- 12 hours ago
Rumors are spreading after reports of a massive water diversion project in Egypt sparked wild speculation online. Some claim the flooding isn’t about infrastructure or agriculture — but about permanently submerging something ancient beneath the sands. If true, the question isn’t just what is being covered up… but why it was considered too dangerous to uncover.
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00:00Something strange is happening in Egypt's desert.
00:03Giant, mysterious green circles are popping up everywhere, hundreds of them.
00:07And then you've got dozens of canals and roads connecting into something that looks like a river.
00:12But it's not exactly that.
00:14This is the ambitious New Delta Project, and it has one controversial goal.
00:19To flood the desert.
00:24It's easy to see why.
00:26More than 90% of Egypt is desert, miles and miles of sand dunes and dry land under scorching heat.
00:33Almost nothing can grow there.
00:35So today, there are basically only two areas where Egypt can grow large amounts of food.
00:40The Nile Valley and the Nile Delta.
00:43Together, they cover only about 5% of the country's land.
00:47But their crops feed about 99% of Egyptians.
00:51And that's becoming a real problem.
00:53Because Egypt's population keeps growing.
00:56By 2050, estimates say their population will grow by about 40 million people, reaching nearly 160 million.
01:05The Nile Valley and the Nile Delta just won't be enough to handle that kind of demand.
01:10See the problem here, right?
01:12The population is growing.
01:13People need more food.
01:15But most of the country is desert.
01:17And there's not much room for new farms.
01:19So what can they do?
01:21The easy solution is the same one you use when your fridge is empty.
01:25You order in.
01:26Egypt does that too.
01:28They buy huge amounts of food from other countries.
01:31But importing food is expensive and time-consuming.
01:34So they need to create more space for farms.
01:37And they need it fast.
01:39That's where the New Delta Project comes in.
01:41This is a massive agricultural plan meant to turn parts of the desert into green fields.
01:47The idea is to move water and farming west of the Nile.
01:51And if it works, it could expand Egypt's farmland by about 15%.
01:56Sounds great on paper, right?
01:58But in reality, this plan comes with a lot of controversy.
02:03Their idea is to create an artificial river right in the middle of the desert, about 70 miles long.
02:10To make it work, they're building tons of roads and canals to support it.
02:14And those strange green circles I mentioned earlier are irrigation systems.
02:19They pull water up from wells or pipelines.
02:21Then slowly spin around and spray water in a big circle over the crops.
02:27Okay, so we've got this huge artificial river being built in the middle of the desert.
02:31But where is all that water coming from?
02:34Well, it comes from three main sources.
02:36The first, and by far the biggest, is treated wastewater.
02:40They take used water, the kind that goes down sinks and toilets in our homes, for example,
02:45and clean it up so it can be used safely again.
02:49To do that, they had to build a modern treatment plant in El-Hammam,
02:53a town in Egypt's northern coast west of Alexandria.
02:57Its construction was completed in 2023, and it's absolutely massive.
03:03It's so big that it now holds the world record as the largest wastewater treatment plant in the world.
03:09It cleans an enormous amount of water every day,
03:12enough to fill about 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
03:16And most of that water goes straight to farming.
03:19The second source of water comes from the Nile.
03:22Basically, they're taking water from Egypt's most famous river,
03:26sending it through massive canals and pushing it deep into the desert,
03:30into this new, man-made river.
03:33Finally, the third source is deep fossil groundwater.
03:37In other words, it's water from way under the desert.
03:41Down there is something called the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer,
03:45basically a huge underground reserve of water that's been trapped for thousands of years.
03:51And this is where the controversy starts.
03:54It's true that there's a lot of water under the western desert, but it's limited.
03:59Because this is fossil water, I mean, it's so old that it doesn't really get replaced.
04:06Once you pump it out, it won't refill anytime soon.
04:09Not in our lifetime, and probably not even for many generations.
04:14On top of that, the deeper you drill, the saltier the water can get.
04:18And we don't want that.
04:20You see, most crops don't like salt.
04:22If the water is too salty, plants grow slower, give smaller harvests, or dry out.
04:27And when you keep watering with salty water, salt builds up in the soil.
04:31The water evaporates, but the salt stays.
04:35Over time, the land can turn hard, dry, and basically useless for farming.
04:40So pumping groundwater might help in the short term, but it raises a big question.
04:46Is this really doable in the long run?
04:48And there are other concerns too.
04:51The project was sold as a big win.
04:53Grow more food, create more jobs, and help Egyptians.
04:57It also boosts the economy, because they're growing expensive fruits and vegetables
05:01that get sold abroad to places like Canada, Australia, and Japan.
05:06But that's also the problem.
05:08Many people complain that the project is mostly about growing crops to sell abroad.
05:13And sure, exports bring money into the country, in the big picture.
05:18But that doesn't necessarily mean food gets cheaper at home,
05:22or that poorer families can afford more.
05:24Because even though it has boosted exports,
05:27it hasn't done much to prevent massive food price inflation inside the country.
05:31So Egypt's food security problem still isn't fully solved.
05:35Many Egyptians are still dealing with high prices and tight budgets.
05:40Another controversial thing is that no one knows how much this project actually costs.
05:46The press sometimes mentions $5.2 billion,
05:49but some experts put the total closer to $9.7 billion.
05:55Just the wastewater treatment part alone is said to cost more than $500 million,
06:00but it's very hard to know for sure.
06:04Journalists and researchers say there isn't much transparency,
06:07and the project's finances are tough to track.
06:10Experts also warn that farming in the desert is crazy expensive.
06:15Unlike the rich soil in the Nile Valley,
06:17the western desert is mostly dry sand with very few nutrients.
06:22So if you want to grow anything out there,
06:25you need tons of irrigation just to make the land workable.
06:28And powering all those irrigation systems takes a ton of energy,
06:33making farming in the desert even more expensive,
06:36even if you already have a giant artificial river to help you out.
06:41Still, some people argue the risks and the costs are worth it,
06:45and that things are starting to change.
06:47Take wheat for example.
06:49For years, Egypt has been the number one wheat importer in the world,
06:53and that's not exactly a title you want to win,
06:56because it costs the country billions of dollars every year.
07:00So then the new Delta Project comes along,
07:03and wheat becomes one of their main targets.
07:06Egyptian authorities say it helped them cut wheat imports by 17%
07:10in 2025.
07:11That saved them around $250 million.
07:15This was such a big achievement that the world now has a new number one wheat importer,
07:20China.
07:22And it's not just wheat.
07:24Oranges, potatoes, grapes.
07:26Agriculture is booming over there.
07:28According to estimates,
07:30food exports jumped from 5 million tons in 2020
07:33to over 8 million tons in 2024.
07:36That's why we can say the new Delta Project is already changing Egypt's agriculture.
07:42And from satellite images,
07:43you can see it's changing what the country looks like too,
07:46turning dry desert into bright green patches.
07:49It's real,
07:50and the transformation is pretty dramatic.
07:53So there's no doubt this project is both an impressive engineering achievement
07:58and a huge experiment.
07:59But researchers say it's still too early to know
08:02if it will actually solve Egypt's food problem.
08:05In the end,
08:06it all depends on water,
08:08energy costs,
08:09and who gets to make the big decisions.
08:11If the Nile,
08:13treated wastewater,
08:14and fossil groundwater
08:15can be managed in a sustainable way,
08:17the project could seriously boost farming.
08:20And if not,
08:21it could drain precious water,
08:23make the gap between rich and poor even bigger,
08:25and leave behind an expensive footprint on the desert.
08:30When rivers dry up,
08:32when plants can no longer survive on hot, lifeless plains,
08:35when ecological disaster feels inevitable,
08:39they arrive to save the world.
08:41They being wolves, rabbits, and beavers.
08:44Now you're about to hear stories about how animals
08:47saved ecosystems across the planet.
08:50And, well, let's start with rabbits.
08:52And here's a little disclaimer.
08:54There are no reliable sources on the Internet
08:56confirming that this first story is true.
08:59Nevertheless, it seems quite truthful.
09:02Believe it or not, it's up to you.
09:05Welcome to the Dalit Banner Desert in China.
09:08Yep, it says desert.
09:10So why does it look like a green oasis?
09:13Just a few decades ago,
09:15this place was a vast, lifeless expanse of sand.
09:18Plants couldn't survive here.
09:20Trees couldn't grow.
09:21Animals couldn't live.
09:23A massive piece of land produced nothing
09:25and supported no life.
09:27It was sad that such a huge territory
09:30brought no benefit at all.
09:31So specialists there began searching for ways
09:34to bring life to this place.
09:37They considered planting trees,
09:39artificial irrigation,
09:41large-scale greening projects,
09:43and other traditional solutions.
09:45But all of these ideas seemed inefficient,
09:48expensive, or unlikely to succeed.
09:50Then, in 1988,
09:53one Chinese scientist proposed a radical solution.
09:57He suggested releasing rabbits into the desert.
10:01The idea was met with curiosity and interest.
10:05Soon after,
10:05a colony of Rex rabbits,
10:07a French breed,
10:08was brought to Dalit Banner.
10:10These cute little animals adapted surprisingly well
10:13to the dry and hot environment
10:15and began to settle in.
10:16Under these harsh conditions,
10:18each rabbit started digging into the ground
10:20in search of roots and dry grass.
10:23On a massive scale,
10:24this digging aerated the soil.
10:27Aeration means enriching the soil with oxygen,
10:30which is essential for plant growth.
10:32And when the rabbits went to the toilet,
10:35well, let's put it politely,
10:36they enriched the soil with nutrients
10:38and undigested seeds.
10:40All of this helped revive the desert
10:42and slowly turn it into a green valley.
10:46But how was this possible,
10:48considering that the number of rabbits
10:50was limited at first
10:51and the desert itself was enormous?
10:54The answer is simple.
10:56Rabbits reproduce extremely fast.
10:59Each rabbit can produce
11:00around 40 offspring per year.
11:03Over time,
11:03the population exceeded 1 million animals.
11:06On top of that,
11:08there were no dangerous predators
11:09in the area to threaten them.
11:11They multiplied,
11:13worked the soil,
11:13and continued doing exactly
11:15what nature designed them to do.
11:17Scientists were amazed.
11:19The results exceeded all expectations.
11:22Plant survival rates reached 96%.
11:25Farmers around the world
11:27learned about the impact
11:28rabbits had on the environment.
11:30Rabbit farming quickly became
11:32a profitable business.
11:33Everyone wanted these animals.
11:36Farmers began earning
11:37tens of thousands of dollars.
11:39The economic level of the region rose,
11:41and with it,
11:42the quality of life for locals.
11:45The desert land became fertile enough
11:47to grow potatoes.
11:48Farmers began producing
11:49more than a thousand tons
11:51of potatoes per year.
11:52This was good not only for earning money,
11:55but also for creating new jobs.
11:58Simple rabbits revived the land,
12:00turned a desert green,
12:02and brought economic growth
12:03to the entire region.
12:05Now, here's the grain of salt
12:07you need to take with this story.
12:08There are no reliable sources
12:10we've been able to find so far
12:12that this 1988 rabbit mission is true.
12:15But the following two stories
12:17are actual confirmed cases.
12:20Our next helpful animal
12:22is the beaver.
12:23Now we move from China
12:25to the United States
12:26and to the state of Utah.
12:29Rising temperatures cause rivers
12:31in this region to dry up.
12:33The ecosystem found itself
12:34in a dangerous situation
12:36because rivers are a vital resource here.
12:39Animal life, agriculture, tourism,
12:41and access to drinking water
12:43all depend on them.
12:45Severe drought dried up rivers.
12:48Fish populations suffered,
12:49and animals that depended
12:50on those fish began to struggle.
12:52The risk of forest fires increased
12:54because of a lack of moisture.
12:57One problem followed another,
12:59and no one knew how to solve them.
13:01Then, in 2019,
13:03a group of researchers
13:04from Utah State University
13:05proposed an unusual solution.
13:08They decided to relocate beavers
13:10to the Price River.
13:12But how could animals
13:14that chew trees
13:15possibly fix such a serious problem?
13:18Well, beavers build dams.
13:20Along rivers,
13:21these dams create small ponds
13:23and wetlands.
13:24During droughts,
13:25water stored in one place
13:27lasts longer,
13:28while water stretched
13:29along long riverbeds
13:30quickly evaporates
13:32under the burning sun.
13:33Fish and other animals
13:35use these ponds as shelters,
13:36surviving difficult periods there.
13:39After that,
13:40when the rainy season returns,
13:42rivers recover.
13:44Beaver dams help fish populations survive,
13:47reduce the risk of forest fires,
13:49and improve access to nutrients.
13:51Forest animals that feed on fish
13:54don't starve,
13:55and the whole ecosystem
13:56endures droughts more successfully.
13:59Now, there's one downside
14:00to this method.
14:01Not all beavers adapt
14:02to a new environment.
14:04In the case of the Price River,
14:05some of the relocated animals
14:07didn't survive.
14:08Some faced predators.
14:10Some couldn't stand
14:11the new weather conditions.
14:13But the majority
14:14did their job well.
14:16Today, the water level
14:17in the river is higher.
14:19Fish are abundant.
14:20Residents are happy
14:21that the region attracts tourists.
14:24People come to relax on beaches,
14:26swim, kayak,
14:27and go fishing.
14:28All of this prosperity exists
14:30thanks to beavers.
14:33Now, let's move to the famous
14:36Yellowstone National Park,
14:37one of the largest nature reserves
14:39in the world.
14:40In the last century,
14:42a single species
14:43nearly destroyed
14:44its entire ecosystem.
14:46When we hear stories like this,
14:48we usually imagine
14:49swarms of locusts
14:50eating every plant in sight,
14:52or mosquitoes spreading diseases.
14:54But to disrupt nature's balance,
14:56it doesn't always take
14:57a small, fast-breeding creature.
14:59Sometimes, the cause can be
15:01a large animal,
15:02like the elk.
15:05You see, at one point,
15:07the elk population
15:08in Yellowstone grew rapidly.
15:10They began feeding
15:11on huge amounts
15:12of willows,
15:13aspens,
15:13poplars,
15:14and other trees.
15:15Their appetite
15:16seemed endless.
15:18And as their numbers
15:19kept increasing,
15:20they were slowly
15:21stripping the forest bare.
15:23By eating leaves,
15:24damaging trunks,
15:25and breaking branches,
15:26the elk destroyed
15:28the natural shelters
15:29that birds depended on.
15:30Without these trees,
15:32many bird species
15:33could no longer
15:34survive the winter.
15:36As bird populations declined,
15:38predators that relied
15:39on them for food
15:40began to struggle as well.
15:43Birds also play
15:44an important role
15:45in controlling insects,
15:46so bugs probably started
15:48to multiply rapidly.
15:49But this still
15:50wasn't the most serious problem.
15:53The elk changed
15:54the region's water temperature.
15:56As trees disappeared,
15:57beavers lose food for winter,
15:59which is willows.
16:01So the beaver
16:02didn't build enough dams.
16:04These dams,
16:05along with trees,
16:06provided shade
16:07that cooled the water.
16:08Without them,
16:09Yellowstone's rivers
16:10began to warm.
16:12Cold-blooded fish
16:13suffered
16:14as water temperatures rose.
16:15And without these fish,
16:17many animals
16:18began to starve.
16:19A long and complex
16:21ecological chain
16:22had been broken
16:23because of elks.
16:24Something had to be done.
16:26But what?
16:28Destroying the animals
16:29wasn't a real solution.
16:31It would only offer
16:32temporary relief.
16:33And besides,
16:34the elk weren't to blame
16:35for following their instincts.
16:37So scientists turned
16:39to a very different answer.
16:41Wolves.
16:41Yep, that's right.
16:42In early 1995,
16:45people brought
16:45eight wolves
16:46to Yellowstone.
16:47By 1996,
16:49their number
16:50had grown to 31.
16:51In 2002,
16:5330 wolf pairs
16:54were distributed
16:55across different parts
16:56of the park.
16:57And within just 10 years,
16:59Yellowstone
16:59began to change.
17:01The presence of wolves
17:03forced elks
17:04to move constantly
17:05and stay alert.
17:06Their population decreased
17:07and their behavior changed.
17:09They could no longer linger
17:11in one place long enough
17:12to destroy entire groves
17:14of trees.
17:15Vegetation slowly recovered.
17:18Willows and aspens
17:19grew stronger.
17:20Birds returned
17:21and rebuilt their nests.
17:23Beavers once again
17:24had enough wood
17:25to build dams.
17:27Rivers cooled
17:28under their shades.
17:29Step by step,
17:30the ecosystem healed.
17:32Wolves had saved
17:34the forest.
17:35But wait a minute.
17:37Why weren't there wolves
17:38already in Yellowstone?
17:40Well, the answer
17:41is humans.
17:42In the 19th century,
17:44when Yellowstone
17:45was declared
17:45a national park,
17:47wolves often
17:48attacked livestock.
17:49And they had a reason.
17:50Settlers built ranches
17:52nearby and brought
17:53large numbers
17:54of non-native sheep
17:55and cattle
17:56into the region.
17:56At the same time,
17:58they hunted
17:58the park's
17:59natural herbivores,
18:00leaving wolves
18:01with little food.
18:02Desperate to survive,
18:04wolves began
18:05attacking ranch animals.
18:07At the time,
18:08people saw wolves
18:09as pests.
18:10The solution
18:10seemed obvious.
18:12For decades,
18:14hunters wiped out
18:14entire wolf packs.
18:16By the mid-1920s,
18:18more than 130 wolves
18:19were gone.
18:20And in 1926,
18:22the last pack
18:23was eliminated.
18:23By the 1970s,
18:26there were no signs
18:27of wolves
18:27left in Yellowstone.
18:29And after that,
18:30the elk problem
18:31appeared.
18:33That's why it's so important
18:35to treat animals
18:36with respect.
18:37They aren't just creatures
18:38that eat,
18:39sleep,
18:39and hunt
18:39alongside us.
18:40It turns out
18:41that they are
18:42essential parts
18:43of the natural web
18:44of life.
18:45And when even
18:46one piece
18:47of this system
18:48is removed,
18:49the entire thing
18:50can begin to collapse.
18:52Something to think about.
18:55You know,
18:56we've all begged
18:57for just one extra hour
18:59in the day.
19:00Actually,
19:00two hours would be better.
19:02Well,
19:02scientists have good news
19:04and bad news.
19:05The good news
19:06is that our planet
19:07is heading toward
19:08a future
19:08where a day
19:09could last 25 hours.
19:11The bad news
19:12is that eventually,
19:13the same physics
19:14that makes the day longer
19:15will also get rid
19:16of our planet's rotation,
19:18literally freezing Earth
19:20in time.
19:21Meaning,
19:21endless days and nights
19:23and oceans fleeing
19:24to the poles,
19:25all while the atmosphere
19:26turns into a relentless
19:28planet-wide storm.
19:29Uh-oh.
19:31Now,
19:32back when the Earth
19:32was just a massive,
19:34messy cloud
19:34of dust and gas,
19:36gravity started pulling
19:37everything toward the center.
19:39As all that debris
19:40smashed together,
19:41it started to swirl
19:43like water rushing
19:44down a drain
19:44but on a cosmic scale.
19:46That spin
19:47caused a momentum.
19:48Since space
19:50is a vacuum,
19:51there was no air
19:51to slow us down.
19:53Earth just kept spinning
19:54and that spin
19:55became a day.
19:57One full rotation
19:59takes about 24 hours
20:00and that's the rhythm
20:02we've known
20:02since we started
20:03recording time.
20:04But the thing is,
20:05we adopted 24 hours
20:07as a close estimate.
20:09In truth,
20:10a day is never
20:11exactly 24 hours long.
20:13Now,
20:14basically,
20:14Earth keeps spinning
20:15but it's constantly
20:17losing tiny bits
20:18of speed.
20:19That's mostly because
20:20mass keeps moving around.
20:22Think of it
20:23like a figure skater.
20:24If they pull their arms in,
20:26they speed up.
20:27If they put them out,
20:28they slow down.
20:29Earth does the same thing,
20:31except without arms.
20:33When the 2011 earthquake
20:35hit Japan,
20:36it shifted the ocean floor
20:37so violently
20:38that it pulled
20:39Earth's mass inward,
20:41instantly shorting our day
20:42by 1.8 microseconds.
20:45Conversely,
20:46as glaciers melt
20:47and water rushes
20:49from the poles
20:49to the equator,
20:50Earth's arms
20:51are spreading out,
20:53causing us to drag.
20:54We're not just sitting
20:55on a big rock.
20:56It's like we're
20:57on a wobbly spinning top
20:58that moves every time
21:00something heavy
21:01happens on it.
21:02Most days end up
21:04being a few milliseconds
21:05longer than 24 hours.
21:07We can't feel this,
21:08but atomic clocks
21:09can measure it.
21:11Over long periods
21:12of time,
21:13those milliseconds
21:14add up.
21:14And as they do,
21:16the length of a day
21:17slowly increases.
21:19That's how a 24-hour day
21:20starts drifting
21:21toward 25.
21:23To check this,
21:24scientists pulled together
21:25nearly 3,000 years
21:27of sky records.
21:28Thousands of years ago,
21:30people carefully
21:31recorded eclipses.
21:32It was a scary event.
21:34Kings, priests,
21:35and astronomers
21:36wrote the exact time
21:37and location
21:38when the sun vanished.
21:40Those records survived
21:41on clay tablets,
21:42scrolls,
21:43and manuscripts.
21:44For the sky to go dark,
21:46the sun,
21:47earth,
21:47and moon
21:47must line up perfectly.
21:49If the timing is off
21:51by even a second,
21:52the shadow falls
21:53on the wrong part
21:54of the world.
21:55Today, astronomers know
21:56the moon's movements
21:57with incredible precision.
21:59They actually bounce lasers
22:01off mirrors left
22:02on the lunar surface
22:03to measure its orbit.
22:04That's why,
22:05in theory,
22:06we should be able
22:07to rewind the past
22:08like in a YouTube video
22:10and see every ancient eclipse
22:12exactly where history
22:13records it.
22:14But when scientists
22:16tried that,
22:17the moon showed up
22:18too early,
22:18or too late.
22:20The shadow wasn't
22:21where the record
22:21said it should be.
22:23The puzzle only solves itself
22:25when you realize
22:25one thing.
22:27Earth used to be
22:27a little faster.
22:29When researchers
22:30adjust Earth's rotation
22:31to be slightly quicker,
22:33everything snaps into place.
22:35In other words,
22:36Earth was spinning
22:37a little faster
22:38in the past,
22:38and these eclipse records
22:40show it.
22:41On average,
22:42this translates
22:43to a day increasing
22:44by about 1 to 2 milliseconds
22:46every 100 years.
22:48That's a thousandth
22:49of a second.
22:50You'll never notice it.
22:51But over time,
22:53those tiny bits stack up.
22:55About a second
22:56every 10,000 years.
22:58That means we are
22:59roughly only
23:00200 million years away
23:02from having that
23:03one additional
23:04hour of sleep.
23:05So the good news
23:06turns out to be
23:07only meaningful
23:08for future Earthlings.
23:10But why is this
23:11actually happening?
23:12Well, the answer
23:13is the moon.
23:14Its gravity
23:15grabs Earth's oceans
23:16and stretches them
23:18into huge tidal bulges.
23:20But because Earth
23:21spins much faster
23:22than the moon moves
23:23around us,
23:24those bulges
23:25don't sit neatly
23:26under the moon.
23:27They get dragged
23:28slightly ahead
23:29as the planet rotates.
23:30That means the oceans
23:32are constantly
23:32being dragged
23:33across the planet,
23:34rubbing against
23:35the seafloor
23:36and the continents.
23:37That rubbing
23:38creates friction.
23:39And friction
23:40is a thief.
23:41Where there's friction,
23:42there's heat.
23:43So the moon
23:44slowly turns
23:45Earth's spin
23:46into heat
23:47that spreads
23:47through the oceans
23:48and into space.
23:49And once that energy
23:51is gone,
23:51it's gone for good.
23:53Since there's
23:54no visible cosmic creature
23:55to push Earth
23:56back up to speed,
23:57day after day,
23:58the moon acts
23:59like a slow,
24:00steady break,
24:02stretching our days
24:03little by little
24:04and drifting farther away
24:05as it does.
24:08Yes,
24:08as much as we used to fear
24:10that the moon
24:10would collide
24:11with Earth one day,
24:12it's actually going
24:14in the opposite direction.
24:15All that transfer
24:17of energy
24:17that's happening
24:18between Earth
24:19and the moon
24:19is slowly pushing
24:20our satellite
24:21further away,
24:23approximately
24:23one and a half inches
24:24per year.
24:25We know this
24:26because during
24:27the Apollo missions,
24:28astronauts left mirrors
24:30on the moon's surface.
24:31And today,
24:32scientists fire lasers
24:33at those mirrors
24:34and time how long
24:35it takes the light
24:36to come back.
24:37However,
24:38even though we are
24:38slowly pushing
24:39the moon away,
24:40don't panic.
24:41It's not packing
24:42its bags just yet.
24:44At the current rate,
24:45it would take
24:46tens of billions
24:47of years
24:47for the moon
24:48to retreat significantly.
24:49But it will stick around
24:51long enough
24:52to witness
24:52and maybe even cause
24:54the end of all ends,
24:55so to speak.
24:56The same
24:57breaking force
24:58that is slowing
24:58us down now
24:59could eventually
25:00push Earth
25:01into a state
25:02called tidal locking.
25:03This has actually
25:04already happened
25:05to the moon.
25:06You know how
25:07we never see
25:07the dark side
25:08of the moon
25:09from Earth?
25:09Well,
25:10that's because
25:10Earth's gravity
25:11grabbed the moon
25:12eons ago
25:13and forced its rotation
25:15to stop
25:15relative to us.
25:17Well,
25:17if you give it
25:18enough time,
25:19the universe
25:19could return the favor.
25:21If Earth
25:22slows down enough
25:23to match its orbit
25:24around the Sun,
25:25the cycle of day
25:26and night
25:27will disappear.
25:28We could turn
25:29into what astronomers
25:30call an eyeball planet.
25:32Because the Sun
25:33would just hang
25:34motionless in the sky,
25:35the side facing it
25:36would turn into
25:37a blistering,
25:38scorched desert
25:39as the pupil
25:40of the eye.
25:41The side facing away
25:43would freeze
25:43into a massive
25:45white shell of ice,
25:46the white of the eye.
25:47The only spot
25:48where life could hang on
25:50in this area
25:51is called the iris,
25:52a narrow strip
25:53caught between
25:54the crazy hot day
25:55and the frozen night.
25:57But even that
25:58wouldn't be a dream
25:59come true.
26:00You'd have super hot air
26:01on one side
26:02smashing into
26:03freezing air
26:03on the other.
26:04So this zone
26:05would be hit by
26:06insane hurricane-level
26:07winds whipping
26:09across the surface.
26:11Also,
26:12without Earth's spin
26:13shaping the oceans,
26:14water would slowly
26:15migrate away
26:16from the hot regions
26:17and collect in colder zones,
26:19reshaping
26:20coastlines
26:21and continents
26:21entirely.
26:22The planet
26:23wouldn't just have
26:24longer days.
26:25It wouldn't even
26:26look like Earth
26:27anymore.
26:27But here is the bright side.
26:29We will actually
26:30never see this happen.
26:32And neither will
26:33our descendants,
26:34at least not while
26:35watching from nearby.
26:36The math says
26:37it would take
26:38about 50 billion years
26:40for Earth
26:41to stop spinning
26:41and turn into
26:42that frozen eyeball fully.
26:44But our sun
26:45doesn't have
26:46that kind of time.
26:47In about 5 billion years,
26:49the sun will run
26:50out of fuel.
26:51It will expand
26:52into a red giant,
26:53swallowing the inner planets
26:54and likely vaporizing
26:56Earth entirely.
26:57Buh-bye!
26:58So, while Earth
26:59is slowing down,
27:00it will never
27:01actually get to zero.
27:02We won't end
27:03as a frozen,
27:04motionless rock.
27:05We'll end as we started,
27:07space dust.
27:08By the time Earth
27:09ever stops spinning,
27:11humans certainly
27:11won't be watching
27:12from the solar system.
27:13We might be scattered
27:15across the galaxy,
27:16living in space,
27:17or not even human anymore.
27:19Some of us
27:20could live inside
27:21massive structures
27:22built around stars,
27:24capturing their energy
27:25instead of orbiting them.
27:26Others might drift
27:28near black holes,
27:29using their gravity
27:30and energy
27:31in ways we barely
27:32understand today.
27:34Entire civilizations
27:35could exist
27:36as uploaded minds,
27:38connected through
27:39a galaxy-wide network,
27:40living in simulations
27:42instead of physical worlds.
27:43Well, wherever we are,
27:45Earth would just be
27:46an old planet
27:47concluding its story.
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