What happens if the Earth stops rotating? What will happen if the Earth stops spinning?
We know very well that our planet rotates around its axis, thanks to which we see day and night. However, the Earth, although very slowly, is gradually slowing down. Scientists say that its complete stop will occur in many billions of years. People will probably not catch this moment, because by that time the Sun will increase in size and destroy first life on Earth, and then the planet itself. In this article we will try to simulate the following situation: what will happen if the Earth stops rotating in the foreseeable future.
Why does rotation happen at all?
According to the generally accepted theory, the rotation of the Earth is caused by processes that occurred during the time of its formation. In those days, clouds of cosmic dust gathered into one “heap”, to which other cosmic bodies were attracted. As a result of this confusion, the planet was formed over billions of years. And its rotation is due to the inertia that remained after the collision with those same cosmic bodies.
Why is the Earth slowing down?
At the dawn of its existence, our planet rotated much faster. A day then was about 6 hours long. The opinion became popular that most of all The change in the speed of rotation of the Earth is influenced by the Moon. With its force of attraction it causes fluctuations in the water level in earth's oceans. Due to the tides, the Earth seems to sway, which leads to its very slow deceleration.
What would happen if the Earth suddenly stopped?
Yes, this option is almost incredible, but why not?
Today, the Earth's rotation speed is no less than 1670 km/h. When the planet suddenly stopped, everything that was on its surface, including people, will be instantly swept away due to the action of centrifugal force. In fact, the Earth will stop, but objects on its surface will continue to move.
This option may be more acceptable to people, because everything will happen so quickly that no one will understand anything. But in the case of a gradual deceleration of the Earth, we will have to experience many destructive consequences.
What will happen if the Earth gradually stops its rotation?
Now let's move on to a more realistic simulation of the situation if our planet began to slow down much faster and humanity still caught the moment of its stop.
We already know that our planet will stop only in billions of years, but hypothetically this could happen earlier. Scientists do not rule out that the planet’s rotation speed may decrease, for example, due to a collision with an asteroid. Such an event in itself will be disastrous for earthlings, and a slowdown in the planet’s rotation speed will be an unpleasant bonus to everything. But let's imagine that this happened without the participation of huge asteroids, but for more “inconspicuous reasons.”
Light and darkness
The first thing that comes to mind is eternal day on one hemisphere and eternal night on the other. In fact, these are minor changes compared to other global changes, ranging from terrible cataclysms to the redistribution of the waters of the World Ocean, which will lead to mass death of all life on the planet.
The concept of a day will disappear. On one side of the Earth there will be eternal day. At the same time, the constant sun will destroy many plants, and the soil will dry out and crack. The dark side of the Earth will be like a snowy tundra. Scientists believe that the intermediate region between day and night will be more or less suitable.
Equator without oceans
The waters of the World Ocean will change their location, moving from the equator to the poles. That is the equatorial line will become one large plot sushi, and many continental areas closer to the poles will be flooded. The fact is that our planet is slightly convex due to rotation, so it has a kind of “hump” along the equator. Thus, after the Earth stops, the waters of the World Ocean will no longer be evenly held and will actually “flow down” from the equator.
Climate and planetary habitability
In addition to the fact that the land and oceans on Earth will look different, the climate will also change dramatically. Now the winds blow parallel to the equator, but if what happens, they will blow from the equator towards the poles. The currents will naturally change. Which climatic conditions will be in one region or another, it is difficult to say, but you can be sure that one hemisphere will be dry and the other incredibly cold.
The Earth's atmosphere, like ocean waters, will become denser closer to the poles, and thinner at the equator.
Due to the fact that the metal core of the Earth rotates, there is a magnetic field around it. It provides protection from the harmful solar wind and from high-energy particles from space. Without rotation there will be no magnetic field, and therefore, all living things will die under direct sunlight.
Among representatives of animal and plant species it will be inevitable. Flooding of large areas, climate change, natural disasters - all this will clearly reduce the diversity of life on Earth.
Will people be able to survive?
People would definitely be able to adapt to new conditions. There won’t be many places left where you can somehow survive. People will be able to live in small areas on the border of day and night. In such places there will be an eternal sunrise or sunset depending on the hemispheres. In addition, it will not be possible to settle along the entire “favorable line”, since a considerable part of the land will be flooded by the oceans, and you will have to choose an area where there will be optimal Atmosphere pressure and temperature.
It is possible that, due to dangerous cosmic radiation, people will have to move underground and organize their life activities there, and spacesuits will be needed to walk on the surface.
Today, perhaps, even elementary schoolchildren know that the Earth constantly rotates around its own axis, which is why the change of day and night occurs. But physicists talked about what would happen if our planet stopped rotating. In our review, the most incredibly catastrophic scenarios for the development of events
1. People will feel like they're on a roller coaster.
The Earth's rotation speed is approximately 1,674 km/h (for example, the speed of a Boeing 777 is 950 km/h). If the Earth suddenly stopped, people would continue to move by inertia.
2. People won't be able to fly into space.
Some science fiction films claim that if the Earth stopped moving, people would fly into space, subject to inertia. But since the Earth's speed in space is 40,000 km/h, the inertial force would not be enough to “fly away” from the planet.
3. A global hurricane will destroy most cities
Considering that the Earth's atmosphere moves along with it at an identical speed (1,674 km/h), an abrupt stop would lead to the formation of a destructive hurricane over almost the entire planet.
4. A tsunami will pass through the Earth
Newton's first law states that an object in motion will continue to move unless acted upon by an external force. Since all the oceans on Earth are in constant motion, when stopped, the force of inertia will cause a tsunami to rise in the oceans, which will sweep away everything 27 km from the coast in less than a minute.
5. Earthquakes will begin
The various forces of nature are so perfectly balanced that stopping the rotation of the planet will upset this delicate balance. Earthquakes will begin everywhere.
6. Numerous fires will occur
The rapid change in wind speed and rising hurricanes mentioned in paragraph 23 will lead to spontaneous fires starting everywhere.
7. GPS will stop working
Global positioning systems (GPS) use satellites whose orbits are carefully calculated. If our planet stops rotating, all calculations will go wrong. But GPS is used in all airplanes.
8. The night sky will become more static
If the Earth stops, most of the stars will “froze” in their places. At the same time, the apparent motion of other planets will not change.
9. The moon will eventually crash into the Earth
The Moon is currently (slowly) moving away from the Earth. If the Earth stops moving, the Moon will slowly approach the planet and eventually crash into it after millions of years.
10. Day and night will last for six months
If our planet stops its rotation, the sun will illuminate each half of the Earth for six months. At the same time, the other half of the planet will be plunged into pitch darkness for six months, which will lead to the death of plants.
11. The poles will remain almost undamaged
Since the speed of the Earth's rotation is most noticeable at the equator, if the Earth stops, polar bears and penguins on the plus side will notice little change.
12. Sunlight will not reach the surface of the Earth
Dust and debris that will rise into the atmosphere when the Earth stops will likely darken sunlight. Also, one should not forget about volcanic eruptions, which can begin after the balance of natural forces is disrupted.
13. The sun will move differently across the sky
If the Earth does not rotate on its axis, the sun will rise in the west and set in the east.
14. The earth will become a sphere
Due to its rotation, the Earth has a geoid shape - it is more convex at the equator and flattened at the poles. If the Earth stops rotating, it will become round, and sudden changes in altitude of up to 8 km will lead to flooding of many low-lying regions.
15. Oceans will be redistributed
When gravity becomes stronger at the poles, the oceans will concentrate around the North and South Pole, and a single supercontinent is formed in the equator region.
16. The winds will change completely
Modern winds move parallel to the equator, but when the planet's rotation stops, they will begin to move from the equator to the poles. This will lead to global climate change.
17. The surface of the oceans will become dusty water
Hurricane winds will spray surface layer any body of water, including oceans, creating splashes and water suspension over the water, as well as causing waves that will capsize any ships.
18. Marine life will die
The movement of the oceans towards the poles, as well as their churning at the surface, will lead to the fact that any oxygen-breathing creatures will not survive.
19. Global temperatures will begin to fall
We once asked such strange questions, such as “What would the world look like if all the ice on Earth melted?” or for example "What happens if you dig a tunnel through the center of the Earth"
And now next situation: imagine that the Earth has stopped. It is argued that if the Earth suddenly stops rotating on its axis, life on the planet will become impossible.
Why is this so let's find out...
This is not as simple a question as it seems. The answer depends on what and how it stops. There can be several options - a sudden stop of rotation around the axis, the same thing, but smoothly, and finally - a stop in space, that is, a cessation of movement around the Sun. Due to the lack of specificity of the question, we will consider all three options.
An abrupt stop of rotation around its axis is practically impossible - unless in the event of a very powerful impact from a large asteroid in the opposite direction, and even then the Earth will not stop at all and not at all so quickly. But... let's say the Earth suddenly stops its rotation. What awaits us in this case?
The Earth rotates from west to east with a linear speed at the equator of 465.1013 m/s (1674.365 km/h).
In particular, all objects will “continue” to move, reaching a speed of more than 1,500 km/h. A strong wind will appear, which will instantly lead to a giant tsunami. The day will stretch over a year: first, the Sun will shine continuously for six months, and then those who can survive the record heat and drought will be plunged into darkness and frost for another six months. Due to gravity, the oceans will move to the poles, and the land will be distributed along the equator. And finally, the last survivors will be killed by solar radiation.
You can also remember that the Earth is not solid at all - Earth's crust- it’s the same as the peel of an apple. Beneath this crust is liquid magma and a core that also rotates. When the Earth suddenly stops, all this liquid substance will still turn several times, crushing and breaking the “apple peel”. As a result, such powerful earthquakes will instantly occur with multi-kilometer faults and volcanic eruptions where they never existed that it is unlikely that anything alive will remain on this planet. In addition, the atmosphere will also “turn” around the Earth. Moreover, its speed will be the same as the speed of rotation of the Earth, and this is about 500 m/s, then such a wind will blow away everything that is possible. There may even be a loss of atmosphere, complete or partial, due to the force of inertia.
All this is possible, but, most likely, everything will happen to the point of banality - the enormous kinetic energy of the Earth and the forces of inertia will tear it apart and the usual bang - bang will happen. And the shreds will fly through the back streets of the solar system.
Online magazine Tech Insider presented a video showing what would happen if the Earth came to a sudden stop.
If the rotation stops smoothly, everything will not be so bad. Scientists have already modeled this situation. There will be a redistribution of land and ocean. Due to the disappearance of centrifugal force, water will no longer tend to the equator. Continents will most likely move there. Both northern and southern regions will be flooded. Two separate oceans are formed - Northern and Southern.
And approximately along the equator, taking into account the tilt of the earth’s axis, one continuous continent is formed, encircling the Earth. In this case, a day on the planet will last exactly a year - until the Earth makes a full revolution around the Sun. Instead of seasons, there will be seasons of the day - night, morning, day and evening. Accordingly, the climate will be different - tropical during the day and arctic at night. Movement atmospheric air It will soften it somewhat, but not much. After all, practically polar oceans will not be too warm and will have their cold influence.
There is another option for stopping the Earth - if it stops moving in orbit around the Sun.
This, of course, is impossible, but no one forbids you to imagine... If the Earth is stopped and left to its own devices, then the following will happen - the planet will leave orbit and rush in the direction of the Sun. But it will not reach it, since the Sun also has its own movement in space.
The Earth will fly quite close to it in a cometary orbit. The solar wind will blow away the entire atmosphere, all the water will evaporate. A charred ball flying past the Sun, which was once a “blue planet”, will rush further into space. The Earth will reach the orbits of the giant planets, maybe even the orbits of Neptune or Pluto, until it turns again towards the Sun. But this is in best case scenario. We must not forget that the Earth is not an ordinary asteroid, but a very massive body. With its movement it will cause confusion in the movement of other planets and their satellites, which are not very far away. They will all leave their orbits and their movement is unpredictable. Finding itself between or near giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, it can be torn to shreds by them. In this case, another asteroid belt will appear. In addition, the Earth will encounter asteroids on its way different sizes who will also be able to take part in “finishing off” the corpse of the Earth.
Such scenarios of events are only possible due to the cessation of the Earth’s rotation... In any case, even if we see the Earth after this, we will not recognize it.
After the Earth stops, its magnetic field, which is created by the rotation of the planet’s iron core, will disappear.
It should be clarified that stopping the Earth’s rotation instantly is practically impossible. It will still slow down for a while. But if you imagine that the Earth suddenly stops, you can imagine the following scenario.
As you know from a school geography course, under the earth’s crust is its mantle and core. They rotate in the opposite direction to each other. When stopping suddenly globe, the core and mantle will rotate several times, crushing and breaking the entire lithosphere. As a result, powerful earthquakes with many kilometers of faults and volcanic eruptions will occur. This will lead to a mass extinction of all life on Earth.
In addition, the planet's atmosphere will also rotate around the globe. And since its rotation speed will be the same as that of the Earth, amounting to about 500 m/s, and a little later it will increase several times, such a colossal wind will blow away all living and inanimate objects from the surface. At the same time, everything will fly to the east. Water in the oceans will also flow in this direction, and by inertia forming giant tsunamis. Due to the force of inertia, complete or partial loss of the atmosphere is not excluded. At the same time, the kinetic energy of the Earth and the same inertial force can simply tear the planet into pieces.
If the stop occurs smoothly, the scenario will be slightly different. Centrifugal forces compress the Earth at the poles, creating a rise at the equator. Moreover, the diameter of the planet there is 43 km larger than at the poles. If the rotation stops, this elevation will disappear, and all the oceans will flow towards the poles. There will be a global distribution of land and water. In this case, two separate oceans are formed - Northern and Southern. And along the equator, taking into account the tilt of the earth’s axis, one continuous continent is formed, encircling the Earth.
There will be a complete change in the flow of day and night and the change of seasons on the planet. Until the Earth makes a full revolution around the Sun, a day on earth will last one year! The concept of seasons will disappear. Now there will be only times of the day - night, morning, day and evening. The climate will also change. It will be warm on Earth during the day and frosty at night.
In a different temperature conditions winds will begin to blow from the equator to the poles, and not be distributed parallel to the equator, as they are now. Climate change will also occur due to changes in the movement of underwater currents, which will entail global changes in marine ecosystems.
After the Earth stops, its magnetic field, which is created by the rotation of the planet’s iron core, will disappear. Now its surface will not be protected from solar wind radiation and from high-energy particles from deep space. If after global catastrophes some species of animals, plants, and humans still survive, they will undergo numerous mutations.
By the way, in reality the Earth is actually slowing down its rotation. Due to tidal forces between it and the Moon, every 100 years the day becomes longer by 1.5–2 milliseconds. In 140 million years, there will be 25 hours in an earthly day.
Video on English language, turn on subtitles.