So, I’m aware that tides are caused by the Moon’s gravity acting on the surface of the earth. That said, tidal forces move an obscene amount of matter from point A to point B and back to point A again. Where does that energy come from that doesn’t break the first law of thermodynamics? Followup question: If we harvest energy from the system using turbines or something similar, what effect does that have on the system?
In: Physics
The energy comes from the rotational movement of the earth. This causes the earths rotation to slow, the length of a day increases by about 1.7 milliseconds per century.
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