Secular Increase in the Earth's LOD Strongly Implies that the Earth Might Be Expanding Radially on a Global Scale
Exactly 101 years ago, German scientist—Alfred Lothar Wegener, sailed against the prevailing wisdom of his day when he posited that not only have the Earth’s continental plates receded from each other over the course of the Earth’s history, but that they are currently in a state of motion relative to one another. To explain this, Wegener set forth the hypothesis that the Earth must be expanding as a whole. Wegener’s inability to provide an adequate explanation of the forces and energy source responsible for continental drift and the prevailing belief that the Earth was a rigid solid body resulted in the acrimonious dismissal of his theories. Today, that the continents are receding from each other is no longer a point of debate but a sacrosanct pillar of modern geology and geophysics. What is debatable is the energy source driving this phenomenon. An expanding Earth hypothesis is currently an idea that is not accepted on a general consensus level. Antiproponent of the expanding Earth mercilessly dismiss it as a pseudo or fringe science with their main point of rejection being the energy source to power this supposed expansion. Be that asit may, we show herein that from the well accepted law of conversation of spin angular momentum, Stephenson [1]’s result that over the last 2700 years or so, the length of the Earth’s day has undergone a change of about +17.00 μs/yr, this result invariably leads to the plausibility the Earth may very be expanding radially at a paltry rate of about +0.60 mm/yr. If correct, this simple fact, automatically move the expanding Earth hypothesis from the realm of pseudo or fringe science, to that of plausible science.
On Detecting Changes in the Earth's Radius
Summary Estimates of the Earth’s radius in the geological past can be made from paleomagnetic evidence. A method appropriate to the spherical environment of the data for dealing with this problem is given, which is applied to Devonian, Permian and Triassic data from Europe and Siberia, yielding estimated radii for these periods of 1.12, 0.94 and 0.99 times the present radius respectively. These estimates are not considered to be significantly different from the present radius. Egyed (1960) has suggested that paleomagnetic data could be used to find probable ancient radii for the Earth; the idea is that the mean direction of magnetization of rocks of the same geological age from widely separated collecting sites should be consistent with a geocentric dipole field. The problem is of interest since it has been suggested on geological and cosmological grounds that the Earth’s radius has changed greatly in the geological past. For example, Egyed (1956, 1957) requires a change of z per cent since the Paleozoic, and Carey (1958) a change of 45 per cent in the same time. Cox and Doell (1961) have applied Egyed’s method of calculation to Permian data from Europe and Siberia and gave an estimated Permian radius of 0.991 times the present radius. In this article a generalization of Egyed’s method of calculation is given, which is applied to Devonian and Triassic data as well as Permian data from this region into which some recent values not available to Cox and Doell have been incorporated, yielding estimates of the ancient radii for these three geological periods not significantly different from the present radius. Triassic and Carboniferous data from the North American continent have also been studied, but as yet there are not enough data from this continent to yield a meaningful result. The method given here, like that of Egyed, is based on the assumptions that during any change in the Earth’s radius, the size of each continent remains constant, and that during the particular geological age being studied, the position of the pole has not changed markedly, together with the usual assumptions involved in paleomagnetic studies; that the Earth’s field at the time in question may be represented by a geocentric dipole, and that it is possible by a study of rocks from a given rock unit to determine the approximate direction of the Earth’s field at that place at a known time. The set of relevant observations from a rock unit consists of four quantities, which are average values for the rock unit as a whole: the mean longitude +$ and latitude A$ of the rock unit, and the declination Di and inclination It of the estimated
The Inca Occupation of the South Coast of Peru
like the others, however; it forks into several nearly parallel ravines of which the largest are Huayuri, Rio Grande-Palpa, Ingenio (called Collao in ancient times), Nasca proper (the ancient Caxamarca), Taruga, and Poroma. Due to peculiarities of the local topography, the irrigated areas in Ica and the ravines of Nasca are located inland, at the foot of the mountains, rather than at the mouths of the rivers as is more usual in Peruvian coastal valleys. No sharp natural or cultural boundary separates the valley of Chincha from the valleys of Cafiete (ancient Huarco and Runahuana), Asia, and Mala, the next valleys going up the coast to the northwest. At the other end of the area we are considering, however, there is a sharp break; beyond Yauca the Andean foothills reach out to the sea, natural conditions are quite different, and there are important differences in the archaeological picture as well. The historical sources which mention the south coast are not particularly helpful, except in so far as they provide us with a few dates. To begin with, no chronicler gives an explicit account of the political organization of the south coast at the time it came into contact with the Incas. It can, perhaps, be inferred from Cabello Balboa's statements about common policy toward the Inca invaders that there was some sort of political connection between the valleys of Mala, Cafiete, and Chincha, but the connection need have been no more than a temporary military alliance. Cabello makes no mention at all of Pisco. The valleys of Ica, Nasca, and 125