What Asimov book.....

I finished reading The Gods Themselves. Through the second part about the Triads, I couldn't put the book down. Overall, it was an enjoyable read for me. I thought part of the ending was scientifically flawed as Asimov didn't consider that an Earth without a moon would have an irregular axis of rotation, probably disrupting all life on Earth.
 
That's true. There are many forms of life which depend on the tides - even the first land animals from which we are descended - and on the tidal influence of the moon. I don't think it would affect the earth's axis of rotation unduly as that is irregular already to a small extent. :)

If the tides were no longer there, loggerhead turtles (for example), who lay their eggs at the high spring tide and gear up their lives to that, would probably disappear. :confused: The water around the equator would disperse towards the poles raising the water levels there. :eek:

Wolves also would have nothing to howl at and werewolves may not even exist (tongue firmly in cheek here) :p

Anyway, it was a good read! ... (ignoring the scientific difficulties)...
 
The moon's gravitational pull on the earth affects more than the tides. The moon helps keep the earth's axis of rotation relatively stable. Without it, the Earth might wobble like Mars (Mars has two small moons). Without a stable axis of rotation, day-night cycles would change and the polar ice-caps would occasionally migrate to other locations. Earth's climate would be dramatically different.
 
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