We’ve always been fascinated by what would become of Earth and us if something disastrous
happened.
Have you wondered about it as well?
Well, that’s why Hollywood makes so many movies about the end of the world.
We at Bright Side decided to find out what would happen if Earth suddenly stopped spinning
(it’s really slowing down, by the way!).
Let’s have a look at the incredible consequences that might follow one day.
1.
All objects would fly east at high speed with their own momentum.
We don’t notice the huge speed at which the Earth is spinning.
But if it stopped, says Sten Odenwald from NASA, everything on its surface would be torn
off the ground and fly east, eventually falling back down.
At the equator, the speed would be the greatest (about 1,000 mph), while closer to the poles
it would reach 800 mph.
2.
Enormous tidal waves would occur.
The power of momentum would make the water in the seas and oceans move to form extremely
powerful tsunamis.
They would move east and clean the coastal cities off the face of Earth.
Well, we hope it will never happen.
3.
A powerful wind would rise.
The atmosphere would continue moving, and its momentum would make it rotate around the
planet — probably several times.
The starting air flow speed would be enormous: more than 1,100 mph.
It’s possible that Earth would lose part of its atmosphere while this happens.
4.
All water on Earth would collect in 2 oceans And a new continent would form.
Water gathers at the equator now due to the centrifugal force.
A sudden stop in Earth’s spinning would make the landmasses and water redistribute
themselves to form 2 great oceans on both poles.
The land on the equator would rise and create a gigantic new continent covering the whole
planet through the equator.
5.
Volcano eruptions, hurricanes, and earthquakes would begin.
The huge kinetic force of Earth and its momentum would shake the planet to its core.
The result is quite predictable: all-powerful hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and destructive
earthquakes would begin.
Everywhere.
6.
Earth would transform from a geoid into a sphere.
The geoid shape of Earth is due to its spinning motion.
It’s a bit flattened on the poles and a little bulging at the equator (you can find
the lecture by Profesor Etienne Ghys from ENS de Lyon online to get more details).
If the planet stops, its shape will become more spherical.
7.
One hemisphere would become as hot as a desert, and the other would be as cold as Antarctic.
If Earth continued to make just one turn around the sun, only half of it would be heated.
This will make it scorching hot and brightly lit with the highest temperatures at the equator.
The second hemisphere would become a kingdom of eternal night and arctic cold.
NASA has another version: Earth would stop turning altogether, and there would be a 6-month
day followed by a 6-month night.
8.
The magnetic field protecting Earth from dangerous cosmic radiation would disappear.
The magnetic field is basically formed due to the outer core processes and the planet’s
spinning motion.
If the spinning stopped, the magnetic field would also disappear, predicts Sten Odenwald.
The field protects us from solar wind: the charged particles from the sun that would
destroy every single living being.
9.
If people survived, it would only be on the border of heat and cold.
Humanity would only be able to adapt to the new conditions on the border of night and
day.
Humans would have to live underground and only go outside in protective suits because
of radiation.
10.
The Moon would eventually fall onto Earth, but that wouldn’t be soon.
Professor Vaughan Pratt from Stanford University says the Moon would gradually slow down, too.
And its distance from Earth would reduce.
In time, it would probably just fall onto our planet.
In fact, Earth is slowing down.
In its youth, it spun much faster: a day lasted only 6 hours.
The Moon’s gravity causes ebbs and tides that gradually drop the speed of Earth’s
motion.
NASA calculated that day length increases by 2.3 milliseconds every 100 years.
After billions of years, days would become several times longer, and then our planet
will probably stop completely.
Share this video with everyone you know to show them what would follow if Earth stopped
spinning in the future.
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Bright Side of life!