'We will be at your service — 24*7,' Scientists report that this very familiar declaration of the modern world is not permanent anymore.
The duration of a day will exceed the 24-hour limit and become 25 hours in the distant future. However, this event will take at least 200 million years to occur. Many doubt whether human existence will remain on Earth by then.
Therefore, while the possibility of hearing service assurances based on '25*7' instead of '24*7' may be slim, scientists are certain that this event will occur.
Physicists' calculations indicate that the Moon's gravitational influence on Earth (tidal friction) is slowing down Earth's rotation. Due to the Moon's such 'bullying', the length of a day is increasing by approximately 1.7 milliseconds every century. Scientists have been commenting for several years that this 24-hour time limit of a day on Earth is variable.
According to their calculations, when Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago, the duration of one day on Earth was only 10 hours. 'One day' means diurnal motion.
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Along with revolving around the Sun (annual motion), Earth simultaneously rotates around its own axis. The time it takes for Earth to complete one rotation around its own axis is called 'diurnal motion', simply put, 'one day'. While today this diurnal motion takes 24 hours and there are 365 days in a year, scientists report that at the time of creation, Earth completed one rotation around its own axis in just 10 hours, and 'one year' at that time contained about 876 days.
As time progressed, the diurnal motion slowed down due to the Moon's gravitational influence on Earth. As a result, the duration of a day has increased from 10 hours to today's 24 hours. The number of days in a year has also decreased from 876 to today's 365 days.
However, the Moon's influence on Earth has not stopped. Due to its influence, the length of a day is increasing by 1.7 milliseconds every 100 years, or one thousandth of a second. While this time may seem 'very insignificant' at present, its impact over the vast timespan of 200 million years is not negligible.
Scientists calculate that if the duration of a day increases by 1.7 milliseconds every 100 years, then after 200 million years, it will take an additional 3400 seconds or nearly one extra hour to complete a day. By this calculation, 200 million years ago from today, when dinosaurs were roaming the Earth: the duration of a day was one hour less than today, i.e., 23 hours. The number of days in a year was 381 instead of 365.
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Impact of 25 hours on regular life
Regarding what impact 25-hour days will have on humans, scientists say, "If the duration of a day suddenly increases from 24 hours to 25 hours, our time calculation system will have to change fundamentally. This will also disrupt the balance of our 'body clock'. Our bodies and the life cycles of almost every living creature operate according to a 24-hour 'circadian rhythm'"
This controls our sleep patterns, hormone secretion, and many other things.' However, if such an event occurs over 200 million years, the body will gradually be able to adapt to it bit by bit. Although there is genuine doubt about whether humanity will exist after 200 million years.