source file: mills2.txt
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 13:10:47 -0800

Subject: Re: the Moon

From: Paul Hahn <Paul-Hahn@library.wustl.edu>

On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, Aline Surman wrote:
> So, here's a question I've always wanted to ask some physicist sort, and 
> since a lot of the great tuning theorists are exactly that, now's the 
> time to ask. Why is it that the Moon always keeps one face turned to us? 
> I've long thought that seemed sort of odd. What sort of math is at work, 
> on a very basic level, to make that happen, and why? Is that common with 
> Moons in general, or is Earth an exception? It seems to me that it makes 
> more sense if the two spheres were off a bit, so to speak, and that the 
> Moon would gradually show all of it's surface. Any ideas?

This is a fairly basic phenomenon called "Tidal locking".  Ask an
astrophysicist if you want a really good explanation, but basically:
the near side of the moon is closer to the earth than the far side, so
the earth's gravity pulls harder on it.  This exerts a radial stretching
force on the moon.  As the moon turns (turned, early in its history),
the tidal force stretches it in different directions.  This constant
distortion creates friction which dissipates the rotational energy of
the moon.  Eventually it's all gone, so the same face of the moon ends
up oriented toward Earth all the time.

Before you get too caught up exploring the mystical significance of
ultra-high harmonics of the period of the moon, though, I'd point out
Carl Sagan's refutation of astrology: the gravitational force of the
obstetrician is greater than that of a moon or planet, at the moment of
your birth. 8-)>

--pH <manynote@library.wustl.edu> http://library.wustl.edu/~manynote
    O
   /\        "'Jever take'n try to give an ironclad leave to
  -\-\-- o    yourself from a three-rail billiard shot?"


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