effect on this transformation, are the weight of both oceans, which are now bearing down at both poles. Water is quite dense, being about 1/3 the density of the earth's top crust. Also, interestingly, it seems like the density and pressure of the atmosphere would be significantly greater at sealevel, especially at the southern hemisphere sealevel, though obviously not much of a factor in crustal transformation.
- Retric 16y agoThe earths crust deforms ~1cm each day due to tidal forces. So while it might take a long time to move the last inch or so, the first few miles would change within hours. In fact with an instantaneous stop it would go past a perfect sphere and probably osculate.