The Massive Three Gorges Dam in China Slowed Earth’s Rotation!
In 2018, something unusual happened. NASA detected a variation in the Earth’s rotation caused by a human-made structure—the Three Gorges Dam in China. This dam, located on the Yangtze River in central China, is massive. It creates a reservoir that holds an incredible 39.3 billion cubic meters of water, covering an area of 632 square kilometers. It is the world’s largest power station that produces approximately 95±20 TWh of electricity per year. Despite all that, it made a significant change in our planet. It altered the entire earth’s rotation! According to NASA, the dam’s construction has increased daylight hours by 0.06 milliseconds. Let’s explore how the Three Gorges Dam causes this effect and understand the science behind it.
How does the Three Gorges Dam Affect Earth’s rotation?
The Three Gorges Dam holds water 175 meters above sea level, which has a mass that exceeds 39 trillion kilograms. This massive weight affects Earth’s rotation because of something called the “moment of inertia.” But what does that mean?
The moment of inertia refers to how much resistance a body has to spinning or rotating. Think of a spinning top—if you move its mass farther from its center, it will slow down. The same thing happens with the Earth. When you concentrate a huge amount of mass like the Three Gorges Dam’s water away from the Earth’s axis, it slightly slows down Earth’s rotation. As a result, the length of a day has increased by a tiny amount. Precisely 0.06 milliseconds in this case.
Is the Impact on Earth’s Rotation Significant?
Even though NASA detected this change in the Earth’s rotation, the impact is very small. In fact, it’s so small that it doesn’t affect our daily lives. According to NASA, events like large earthquakes can also cause small changes in Earth’s rotation, and these fluctuations have happened throughout Earth’s history.
So, is the impact something we should worry about? Scientists say no. While the dam has altered Earth’s rotation, the change is negligible.
Interestingly, though, the Three Gorges Dam is one of the few human-made objects to have this kind of effect on Earth’s rotation. This fact has grabbed media attention and led to a lot of public curiosity.
History of the Three Gorges Dam
The idea for the Three Gorges Dam goes back over a century. In 1919, Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China, proposed the idea to control the flooding of the Yangtze River. However, the actual construction of the dam took decades to start and wasn’t completed until 2012.
The dam was built to symbolize China’s modernization and strength. It spans the Yangtze River, one of the most culturally and historically significant regions in China. However, the dam also submerged ancient villages, and more than 1.5 million people had to relocate. This has made the dam a symbol of both progress and loss.
Impact of the Three Gorges Dam: Producing Energy and Saving Lives!
One of the main reasons for building the Three Gorges Dam was to prevent the floods that have historically affected the Yangtze River. In 1931, for example, floods in the region killed up to 4 million people. By controlling the river’s flow, the dam has helped protect millions of lives from future disasters.
The dam is also a giant in terms of energy production. Its 22,500 MW capacity makes it the largest power station in the world. It generates enough electricity to help reduce China’s reliance on coal, lowering the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the dam has improved the shipping capacity along the Yangtze River, which has boosted the local economy.
But this progress has come at a cost. The financial cost of the project—is estimated to be between $25 and $37 billion. Also, 1.5 million people were displaced. Many people had to leave their homes, and the construction of the dam also disrupted local ecosystems. The erosion of the reservoir has affected thousands of species of fish and insects that live in the Yangtze River.
Environmentalists are also concerned about the dam’s long-term effects. Landslides have become more common in the region, and some scientists believe that the dam may have altered the local climate. They have sparked debates about whether such large-scale infrastructure projects are worth the trade-offs.
Conclusion
The Three Gorges Dam is an engineering marvel that has both positive and negative effects. On one hand, it has helped control flooding, generated vast amounts of power, and improved shipping on the Yangtze River. On the other hand, it has displaced millions of people, caused environmental damage, and slightly altered Earth’s rotation. While the idea of a human-made structure affecting Earth’s rotation sounds like science fiction, the change is real but small. We won’t notice any difference in our daily lives. However, the Three Gorges Dam stands as a unique example of how human activity can influence our planet on a grand scale.
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