Letter: Letters : The Pohl effect

From Frederik Pohl

Palatine, Illinois

In “Welcome to the Costa del Venus” (27 July, p 30) astronomer Fred Taylor is
quoted as saying that no one knows why Venus is so much hotter than even its
carbon-dioxide heat-trapping blanket can account for.

Well, perhaps I do—at least I have a notion, which I originally
published a decade or so ago. As we all know, the Earth is an oblate spheroid,
its equatorial radius a number of kilometres greater than that to the poles.
This is a consequence of centrifugal force; but, oddly, the equatorial bulge is
greater than can be accounted for by the Earth’s present rotational velocity and
must be left over from a time when our planet spun faster.

The bulge is held in its extended position by the rigidity of the Earth’s
crust. But, at some future period when the Earth has slowed a bit more, the
weight may overcome the strength of the crust and the bulge will collapse. Then
enough energy, expressed as heat, will be released to raise Earth’s temperature
to something close to that of Venus.

I submit that this may be what happened to Venus. In addition to producing
the present temperature, it might have some bearing on the curiously recent age
of much of the Venusian surface.

If this should happen to turn out to be actual science, rather than the idle
fantasies of a science-fiction writer, I require that in all future studies of
the matter it shall be described as “the Pohl effect”. Nobel juries may wish to
take note.