Endless energy source: let's explore whether the USSR truly intended to "slow down the Earth."

According to Western media, Soviet engineers planned to slow down the Earth to extract some of its energy and transform the national economy with such a "perpetual motion machine." Is it true? KP.RU delved into this conspiracy theory, revealing an intriguing labyrinth that leads somewhere into the abyss. Into the abyss of the Kola Superdeep Borehole.

THE IDEA WAS GOOD

The first to report on the "bold plan of the Russians" in his podcast was none other than a physicist, science popularizer, and generally trusted individual – James O'Grill.

He presented an aerial photo of a so-called "secret military base," where, deep underground in the 1970s, the Russians attempted to "stop the Earth." The idea was good, but nothing came of it, he laments.

And so it began: yellow and not-so-yellow press outlets scrambled to discuss the sensational story from the past. Oddly enough, we, in Russia, also enjoy conspiracy theories but have never heard of this one.

ENOUGH FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS

The Earth rotates on its axis. If its rotation were to be slowed down by just one second, the energy gained would be enough for the United States for 83,000 years, explains Dr. O'Grill. The question is how to pull this off. To extract useful work from a system, one must be outside the system. But we are on Earth, rotating with it, and even satellites are gravitationally "tied" to Earth.

A gyroscope comes to the rescue, says the physicist. Simply put, it is a wheel or disk: when suspended, it spins rapidly. It maintains a previously set direction, no matter what you do to disturb it. If you leave the gyroscope undisturbed, it will begin to slowly turn, completing a full revolution in a day. Why? It doesn't actually turn; the Earth rotates beneath it.

So, it’s simple! Just adapt a generator to the gyroscope, and let it spin. In essence, it will be the Earth, not the gyroscope, that will turn the generator. If the gyroscope is massive, and everything is done wisely, free energy could be obtained. And yes, we would slow down the Earth. After all, work cannot come from nowhere.

But friction is a hindrance, Dr. O'Grill sadly concludes. It was friction that undermined the secret Russian project. Otherwise, the States would have been at their mercy. In the early 1970s, they were experiencing a severe energy crisis. Meanwhile, in the USSR, a perpetual motion machine...

MYSTERIOUS BASE

To support his claims, Dr. O'Grill presents a photo of a military base, easily recognizable. This is the Plokštinė site in present-day Lithuania, where such activities occurred that the infamous Area 51 would only dream of.

The construction began in deep secrecy in a remote corner of the Lithuanian SSR in September 1960. A small number of locals were resettled, receiving 4,500 rubles for their relocation (the "old" rubles, prior to the 1961 reform – so not much). Although 10,000 soldiers were involved in the construction, the CIA only caught wind of it in 1978, when the facility had already been on combat duty for over a decade, covering the western borders with nuclear missiles.

On the surface, there’s almost nothing, just camouflaged concrete domes of launch silos, and around the perimeter – an inconspicuous fence electrified at 1,700 volts. But underground lies a real city. It had its own power plant: the base could seal itself off and live autonomously for two weeks. Miles and miles of tunnels, bunkers, command posts.

And – not a single launch, even for testing, in all those decades of operation, because the main thing was to remain undetected! According to the plan, a rocket would only launch if two operators simultaneously turned two keys. The operators did not know each other: conspiracy externally, conspiracy internally.

AND HERE ARE THE PROOFS

Looking at photographs (even photographs!) of the tunnels and shafts of the Plokštinė base, one believes: oh, there were not only rockets there. Why build an entire underground garden?

In the early 2010s, the base was featured in the popular series "In Plain Sight." At that time, the Lithuanians opened part (only part!) of the underground city to the public, creating a Cold War Museum. Fueled by the series, tourists flocked to the once-secret, now hopelessly looted site.

And what did tourists see in the first hall? A gigantic gyroscope! And it turns out Dr. O'Grill didn’t pull this out of thin air.

However, all of this is still shaky. Gyroscopes are needed by missile engineers, whether we want to stop the Earth or not. Remember: gyroscopes firmly maintain a once-set direction? This property is invaluable when launching a missile. It won’t veer off course.

So, the base becomes a beautiful legend: ruins, a museum, a series, a gyroscope – combine them all, and it’s ready?

WHAT'S THE CONNECTION TO TIDES?

Let’s turn to the Western yellow press, but not the modern one, rather, from fifty years ago, and what do we find? Headlines scream: "The Russians learned to extract energy from the rotation of the Earth." What are they talking about?

In 1968, a tidal power station began construction in Murmansk. Unfortunately, it remains the only one in our country. However, many have been built worldwide. At that time, tidal stations were a novelty. The principle is simple: water comes in, spins a turbine, recedes – it spins again.

This is the project the yellow press referred to. An exaggeration, but not too far off: tidal stations do indeed utilize the kinetic energy of the Earth and the Moon. It’s simple in school: the Moon attracts water, hence the tide. No tide will occur on a stationary Earth. A stretch, but an acceptable one.

So, back then, from the screaming headlines, the idea was born, and in our days, it was "landed" onto the Plokštinė base and gyroscopes? And once again, it’s not so simple.

Because projects to "stop the Earth" did indeed exist.

Underground missile shaft in Plokštinė. Photo: wikipedia

LET’S GO TO MARS

In 1959, a remarkable article appeared in the magazine "Technique for Youth." The author was the prominent Soviet scientist, Doctor of Technical Sciences Georgy Pokrovsky. The text he wrote may seem strange to an academic researcher, but there is a nuance. Pokrovsky loved science fiction, wrote stories himself, and was said to be an unofficial curator of Soviet science fiction writers, as well as a member of the editorial board of the magazine. So, the article is visionary, with a reach into the distant future.

Now fasten your seatbelts. We are embarking on a journey. Together with Earth. It was Pokrovsky who suggested shifting the Earth, turning it into a spaceship, and flying to extract rare earth metals from Mars as a global community. For this, a powerful nuclear engine had to be built in a deep shaft in Antarctica or the Arctic. Its operation would create tidal waves, which would extract part of the planet's rotational energy, shift the Earth, and slowly, gradually, we would take off.

Many took this article very seriously. After all, Pokrovsky was a person from the security forces, a major general. If a military man is fantasizing, then something is indeed being done. Or will be done.

People rushed to the magazine with their rational proposals. The magazine itself was not pleased, recalled one of those inventors in our time. But everyone patiently explained: it’s physically impossible, study the material.

WE WILL NOT GIVE THE SOVIETS A SECOND

For a Western observer, all this blended into a colorful hodgepodge. A general wants to move the Earth by drilling something, and indeed, they are drilling! The Kola Superdeep was initiated in 1970. At the same time, very precise atomic clocks were invented. It turned out that the Earth's rotation is uneven and occurs in jolts. Surely, the Russians are up to something with their experiments! We will not give the Soviets a second of our precious days!

But it was not only the tabloid press that was in a frenzy. Recently, more declassified folders from CIA archives were