00:02Hey, hi! I'm Chris and Chris! And welcome to So Cool Science! Science you can do! Right at home!
00:13I'm just looking at the San Andreas Fault, and going all over on today's science part. Today's science part is
00:19serious!
00:21How can an earthquake shorten an Earth Day?
00:26Well, that is a great question, and I'm going to answer it QUAKE!
00:30Ha ha! You get it?
00:33Oh yeah, try this!
00:39You will need a square piece of Styrofoam.
00:43Okay, you're going to get yourself!
01:02Okay, you're going to get that Styrofoam, and you're going to crack it in half.
01:09You want to see them get back together?
01:13Okay, you're going to place your hands on the Styrofoam like this.
01:16Not like this!
01:18Or this.
01:19Or this.
01:21Or this.
01:22Or this.
01:22Or like this!
01:23Okay, now you're going to move your hands in opposite directions like this.
01:30Well, on, you know, on the Styrofoam, because if you don't do it on the Styrofoam, you look like this.
01:40Ha ha! Okay, here we go! Quick, it's 3, 2, 1!
01:50Okay, so Snap and Styrofoam is pretty cool, but what does Snap and Styrofoam have to do with how earthquakes
02:03happen in the Earth?
02:04Well, don't look at me!
02:08Take a closer look at this.
02:11Oh, aftershock!
02:14The Earth is made up of crustal plates, and these plates are always in motion.
02:18The lines where plates have broken apart are called fault lines, like the San Andreas Fault in Southern California,
02:25which separates the Pacific and the North American plates.
02:28When two plates come together, pull apart, slide against, or over each other, the rocks stick a little, and these
02:35rocks catch on each other.
02:37The rocks continue to have force applied to them, but don't move.
02:41Eventually, the rocks break or fault slip, releasing the pressure that built up.
02:46This spot where the rocks break or the fault slips is called the focus.
02:50That sudden release of energy causes seismic waves to radiate away from the focus, which causes an earthquake.
02:58Earthquakes can cause the Earth to pick up momentum or even change the Earth's axis, which can shorten the Earth's
03:04day.
03:04When two plates store up enough energy and then release a massive amount of energy in just one area of
03:10the Earth, it causes the Earth to jerk to one side, which changes the Earth's axis.
03:16Also, when one plate causes another plate to suddenly be forced down towards the center of the Earth rapidly, it
03:23pushes on the magma, giving it momentum, which causes the Earth's spin to speed up.
03:31Oh, what a ride!
03:35So, now you know how earthquakes can shorten our day.
03:39You know, snapping styrofoam instead of being in an earthquake is why science is so cool!
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