What if the earth stopped spinning

We do not realize it, but the Earth continues to rotate. It revolves around the sun. It is something we have been studying since we were children. However, many people wonder what would happen if the earth stopped spinning.

For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you what would happen if the Earth stopped rotating, what consequences it would have and much more.

Earth Characteristics

Earth is a planet in the solar system, formed about 4550 billion years ago. It is the fifth densest of the eight planets in the solar system and the largest of the four terrestrial or rocky planets. Like other planets, it is affected by a variety of motions, although the main ones are defined with reference to the sun, which are: rotation, translation, precession, nutation, Chandler wobble, and perihelion precession. The most famous are translation and rotation.

The first of these is the movement of a planet around the sun, while rotation is the rotation of a celestial body around its own axis, and our planet's rotation has been gradually slowing down for billions of years. This process continues to this day, and it is estimated that the length of a day is currently increasing by about 1,8 milliseconds per century. Faced with this scientific reality, people often wonder what would happen to our planet if one day the Earth suddenly stopped spinning and stopped spinning.

What if the earth stopped spinning

The expert's answer is clear, all objects and people on earth will be shot at the moment the earth stops. This is because The rotational speed of the Earth is 1.770 kilometers per hour (km/h) at the equator and 0 km/h at the poles.. Despite the incredible speed, we didn't realize we were moving. Then, a sudden stop in the rotation of the Earth would be felt on the surface, in such a way that everything and everyone would be "hit" by the centrifugal force and the inertia of the movement, including the air, which would create hurricanes - force winds. all over the Earth.

All of this will be minimized near the poles, where velocities are lower and they are the only places likely to survive this catastrophe. Just like the people on the plane at the time.

a new earth

Without the centrifugal force of the rotational motion, gravity would remain the same, creating a redistribution of gravity that would upset the balance of the ocean. Two huge oceans will form around the poles, separated by a continent. The entire region would be flooded, and in Europe only Spain, Greece and southern Italy would come out of the water.

Another reason for this disruption is the disruptive change in the length of day and night, as rotational movements are the reason they occur. The Earth takes 24 hours to complete one complete revolution.. So if the Earth stopped spinning, a day would now be 365 days long, or a year (6 months of day, 6 months of night). This duration will be given by the movement of translation, the 365 days that the planet takes to make a complete revolution around the sun, which occurs at the same time as its rotation. However, if the Earth were to stop rotating, it would take 8.760 hours (equivalent to a year) to return to the same initial position after completing one orbit around the sun.

Finally, once the main consequences are figured out, we need to remember that the chances of the Earth coming to a standstill at any moment are slim to none, so we can sit back and relax.

Effects on meteorological variables

If it stopped turning completely, we would have half a year of day and half a year of night, that is, day and night would no longer work the same. The Earth will remain in the same position in front of the sun for half a year. One hemisphere is "baked" and the other is dark and very cold. During the day, during these six months, the temperature of the surface will depend on our latitude, the equator is much warmer than now and the poles are more inclined to light and less efficient in heating.

In theory, the only habitable part of the planet would be a small twilight part between the two halves. Without any rotation, the Earth would also have no seasons. That would be a desolate place. While we still have Earth's North Pole, where solar radiation will be at its lowest angle, and an equator, where light strikes most directly, there is no longer spring, summer, fall, or winter. There are only 6 day months and 6 night months.

Altered atmospheric patterns

Atmospheric patterns on Earth are also related to the Earth's rotation. If the Earth stopped spinning, it would drastically change the way airflow moves. This will be the end of the hurricane. For example, any change in airflow could cause deserts to appear where there are currently forests, or a now frozen tundra to become habitable.

goodbye to the auroras

If the Earth stopped spinning, its magnetic field would no longer regenerate and decay to its remaining value, so the Aurora Borealis would disappear and the Van Allen radiation belts could disappear, our protection against cosmic rays and other high-energy particles. Earth's magnetic field protects us from things like cosmic rays and electromagnetic storms from the sun. Without a magnetic field, life cannot resist stellar radiation.

If everything on this planet suddenly stopped moving, it could mean the instant destruction of life as we know it. Should we worry about this possibility? Absolutely not. We can breathe easy. The probability of such an event is practically zero in the next few billion years.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning.