Based on the mechanism of Earth's rotation, the number of hours in a day in the distant past was only 4 hours, 18 hours, and now it is 24 hours as we know it.
The changes in time on Earth in the past
Currently, we all know that a day consists of 24 hours. However, few people know that 1 billion years ago, a day consisted of only 18 hours. Why was there such a significant change? Does the changing time have any impact on Earth?
The changes in time are believed to be due to the gradual slowing of Earth's rotation
According to observations by some biologists on the growth rings of fossilized coral, when the Earth was newly formed, a day was only about 4 hours long. It took another 3 billion years for a day to extend to 11 hours.
Gradually, around 1.3 billion years ago, a day consisted of 18 hours. After that, the number of hours per day increased to 23 hours. Eventually, it reached 24 hours per day as we know it today.
To explain this, experts have pointed out that the extended time is due to the gradual slowing down of Earth's rotation.
Scientists predict that if this process continues, a day in the distant future could extend to 960 hours.
On average, scientists have calculated that around 40,000 tons of meteoroids and cosmic dust fall onto the Earth's surface each year.
As a result, the Earth gradually expands and gains mass, causing its rotation to slow down. Each year, the number of hours is extended by an additional 0.5 seconds.
Scientists also make predictions that if the mechanism of Earth's rotation continues to slow down in this manner, in the distant future, humans will have to live through 960 hours before moving to the next day.
In light of this information, many people jokingly remark that if a day had 960 hours, we would have plenty of time to complete all the tasks of today and even those of future days, eliminating the issue of "not enough time."
