Re: virus: May 5, 2000

Dan Plante (danp@CS347838-A.gvcl1.bc.wave.home.com)
Sat, 30 May 1998 14:54:07 -0700


At 08:54 PM 5/30/98 +0100, red_mist wrote:
>
>In message <3.0.3.32.19980530021234.007dc760@CS347838-A.gvcl1.bc.wave.ho
>me.com>, Dan Plante <danp@CS347838-A.gvcl1.bc.wave.home.com> writes
>>
>>At 11:05 PM 5/28/98 +0100, red_mist wrote:
>>>
>>>I have actually done some research into this. In may 5th 2000 all the
>>>planets in the solor system will be in a line. The gravitational pull
>>>of all the planets could be big enough to make the earth tip on it's
>>>side causing the poles to move to the equator.
>>
>> Please tell me you're kidding.
>>
>> I don't suppose you could quote me a source, could you?
>>
>http://www.teleport.com/~tcollins/conjunct.shtml

Please tell me you're kidding. You base your understanding of the
universe on text at the homepage of some guy named "T Collins"?
Listen, red_mist, there's a thing called the "peer-reveiwed literature",
and it exists for a very good reason. Words like "quack", "charlatan",
"gullible", "naive" and "misguided" also exist for a very good reason.
The former is a kind of cultural "immune response" against the latter.
Where you get your information from is as important as the information
itself.

Let me try and clear something up:
To make a "spinning top" of one Earth mass /precess/ through 90 degrees
would require a very close approach by an extremely high gravitational
gradient (moving at right angles over the north pole, for example). Picture
something of stellar mass passing within the orbit of Luna, as a very
rough approximation. What you're talking about is about 15 to 18
/orders of magnitude/ too small. It's also the wrong kind of gravitational
force. You need a /moving/ gradient, such that a differential drag on a
part of the Earth results in a force vector that's perpendicular to the
axis of rotation.

But don't take my word for it (which is the whole point here, isn't it?).

>Only the weak are blind when the mist descends
>red_mist

Only the uncritical are marks when the con-men come to town.
(Sorry. Couldn't help it.)

Dan