[Physics Class Notes] on What Happens if the Earth Stops Rotating? Pdf for Exam

While the probability of our planet stopping to spin seems to be almost zero, a slight possibility does exist and paves the way for us to develop the probable theories around the consequences of such a case occur. The fact that earth has seen a constant daytime consisting of 24 hours is only in between the brackets of human knowledge. What was the speed of earth several millennia ago, and what will it be after a plentiful of millennia down the line are questions not known. Scientists have been drawing quite a few plausible theories to predict what lies ahead for the fate of our planet.

The good news is that we wouldn’t fall off if the Earth’s rotation halted. We could walk on land around the entire equator if water was driven to the poles, but it would be a harsh environment.

We already know that the Earth’s rotation is slowing down. But what would happen if our planet’s axis of rotation came to a complete stop? Fortunately, geographers can now provide us with the answers, thanks to advances in our understanding of our world. You could go around the world on the equator and keep completely dry, ignoring the bitter cold at night and the scorching heat during the day.

The first thing we may notice is that the Sun no longer travels across the sky in a day. Because Earth’s rotation causes the Sun’s apparent motion, a single day would last half a year if the planet were stationary (though we could look forward to some very long-lasting sunsets).

 

What Happens if the Earth Stops Rotating

Currently, what is known to us, is that the planet is slowing down at a rate of 1.7 milliseconds per century. It is believed that this is due to the moon’s tidal effect on the planet. If the earth stops rotating all of a sudden, then the atmosphere present around the planet would still be intact at the current earth’s speed of 1100 miles per hour at the equator. With the earth at a standstill and the atmosphere in rotation, it would result in all the masses on earth getting uprooted, circling around the planet, and land at another spot across the planet. 

For example, a young man is driving on a highway for leisure on a bright and sunny day. He passes a cluster of restaurants a little distant from him. If the earth were to suddenly cease its spin then, this young man would see him, his car, the road, the vegetation around him, the restaurants, and everything and everyone in them flying into the air. As of now, the fastest wind ever recorded is 253 miles per hour, but the wind is almost four times as strong, hence the scenario would be just as deadly.

In addition to this, since the earth bulges at the poles due to centrifugal force experienced by the planet, all the ocean’s water would flow towards them leaving a massive single continent at the equator. Due to the overflowing water several parts of North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and most of the arctic regions would be submerged. This would leave the equatorial and tropical regions to experience drought and the existing life (if any left) would be deprived of food and water due to lack of vegetation.

The natural transition between seasons would also be inhibited due to the year-long day. The final and most fatal consequence would be the loss of the magnetic field of the earth. The earth’s magnetic field plays an important role in blocking the sun’s deadly cosmic rays, in the absence of it, our atmosphere would pave way for these high-frequency rays to enter the earth’s atmosphere, and destroy any life that is left on the planet.

Biological circadian rhythms would be thrown entirely out of whack if we didn’t have the 24-hour days we’re used to. Regular fluctuations in sunlight are necessary for the rhythmic cellular mechanisms that instruct our bodies when to sleep and wake up to function. Many animals on the planet, from bees to trees, rely on circadian rhythms to function. Changing these cycles may cause standard behavior patterns to be disrupted.

(Image to be added soon)

 

If Earth Stops Rotating Gradually

On the other hand, if the rotation of the earth is gradually decreased over billions of years, to around one rotation for 365 days resulting in a condition called, ‘sun-synchronous,’ then the scenario would be quite different. The chances of occurrence of this possibility are pretty high in comparison to the earlier. In this case, a portion of the planet would have perennial sunlight while another would be in constant darkness. This is not exactly the termination of the rotation of the planet, but it is quite close.

In the impossible scenario, six months in sunlight and six months in the night what happens when the earth stops rotating altogether. The winds would alter and the circulation would be in between the poles rather than the currently existing east to west. Adding to this effect, if the earth stops rotating altogether the temperatures on earth would also alter and the equatorial regions would be much hotter and the regions near the poles would be much colder due to the slant rays of the sun are exposed to.

Planets of the Endless Day

There aren’t any planets out there that don’t revolve at all, as far as we know. Planets and other celestial bodies are formed by natural processes that result in rotation; therefore, all worlds spin from the start. However, other planets appear stationary, which astronomers refer to as tidal locking.

These worlds always display the same face to their star, resulting in night and day sides that never change. Planets’ rotation rates can be gradually slowed by gravitational interactions with their stars until they precisely match their orbital period.

Do you mean all at once? You’d be dead in a matter of seconds if the Earth suddenly stopped rotating right now. You’d be thrown sideways at speeds of over 1000 mph, rolling, falling, and sliding down the ground until you collided with something more substantial than you, and then you’d be dead!

After that, you’d be too preoccupied to notice that one side of the Earth, the dayside, would become enormously hotter, while the other side, the night side, would become much cooler. But, before all of that, massive expanses of land would be swept clean by ocean water walls. They aren’t speeding up; the Earth has stopped spinning, and conservation of motion keeps anything that isn’t glued down firmly to the surface going at the previous spin speed.