Ever wish you had more hours in the day? Thanks to China’s Three Gorges Dam, you technically do, but only by a fraction of a second. Recent discussions on Reddit have brought attention to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) findings that the massive structure has slightly altered Earth’s rotation.
The dam, stretching 2,335 metres across China’s Yangtze River, holds an astonishing 40 cubic kilometres of water, equivalent to 10 trillion gallons. All that weight, sitting 175 metres above sea level, has enough gravitational influence to affect the planet’s spin.
NASA geophysicist, Dr Benjamin Fong Chao, confirmed the dam has increased the length of a day by 0.06 microseconds. To put that into perspective, he noted it would add up to just over three days if stretched across the entire age of the universe.
The phenomenon occurs because the dam’s reservoir redistributes Earth’s mass, altering its moment of inertia. Much like a spinning ice skater slows down by extending their arms, the planet’s rotation decelerates when mass moves away from its core.
While the change is minuscule, advanced scientific instruments can detect it. The shift isn’t just temporal. Earth’s axis has also tilted by roughly two centimetres due to the dam’s impact.
Despite these cosmic side effects, the Three Gorges Dam remains a cornerstone of China’s energy infrastructure. Generating as much power as 15 nuclear reactors, it significantly cuts coal reliance and reduces carbon emissions.
So, what can you do with your extra 0.06 microseconds? Not much. In that blink of time, a human can barely recognise a scent, and a dog can pinpoint the direction of a sound. But at least now you know the planet itself is running a tiny bit slower.
