In an era when time seems to be the most precious resource, science once again reminds us: its value is not as immutable as it seems. NASA officially confirmed that the massive hydropower plant "Three Gorges," which crosses the Yangtze River in Hubei province, China, affects not only the region's energy balance — it literally alters the length of the day on the planet.
According to Dr. Benjamin Fong Chong, a leading geophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, this engineering colossal, holding over 40 cubic kilometers of water — nearly 10 trillion gallons — has increased the length of the day by 0.06 microseconds. A seemingly negligible change, which, nonetheless, can be accurately measured with modern high-precision instruments.
"It's like a figure skater opening their arms, slowing down the rotation," notes Dr. Chong. "The mass of water lifted 175 meters above sea level alters the distribution of mass on the planet. This effect is minimal but entirely real."
The impact of such a large-scale project is felt not only in numbers. According to NASA, the object shifted the Earth's axis of rotation by approximately two centimeters. These microscopic changes do not have a direct impact on our daily lives, but they emphasize: human infrastructure is already capable of influencing the dynamics of the entire planet.
And although the increase in the length of the day by 0.06 microseconds is only a third of a billionth of a second, in the scales of geophysics and planetary science it sounds like a distant thunder: not loud, but distinctive.
The "Three Gorges" dam, completed in 2012, is not only an architectural marvel but also one of the most controversial energy projects in the world. With a capacity of 22,500 megawatts, it generates as much electricity as 15 nuclear reactors, providing China with critically needed renewable energy and reducing coal use. At the same time, its ecological and geopolitical price has repeatedly become the subject of intense debates.
For NASA experts, this is yet another example of how human engineering is already embedded in Earth's geological history. "Large infrastructure objects like this dam demonstrate how closely local actions are intertwined with global consequences," summarizes Chong.
And if you are currently asking yourself what can be done with your new 0.06 microseconds — unfortunately, the answer is not much. However, it serves as a reminder of our progress in not only impacting the environment but also precisely measuring it — even on scales smaller than a breath.
