Fwd: 1st Year Geo. Question / Impact

[PWSPARKS@aol.com]

The slowing up of the number of days per year is due to the energy lost to
the tidal forces. That's about it.

paul

---------------------
Forwarded message:
From:   RMarguls@cybercomm.net (Robert Margulski)
Sender: dinosaur@lepomis.psych.upenn.edu
Reply-to:       RMarguls@cybercomm.net
To:     dinosaur@lepomis.psych.upenn.edu (Multiple recipients of list)
Date: 96-01-13 10:26:02 EST

At 18:01 1/12/96 -0500, boneill@shellus.com wrote:
>
>  CORY WALTER wrote:
>
>>How have geologists determined that the number of days in the 
>>      year has shortened over time?
>
>.....   The explanation
>was the the tidal friction in the Earth/Moon system was slowing the
>rotation of the Earth resulting in fewer days per year.
>
Brian,

Is the 'fewer days per year' a constant number or is there any evidence
that some outside force (celestial impact, or near miss) caused a rapid
deceleration in some years?  What about the length of the day changing?

All the scenarios that I've seen seem to imply a direct (head-on) impact,
if any, with a celestial object.  I am not looking for evidence of a 
cataclysmic happening, just something a little more subtle.

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         RMarguls@cybercomm.net