[Curiosities] What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning on itself?

[Jeenyuhs]

What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning on itself?

 

These would be, according to experts, the main consequences if our planet were to completely stop its rotational motion

 

 

Earth is a planet in the solar system, formed approximately 4.55 billion years ago. It is the densest and fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, as well as the largest of the four terrestrial or rocky planets. Like the rest of the planets, it is subject to movements of various kinds, although the main ones are defined with reference to the Sun, and are: rotation, translation, precession, nutation, Chandler's wobble and the precession of the perihelion. The most well known are translation and rotation. The first is the motion of the planet around the Sun, while the rotation is the spinning of the celestial body on its own axis.

 

Over billions of years, the rotation of our planet has been gradually slowing down. It is a process that continues to this day, and estimates suggest that the length of a day currently increases by approximately 1.8 milliseconds every century. Faced with this scientific reality, it is common to wonder what might be the consequences on our planet if one day it were to suddenly stop rotating on itself.

 

 

The experts' answer is clear: all objects and people on Earth would be thrown off the moment the planet came to a halt. This is because the Earth's rotational speed is 1,770 kilometers per hour (km/h) at the equator, and 0 km/h at the poles. And, despite this incredible speed, we do not realize that we are moving. Therefore, the abrupt stop of the Earth's rotation would be felt at the surface, so that everything and everyone would be "shot" by the centrifugal force and inertia of the motion, even the air, which would produce hurricane-force winds all over the surface. All this would be minimized near the poles, where the velocity is lower, being the only place where it would be possible to survive this disaster. Just like anyone in an airplane at that precise moment.

 

 

Without the centrifugal force derived from the rotational motion, the gravitational force would remain, which would generate a redistribution of gravity that would alter the balance of the oceans. Two huge oceans would form around the poles, separated by a single continent. Entire regions would be flooded; in Europe, only Spain, Greece and southern Italy would emerge from the waters.

 

 

Another cause of this standstill would be a devastating change in the length of nights and days, since the rotational motion is the cause of their occurrence. It takes the Earth 24 hours to make a complete turn around itself. Therefore, if the Earth stops rotating, a day would last what is now 365 days, that is, a year (6 months of day, 6 months of night). This duration would be given by the translational motion, that is, the 365 days it takes the planet to make a complete revolution around the Sun, a movement that occurs at the same time as the rotation. However, if the Earth stops rotating on itself, it would take 8,760 hours, which is equivalent to one year, to return to the same initial position after completing a complete revolution around the Sun.

 

Finally, once the main consequences have been clarified, we must bear in mind that the possibility of the Earth stopping rotating at any moment is practically nil, so we can rest assured.