Evidence of Earth's Slower Spin Found in Ancient Tablets

Ancient tables reveal that the Earth's spin becomes slower by 1.8 milliseconds every year, a finding that would show that the spin became slower by 2.3 milliseconds based on the numbers calculated by modern scientists. It has been found that the time it takes for the Earth to rotate about its axis takes more than a millisecond longer every year. It has also been found that this is attributed to the friction created by tides.

According to a report from the LA Times, the rotation of the earth attributes greatly to the size and shape of the planet. If the time between now and then has been calculated, the total discrepancy in the length of the day is roughly about seven hours. At that time, there were no means to record how many hours there are in the day as all recordings of time have been based on the changes in the celestial positions -- the sun rising and setting, the phases of the moon, eclipses, and many more.

According to a study from the Greenwich Royal Observatory they have used recordings of eclipses from ancient civilizations such as Babylon, China, and Greece to understand the behavior of the earth during those times. They have discovered that the way the tides slosh to the sides of the Earth may be one of the causes of this slowing in the Earth's spin.

Live Science reported that a geophysicist from the University of San Diego has insisted that the major changes in these ancient records indicate an Earth of a different shape, and this may also affect the slowing of the Earth's spin. He has explained that during the last ice age, the Earth has been weighed down. "As ancient glaciers started to melt, the earth's surface also started to bounce back", Geophysicist Duncan Agnew explained while comparing the Earth to memory foam mattresses.