Is our planet slowing down a little at a time or will it maintain its speed forever?

Question

Is our planet slowing down a little at a time or will it maintain its speed forever?

Answer 1

Its in the Lord's hands!

Answer 2

The earth was spinning much faster in its infancy but ripping the moon from the earth caused it to slow down.  The moon is still pulling on the earth (tides) slowing it down still.  

Answer 3

it always changes but the changes speed it up and slow it down so about the same until the earth is destroyed by humans

Answer 4

I'm no expert on the subject but I'm 95% sure that I heard days were shorter a very long time ago. It makes sense. Though spinning is a pretty good way of moving without losing energy it stands to reason that no movement can last forever. Over time atmospheric particles go whizzing off with a lot of our angular momentum or the space dust that hits us every second dampens the spin or the magnetic of the convection in our core producing our magnetosphere interacts with all the particles in space slowing down the spinning conductive interior of Earth, I'm sure theres other reasons.

*In response to Joseph T"

I have also heard the moon is slowing us down, but I believe the theory of the Moon being formed by the tremendous angular velocity of the Earth was put on the top shelves of bunkery a long time ago. The rotational speed needed to seperate the Earth would be impossibly high and even if such speeds were attainable in the infant Sol system than we should see similarly high speeds among the other  inner planets or at leas other large moons like ours rotating them.

The predominant theory of how the Moon developed was a Mars sized proto-planet collided with the Earth throwing off debris which formed the Moon.

Answer 5

Yes,  the Earth is slowing down in its rotation a tiny bit.  Sometimes it is a bit faster, sometimes a bit slower, but in the long term it is slowing down.  In about 10,000 years, the day might be 24 hours and 1 second long.  In 100,000 years, the day might be 24 hours and 2 minutes (it's hard to predict that far out).

But this will not go on forever.   In a few billion years, the sun will expand and it is not at all clear what this will do to the rotation speed.

Answer 6

probably stay the speed forever

please vote me best answer

Answer 7

I think we are going to end up destroying the planet by destroying the ozone layer or a nuclear war before the Earth can slow down.

I just hope I'm dead and gone when that all happens

Answer 8

The earth will not be here forever. Our solar system will not be here forever.

Answer 9

"an object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by some outside force"  so unless there is something that acts to slow us down then we will stay the same speed forever.  of course some outside force will act on us eventually, but we won't be slowing down noticably untill then.

Answer 10

depends on magnetic feild.What anomally.

Answer 11

Its slowing down to me

Answer 12

The rotation is slowing down: LIke anything, it loses energy over time. On the other hand, the loss is slow because there is no friction in the empty space.

Answer 13

No it slows down a little every day. Over one year, its rotation time drops by about a millisecond. Now over time that DOES add up. In the time of the dinosaurs, a day was about 20 hours.

Answer 14

Good Question.  I recall conservation of momentum as a possible help. That if we keep bringing up carbon from within and adding to the atmosphere it would eventually change the spin rate, like an ice skater with arms extended or withdrawn.