Asker: Luc , 47 years
Answer
The tidal forces in the Moon-Earth system slow the rotation of Earth around its axis. But this is happening extremely slowly, at a rate of about 15 seconds per million years. So hardly noticeable.
But on the Earth time scale, it does matter. About a billion years ago, a day lasted less than 20 hours. About 2.5 billion years ago, at the end of the Archaic era, a day lasted about 13 hours. And about 4.5 billion years ago, just when the Moon was formed from a gigantic collision of a protoplanet with the Earth, a day lasted just 5 hours.
Answered by
Prof. Manuel Sintubin
Tectonics Geodynamics Earthquake Geology Earthquake Archaeology
Catholic University of Leuven
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
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