Re: Planet X: Moon SWIRL
As requested, from existing ZetaTalk:
Spin is a phenomenon that occurs regularly in nature
and is frequently observed on Earth, from the large
swirls that hurricanes form to the small tornadoes
in the middle of water going down the drain. The
fact that such a spin moves in different directions
when it is above or below the equator gives evidence
that spin is affected by factors outside of itself. The
phenomenon of spin is observable when the object
in motion is not constrained. Air and water are
fluid, but spinning tops or figure skaters on ice also
demonstrate the phenomena. The theoretical speed
of a spin is fastest toward the center of the spinning
object, a factor easily noted by comparing hurricane
wind speeds with those at the center of tornadoes.
But why the difference?
Spin on the surface of the Earth reflects what is
occurring in the core of the Earth. If the Earth were
not rotating, its core moving to escape or pull toward
other matter in the Solar System and beyond, then
spin would be affected only by the various
attractions or repulsion the spinning object itself
has to its immediate neighborhood. All objects on
the face of the Earth have these same influences
from the core of the Earth, but this is not evident
due to lack of fluidity or lack of motion. Spin in
an object develops slowly, and is only evident to
man when accumulated. Thus, water in a water
fall has spin, but the water at the bottom of the fall
cannot affect the water at the top, so the spin is
not compounded. Water in a drain compounds the
spin at the top by affecting the path of least
resistance for the water at the top of the drain, and
thus the little tornadoes in draining water.
Spin occurs faster when the spinning object is
narrow as there are fewer factors to counter the spin.
A large air mass such as is moving during a
hurricane is spread out over a larger area of the
core of the Earth, and thus the impetus to move
with the core is countered by the fact that one of the
outer edges, the one on the pole side, is lined up
over core parts that are moving slower than the
other outer edge, the one on the equator side. Thus
small tops can spin faster for the given impetus than
large tops, and figure skaters find they can spin
faster by reducing their overall size by drawing
their arms in and hugging themselves.
ZetaTalk, Spin
(http://www.zetatalk.com/science/s86.htm)