Dzhanibekov / Tennis-Racket Theorem (Intermediate-Axis Instability)
concept
A real physics trick with spinning objects gets wrongly stretched into a scary theory that the Earth could suddenly flip.
Who they are
The Dzhanibekov effect, also called the tennis-racket theorem, about how spinning objects can suddenly tumble.
What they do
The engine notes it's a genuine physics result that is being misapplied to Earth.
How it works
The theorem only works for free-floating rigid objects with three different spin axes; Earth isn't free-floating, it's a squished, gravity-bound, layered body coupled by other forces, so the theorem doesn't transfer, and the 'ECDO' pole-flip claim misuses it.
Why it matters
It's an example of a real scientific result being twisted to support a claim it doesn't actually support, and the engine marks the physics as falsified.
The engine's record — word for word
The intermediate-axis (tennis-racket) theorem applies ONLY to torque-free rigid bodies with three distinct principal moments rotating about the intermediate axis. Earth is not torque-free in free space — it is an oblate, gravitationally bound, viscously and electromagnetically coupled multi-layer body — so the theorem does not transfer. ECDO misapplies a real classical-mechanics result. [TIER GEOPHYSICS-PEER-REVIEW] [Report #103 (ECDO)]
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