Olin Lathrop wrote:

> Think of the reverse.  Let's say you make a float that goes up and down on
> the ocean surface due to the tides, then hook it up to a generator to
> extract power from that up and down motion.  Explain where that power comes
> from if not from the kinetic energy stored in the rotating mass of the
> planet?  By extracting the power from the float, you are making the planet
> slow down ever so slightly.

Not necessarily. It could be that the energy would get transformed from
kinetic energy into other forms (heat?) anyway -- float or no float. Maybe
the float just redirects a small part of the energy flow that goes from
kinetic to thermal into electric instead; in that case, the float wouldn't
introduce an additional slowing, but would cause a certain ever so slight
cooling.

Gerhard
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