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On 2002-03-18 10:28, Gary Redmond wrote:
If you locate the center of gravity of a mass (point around which all its weight is equally distributed) and then suspend that mass from that point it will be in perfect balance and will not rotate, or will continue to rotate indefinitely. The Earth's center of gravity suspends the Moon's center of gravity and vice versa. Thus the Earth cannot rotate the Moon, and the Moon cannot rotate the Earth. Furthermore, tides are internal to a system so therefore they cannot change the angular momentum of the system.
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The total angular momentum stays the same, but the Earth's momenutum is less and the moon's is more. The slowing of the Earth in ancient times has been established by referencing daily and yearly coral growth patterns, and also by study of ancient eclipse observation.
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GrapesOfWrath on 2002-03-20 11:09 ]</font>