subject: The Planet Earth [print this page] The Planet Earth The Planet Earth
You probably think that you have known about the earth, a planet where we live. Nevertheless, there are some facts researched by Beijing Technology that will make you surprised. We hope that the following info could improve your understanding on our beloved earth.
First thing you might don't know is that 1000 years ago, one day on Earth equals 18 hours. The rotation of the earth gets slower from time to time that now we get one day in 24 hours. According to the scientists, someday in the future, the rotation of the earth will take 960 hours. Another thing, the earth's surface goes around 510.1 million square kilometers.
Talking about desert as part of the earth's landscape, you will be surprised that approximately one third of this planet consists of desert area. Sahara Desert in North Africa is the largest one among others in the world. Then you might be interested in talking about earthquake and volcanic eruptions. Most of the earthquakes and volcanoes occur at 12 border points of the earth plates. The most active plate is the Pacific Ocean that it is called seismic and volcanic regions.
If you wonder the hottest and coldest place in the world, we can say that somewhere in Libya was recorded as the warmest place on 13 September 1922. The temperatures reached 57.8 degrees Celsius, the highest value in the temperature record since then. On the other hand, the lowest temperature in the world goes to the east Antarctica. On July 21, 1983 the temperature reached minus 89 degrees Celsius.
The earth's core is considered solid. However, the temperature of the area around the core is so high that we never got to the center of the earth. To decide how the earth's core is, some scientists make a hole with a drill to insert a detector. This device is used to investigate more about the inside of the earth.
You might also have no idea that the fastest wind on the surface of the earth reaches 372 km/h. This wind speed was recorded on April 12, 1934 in Washington Mountain state of New Hampshire, USA. However, in May 1995, this record was broken by a tornado occurred in Oklahoma in which the fastest wind speed is detected to reach 513 km/hour.
Next thing which may be out of your mind is that the earth is rich of colorful minerals. Strontium can produce garnet, while copper produces blue, yellow from sodium, iron filings and charcoal produce golden yellow sparks. Those minerals are then made to produce colorful fireworks.
Discussing mineral, we move onto metals. Total gold in the world measures more than 193 thousand tons (metric tons). Africa and the United States are the two gold-producing countries. South Africa produces 5300 tons of gold every year while the United States produces more than 3200 tons per year.
