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Cylinsier
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 Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:55 pm Post subject: Weird Things |
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I read today that the Earth's magnetic field is constantly shifting and changing, which I knew, but what I didn't realize is that the magnetic polls are moving, sometimes at pretty high rates. I believe in 2006, magnetic north was moving at 40 km/h. Also, the magnetic poles are not at exact opposite ends of the earth from each other; currently magnetic south is farther from the southern end of the planet than magnetic north is from the northern end. Sort of odd. Makes you wonder how people got around using their compasses for so long.
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Journeyman
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:26 pm Post subject: |
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now my head hurts! 
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ellipses
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Is the magnetic north moving at 40 km/h around in a circle (like, circling geographic north) ??? Because if it were moving linearly, it would only take 250 hours for magnetic north to be at the equator (approximately 10,000 km from the pole)
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Its moving towards Siberia.
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ellipses
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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It has to be moving around in circles, though... like a top does as it's rotation slows down...
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, something like that...
Here's another one to spin your head. We call the north pole north because the north end of a magnet points to it; same for the south. But magnetic ends attract opposite. That means the north pole is actually the south end of earth's magnetic field and vice versa.
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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Found a map:
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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Holy crap that is amazing!
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JD
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Cylinsier wrote: | Found a map:
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How much of the movement since 1831 could be explained by improvements in magnate manufacturing instead of the poles moving that far?
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ellipses
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder if they are making that map based on magnetic readings or through geologic measurements
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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That doesn't explain the massive movement from 2001 to 2005. The Earth's center is liquid metal and the magnetic field is determined by its spin; it would be weirder if it spun in exactly the same position for all of time; a fluctuation seems inevitable, although its interesting that it fluctuates so greatly.
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Journeyman
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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does that mean I now have to drive north to get to Waynesburg?
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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In a few hundred years, maybe.
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freethinker
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| Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Cy, irrespective of nothing 'cept shared information...The earth's magnetic moment has not only constantly moved (through a process that no-one understands) but also flipped...yes, flipped north to south, several times in the last few billion years...Evidence for this is shown in the iron contained in lava flows...Pretty amazing, huh?
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Cylinsier
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| Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I knew that it had flipped. They guess that it happens every 10,000 years or so. The noted acceleration of the polls over the last few decades is said to be a sign by some that its going to happen again soon, perhaps within a couple hundred years.
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