China has always undertaken cyclopean works that are beyond imagination. For example, we have the mythical Great Wall of China, which took several generations to complete. Now we bring you the latest infrastructure hype from the Asian giant that reduces the speed of the Earth’s rotation.
What does this gigantic work of China consist of?
This mega construction is the Three Gorges Dam, located on the Yangtze River, the largest in China. It is the largest power plant in the world both in terms of installed capacity and size. At $75 billion, this work is the most expensive in history.
As for the amount of concrete used, it totals 27.47 million m3. Its construction began in 1993 and ended in 2016 with the completion of a lift that would raise the boats above dock level. It should be noted that there was a five-year delay due to logistical and financial problems.
The gigantic work that reduces the speed of the Earth’s rotation
This sample was created in response to the population’s increasing demand for energy and the need to reduce river flooding and subsequent flooding. But what was not anticipated at the beginning of this project is that could affect the Earth’s rotation.
This is indeed a confirmed fact arising from the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world. Specifically, this major work changed the Earth’s rotational motion, slowing it down, causing a delay of about 0.06 microseconds, although this is imperceptible to humans.
This delay is in turn caused by a displacement of about 2 centimeters of the Earth’s pole. The greatest impact of this phenomenon concerns terrestrial data measuring equipment that can generate inaccurate information, including atomic clocks that measure terrestrial time.
These will have to be adjusted in the next 200 years to save a few seconds that shorten our lives. The phenomenon, as if it were an earthquake, is due to a redistribution of the Earth’s mass caused by the 42,000 million tons of water concentrated 91 meters above river level.
This enormous displacement of water therefore has an important effect on the earth. In this case, the inertia is final, although the delay is very small. Just so you understand, it’s a fact very similar to what pilots do when distributing weight in their airplane.
Or the momentum movement that athletes make with their arms while sprinting. The location in the Hubei region, the area where the coronavirus started five years ago and which is one of the main rural areas in Chinacan also influence this braking.
The features of this gigantic dam
This hydroelectric power plant has 32 generators with an individual capacity of 700 MW and two generators of 50 MW for a total of almost 23,000 MW. largest in the world in terms of installed capacity. In terms of environmental impact, it offers very positive figures in terms of emissions.
Because, according to China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the dam at full capacity avoids emissions of, among other things, 100 million tons of CO2 and about 70 tons of sulfur dioxide. However, they also have opponents who object to the environmental impact of the Yangtze River.
In conclusion, it can be said that this latest exaggeration by China, the largest dam in the world, has caused a slowdown in the Earth’s rotation, although it is imperceptible except for very sensitive measuring instruments. But the impact on the environment has positive and negative aspects.