Tilt in the Earth's Axis????


Haven't seen this film since way back when, but it kind of rings a bell with the way our weather here in the U.S. has been changing lately. Anyone think there has been a slight shift in the axis of the earth?? Going to see if I can buy this movie and watch it over again. Loved it when I first saw it.

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As I recall (though, again I haven't seen this film for ages - and then only once), the Earth didn't shift in axis, but orbit. It moved closer to the sun, got hotter and then "caught fire".

I suspect if Earth had shifted in axis rather a large number of people would have noticed - me for one, as the length of day light would have changed (longer or shorter depending on which way you think Earth has tilted).

If you're looking to pin the blame on changing US (and global) weather patterns, try human induced climate change.

Damn fine movie all the same.

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remember the words "nutation" and "11 degree shift" from the film ?

If you're looking to pin the blame on changing US (and global) weather patterns, try human induced climate change.


100% in agreement



The young recruit is silly ’e thinks o’ suicide
’E’s lost ’is gutter-devil ’e ’asn’t got ’is pride

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Actually, in the film, the earth does both. First, we learn about the shift in the change in the axis of the earth, by 11 degrees, which added (presumably) to the 23 1/2 degrees already, nearly a 50% increase. This is what causes the bizarre shifts in weather patterns: the fog scene in England, the snow in New York, etc.

But later on, in the climax of act two, we also learn that the earth's orbit has been shifted and that earth's orbit is now slowly spiraling inward to move the earth closer to the sun. This is what leads to the heating up of the earth. There is a big montage sequence showing scenes of fires, water shortages, and so forth.

It's a terrific film.

Not the least for showing all the politicians denying that everything is happening !


Benedictus.

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"try human induced climate change"

I tried it, but it didn't stand up to rational scrutiny.

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As a fan of this flick, I can tell you that the shift in the Earth's orbit was caused by two impossibly monsterous and simultaneous nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. (at the South Pole) and the Soviet Union (in Siberia). At the time this movie was made, both countries had, in reality, already conducted many above-ground nuclear tests. The Earth's momentum is simply way too great to be affected by such meager forces.

Remember, it's only a movie.

:-)

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The Earth's axis does shift now and again, but not by significant amounts. The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake (the one that caused the big Tsunami) shifted the axis by about 2 inches. Considering that the Earth is around 7 thousand miles in diameter that's pretty minor - and that earthquake had the energy of about 800 Megatons, which is a good sixteen times the power of the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated.

So no, shifts in the Earth's axis are not doing anything to the climate.

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The earth has a constant small wobble in its rotation. (All together, I forget exactly how many different motions the earth is undergoing but as I recall it's more than a dozen.) It wasn't that long ago that the North Star was not Polaris but Vega.

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1/ The earth's orbit changes form. It takes roughly 100,000 years from being nearly circular to being its most elliptical.

2/ The angle of the earth's axis varies with a period of 41,000 years.

3/ The earth's axis "moves" as earth orbits the sun. Earth wobbles like a spinning top. This means that the seasons actually move through time. We have to "adjust" time to compensate. If we didn't, we would end up with the seasons in the wrong place in the calendar!

Magnetic North also wanders. Sometimes it flips over! But that has nothing to do with Earth's rotation.


Team Europe

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correct. the poles have indeed swapped places many times in the earth's history, leading to cataclysmic climate changes and the extinction of 95% of all life on earth. damn....

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if you like reading Sci Fi, along a similar theme is the awesome "The HAB Theory" by Allan W. Eckert.

The young recruit is silly ’e thinks o’ suicide
’E’s lost ’is gutter-devil ’e ’asn’t got ’is pride

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Jules Verne played with a similar idea in "THE PURCHASE OF THE NORTH POLE", the 3rd book featuring "The Gun Club" (the other 2 being "FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON" and "AROUND THE MOON").

In the novel, The Gun Club proposes building the biggest cannon ever seen on Earth-- a gigantic, monster-size shaft built deep in the ground somewhere in Africa. The idea is, by building such a weapon in the exact spot and angle, firing it will cause the Earth's axis to tilt at such an angle that all seasons will be eliminated, and people can then choose where on Earth they want to live depending on whatever perpetual weather will be there. (Totally INSANE!)

Keep in mind-- like the 2 previous books-- this was done AS A COMEDY!!!!! I read this in the late 60s when I was a kid, and it was one of the funniest things I ever plowed through.

In the long run, the idea doesn't work... and COULDN'T. The reasons for these, you'll have to read the book to find out. (I won't blow something like that for anybody!)

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