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Name: Akhila S
Status: educator
Age: 30s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: Thursday, September 12, 2002
Question:
Dear Scientist,

Please help me out I have a lot of lovely questioning students... Will the earth continue to spin and revolve ALWAYS? Please do not refer me to a book... I do not have access to GOOD Public or other libraries and I have exhausted all the references in the School Library! No answers yet

Replies:
No.

Due to tidal friction and changes in the earth's shape, the earth is slowly spinning down in its rotational rate. In the fossil record, we have data that indicates at one time, the year was about 400 days long, and not the current 365 days.

As far as orbiting the sun, when our sun becomes a red giant, in some 5 billion years, it will consume the earth within its surface.

---Nathan A. Unterman


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