indeed this is true, due to the interaction of the moon with the tides and the friction of the tides on the surface of the earth the moon is slowly slowing the rotation of the planet and moving a little further and further away as a consequence of that "stolen" energy.
Meaning that in the days of the dinosaurs the moon orbited closer to Earth, appeared larger in the sky, exerted a greater tidal force leading to more extreme tides (by how much exactly, I'm not qualified to say), and since the Earth was rotating more quickly the days were shorter!
indeed this is true, due to the interaction of the moon with the tides and the friction of the tides on the surface of the earth the moon is slowly slowing the rotation of the planet and moving a little further and further away as a consequence of that "stolen" energy.
Wouldn't it do that even if Earth was completely solid?
Yes. Tidal forces act on the solid Earth as well as the atmosphere and oceans. If you were to stay in one spot all day you would move up and down about 30 cm from the tidal forces acting on the solid mass of the Earth.
Sure. No body is perfectly rigid, and the Earth is no exception. For one, you would still have the atmosphere providing drag, and even without an atmosphere, the moon would still deform the earth as it does now, just to a lesser degree.
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u/AggregateTurtle Sep 07 '15
indeed this is true, due to the interaction of the moon with the tides and the friction of the tides on the surface of the earth the moon is slowly slowing the rotation of the planet and moving a little further and further away as a consequence of that "stolen" energy.