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Currently, the earth, at the equator, is spinning at the speed of 460 meters per second or roughly 1,000 miles per hour. So, everything including us is spinning with our planet at this speed. But Earth's rotation speed is slowing down gradually and billions of years from now, the Earth is going to stop spinning one day. But have you ever wondered what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning today? How would it impact the life on earth? Is there any positive outcome out of it? Will humanity survive? Let's find out.
If the Earth stopped spinning suddenly then most people on Earth would die immediately. Because Earth's atmosphere along with everything in it rotates along with the Earth and if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning, the atmosphere would still be spinning at the speed of roughly 1,000 miles per hour (At the equator), and everything including people, rocks, trees, buildings, vehicles — all would be thrown sideways at this speed. So, anything on the surface would be annihilated.
However, there would be a chance of survival if it slowed down gradually but if you think that we won’t be thrown sideways and everything else will be fine then the answer is no. It would still be a disaster.
The Earth takes 24 hours to complete a rotation and its rotation on its axis is the reason why we experience day and night over the 24 hours. One thing to note is that the Earth does not rotate everywhere at same speed. At equator, the rotation speed is over around 1,000 miles per hour. But the closer you get to the poles, the slower it gets and when you reach the North or South pole, the rotational speed is almost zero.
So as soon as the Earth's rotation would start to slow down, the days and night would start becoming longer and once the earth completely stops rotating, each day and night would be 6 months long. This would result in extreme temperatures ranging from -55 to 55 degrees Celsius during the night and day respectively.
Simultaneously, the ocean would start to move away from the equator towards the poles because the Earth's rotation causes bulge in oceans' surface at the equator and if the rotation is slowed, the bulging water from the oceans would begin to move away from the equator towards the poles. And once the Earth stopped spinning completely, the oceans would completely move towards the poles leaving single huge continent around the middle of the planet (equator).
Another sign that the Earth has started to slowdown would be the unpredictable changes in the atmosphere and weather. When Earth rotates, the air from the northern hemisphere is deflected to the right and the air from the southern hemisphere it is deflected to the left. So, the hot air gets deflected away from the poles keeping it frozen. But if the Earth starts to slow down, the hot air from the equator would start to make their way towards the poles and the cool air from the poles would make their way towards the equator. These changes would result in disasters such as floods, heavy rainfall and increased temperatures, causing disruption in ecosystems around the world.
If you think above mentioned changes are bad, then brace for the worsts effect of the Earth's stopped rotation which are yet to be explored. As you know that the Earth has multiple layers and tectonic plates. As the Earth's rotation start to slow down, each layer and tectonic plates would also slow down but at a different rate. This would cause massive friction between the layers which would result in never seen before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and that would tear the Earth apart.
If some of us survived all this, we would witness next phase of destruction. As per scientists, Earth’s magnetic field is a result of Earth’s rotation and if the Earth stopped rotating, the Earth's magnetic field would disappear, and we would be left unprotected against harmful ultraviolet radiation and Solar Winds. Anything on Earth's surface would be fried in instance without the protection of the magnetic field.
Even if the Earth doesn't lose its magnetic field, there is an alternate future that is equally worse. Currently, the Earth is spinning faster than the moon. This results in friction caused by the gravitational forces of the Earth and moon. This friction is forcing the moon to slowly drift away from the Earth. However, if the Earth stops spinning then the moon will start to move towards Earth, and it would keep moving closer to the Earth until it either collides with the earth or the Earth’s gravity breaks it apart. In any case the gravitational tug of war between these two celestial bodies would result in havoc on Earth causing Earth's surface to break apart and then be bombarded with the pieces of the broken moon.
Basically, if the Earth stops rotating then most of the life forms would go extinct. Some Humans might still find a way to survive but their days would be numbered because slowly the Earth would lose its atmosphere and turn into a Mars like planet. So, there is no happy ending if the Earth stopped spinning on its axis.
So, this is what would happen if Earth Stopped Spinning? What do you think? Please share your thoughts in comment section.
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