# If Earth Stopped Spinning **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 23, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224 "2001-03-23T21:49:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Synthoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5e9695/32.png) [@Synthoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Synthoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/1 "2001-03-23T21:49:29Z")
This message is in reference to an old SD by Cecil concerning the effect of the Earth not spinning. While Cecil correctly notes that there is little change in gravity, there is another obvious effect that Cecil does not mention. The effect of continuous sunlight / darkness for a large portion of the year (especially near the areas on earth where the sun is overhead) would cause severe climatological conditions. Yet, no mention at all from Cecil? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/2 "2001-03-23T22:39:06Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment. Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL). Cecil’s original column can be found on-line at this link: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a961122a.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a961122a.html) You’re welcome, Arnold 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2001, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/3 "2001-03-24T01:32:31Z")
(pant pant pant) I got here as first as I could. What Musicat said. * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/4 "2001-03-24T13:34:10Z")
Well, the question that was asked wasn’t, “What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?” It was: > [@](#): > > If the earth stopped spinning would we fall off of it? Which way would we fall if we did? Or would there > just be less gravity? While Cecil would, I’m sure, be happy to pontificate all day on the importance of fast rotation in the earthly climate, the ogres he works for short-sightedly alot him a finite space. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/5 "2001-03-24T14:33:37Z")
**Synthoid,** if the earth stopped spinning _suddenly,_ all objects not firmly tied down (like you, me and the cat in my lap) would, according to Newton’s laws, continue on their original path and speed and attempt to fly away from the earth on a tangent. It would be a big hassle to air traffic controllers. Some interesting thoughts: Since the circumference of the Earth is about 25,000 miles at the equator, [ref:] [http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/04209.html](http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/04209.html) and the planet rotates about once a 24-hour day, the speed of a loose object on the equator would be about 1000 MPH relative to the center of the earth. It would be quite a bad hair day to instantly accelerate to 1000 MPH. But it wouldn’t be fast enough to permanently fly off the surface, since an escape velocity of 25,000 MPH is needed to do that, at least in Florida. And you would be traveling at a _tangent_ to the planet, not straight up, so your effective vertical speed would be less. (I left my trig calc in my other pants, so you’ll have to do the math yourself.) This fact puts the Bible’s Long Day of Joshua (where God supposedly stopped the sun and moon so his chosen people could finish their slaughter by daylight) pretty much in the myth category. [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/jos/10.html#12](http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/jos/10.html#12) ---
**Author:** ![Loren\_Pechtel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@Loren\_Pechtel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loren_Pechtel)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/6 "2001-03-25T00:55:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Musicat \* > **Some interesting thoughts: Since the circumference of the Earth is about 25,000 miles at the equator, [ref:] [http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/04209.html](http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/04209.html) and the planet rotates about once a 24-hour day, the speed of a loose object on the equator would be about 1000 MPH relative to the center of the earth. It would be quite a bad hair day to instantly accelerate to 1000 MPH.** ``` Note that that's why NASA launches from as far south as possible and in an easterly direction. The shuttle gets something like half capacity if launched into a polar orbit. ``` > [@](#): > > \*\*do that, at least in Florida. And you would be traveling at a _tangent_ to the planet, not straight up, so your effective vertical speed would be less. (I left \*\* ``` Neglecting air resistance, the vector is irrelevant so long as it doesn't intersect the planet. This matters, as it means that a catapault on the surface of a body can launch stuff. It's not too useful for a body with an atmosphere, but for lunar mining... ``` > [@](#): > > **This fact puts the Bible’s Long Day of Joshua (where God supposedly stopped the sun and moon so his chosen people could finish their slaughter by daylight) pretty much in the myth category.** ``` If God can stop the Earth, he can also stop whatever's on it. More relevant is the fact that the Chinese didn't note a very long day. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2001, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/7 "2001-03-25T14:03:04Z")
Loren Pechtel said: > [@](#): > > That’s why NASA launches from as far south as possible and in an easterly direction. The shuttle gets something like half capacity if launched into a polar orbit. And the French get an even greater boost by launching their rockets from French Guiana, almost on the Equator. > [@](#): > > If God can stop the Earth, he can also stop whatever’s on it. Quite true, but this is a philosophical or theological argument, not a scientific one. A more scientific statement is > [@](#): > > …the Chinese didn’t note a very long day. Neither did anyone else. Right on. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/8 "2001-03-26T15:28:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Quite true, but this is a philosophical or theological argument, not a scientific one. Yes, but that’s not to the point. The entire claim of a miracle is that something happened requiring a local violation of physical laws. To say that a miracle didn’t happen because it would have violated the laws of physics is parallel to saying that a crime didn’t happen because it would have violated the laws of the state. Or to put it another way: Non-believer: That’s impossible! Believer: Does the word, “Duh!” mean anything to you? ---
**Author:** ![onigame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@onigame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/onigame)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/9 "2001-03-26T15:46:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*If God can stop the Earth, he can also stop whatever’s on it. More relevant is the fact that the Chinese didn’t note a very long day. \*\* If God can stop the Earth and whatever’s on it, he should also be able to stop just sections of it where his believers are. Or, as is probably easier, he could just induce mass hallucinations in a particular group of people, for instance convincing the Chinese that the day was just as long as it’s ever been. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/10 "2001-03-26T17:32:46Z")
> [@](#): > > If God can stop the Earth and whatever’s on it, he should also be able to stop just sections of it where his believers are. Or, as is probably easier, he could just induce mass hallucinations in a particular group of people, for instance convincing the Chinese that the day was just as long as it’s ever been. Well, now we _are_ going to have to get into theology, if we’re going to continue this. Let’s just say that few serious Xtian theologians would accept the above, as it flys right in the face of the Law of Divine Parsimony. ---
**Author:** ![evan1l38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@evan1l38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evan1l38)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/11 "2001-03-26T17:55:29Z")
I went and read the link ([SAB: Joshua 10](http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/jos/10.html#12)) and it actually just says something about how the sun didn’t go down for a whole day (paraphrasing.) And I have to admit I immediately thought well, of course the sun didn’t go down for a whole day, that’s the definition of a day. 😉 I know, I know, don’t flame me, but semantically there’s no miracle there at all…it quite clearly says the sun was just up for one day. What was meant is still open for debate. (post edited to fix link) [Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 03-26-2001 at 12:26 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/12 "2001-03-26T18:35:06Z")
To include a link in your post, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post, as long as you make sure there is a space **before** and **after** the text of the URL). Otherwise you have to include the {url} and {/url} tags around your hyperlink (replacing the curly braces with square brackets). See the [vB code](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php?action=bbcode) link, present on the “Post Reply” form near the top of the page, for more information. * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/13 "2001-03-26T19:05:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evan1l38 \* > I went and read the link ([http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/jos/10.html#12](http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/jos/10.html#12)) and it actually just says something about how the sun didn’t go down for a whole day (paraphrasing.) And I have to admit I immediately thought well, of course the sun didn’t go down for a whole day, that’s the definition of a day…but semantically there’s no miracle there at all…it quite clearly says the sun was just up for one day. Interesting interpretation. If you are right, the theologians that have been using this as an example of God’s power have been wasting their time all along! The biblical passage of Joshua 10:12,13, King James version, I believe, is: > [@](#): > > And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies…So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. Perhaps knowledge of the original Hebrew would be useful here, but “the sun stood still” (said _twice_, no less) is pretty clear to me. **said by JWK:** > [@](#): > > The entire claim of a miracle is that something happened requiring a local violation of physical laws. To say that a miracle didn’t happen because it would have violated the laws of physics is parallel to saying that a crime didn’t happen because it would have violated the laws of the state. Afraid I don’t follow your analogy, John. Simple Newtonian physics suggests that the sun and moon didn’t stand still over _any part_ of the earth. Historical records from the Chinese suggest that it didn’t happen on the other side of the globe, either. It seems to require not only one miracle to violate known laws of physics, but _another_ miracle to keep anyone from noticing! We are building up quite of mass of fantastic entities here to explain what has all the earmarks of a tribal myth from relatively ignorant people. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/14 "2001-03-27T12:59:29Z")
Oh yeah. So ignorant that they didn’t know that the sun usually rises and sets every 24 hours. So ignorant that even when they wrote about a violation of that as being an exceptional event, they also, at the same time, thought it was completely normal. That makes sense. I suppose you also think that people living in the Roman Empire 2000 years ago didn’t know where babies come from, and regarded walking on water as an everyday occurence. As to the lack of Chinese evidence, I have already addressed that elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/15 "2001-03-27T15:00:06Z")
John, you sound like a “true believer” to me, so I doubt anything I say will be seriously considered, so here goes nothing: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John W. Kennedy \* > [The ancients were]So ignorant that they didn’t know that the sun usually rises and sets every 24 hours. > > So ignorant that even when they wrote about a violation of that as being an exceptional event, they also, at the same time, thought it was completely normal. It wasn’t _normal_ to them, which is why they wrote about it. But it was _possible_ to them, something that I find hard to believe really happened without postulating multiple deity interventions. In the words of Carl Sagan, “Belief in demons was widespread in the ancient world. They were thought of as natural rather than supernatural beings.” (from **The Demon Haunted World** , Chapter 7, par 2) > [@](#): > > I suppose you also think that people living in the Roman Empire 2000 years ago didn’t know where babies come from, and regarded walking on water as an everyday occurence. _Everyday,_ perhaps not. But Roman, Greek, Babylonian, Egyptian, and other cultures of the era are full of stories of what would have had to be supernatural events if they occurred at all – and those stories are readily tagged “myths” today. But similar stories from the ancient Hebrew culture, with as much factual foundation as Roman and Greek ones, are, because the Judaic/Christian religion is still going strong, called “miracles.” It wouldn’t be too hard for me to find an Greek myth and prove it unlikely to have happened; this probably wouldn’t upset many people. But is anyone seriously arguing, for example, that the opening of Pandora’s box is the cause of all evil in the world? Treat a biblical reference the same way, and someone feels their god is being threatened. I can’t provide a cite for this, but I remember hearing recently that the Egyptians thought that only sperm was the human reproductive material, and the female was merely a receptacle (“vessel”) for it, not an equal partner in the sperm-egg process. If true, I guess they _would_ be somewhat ignorant about “where babies come from.” I seriously doubt if the ancients, tho admirable for what they _did_ accomplish, had the scientfic knowledge of the 18th century, not to mention the 21st. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/16 "2001-03-27T20:16:29Z")
Wait a minute, I’m 😕 Did Cecil’s column mention the Bible or Joshua? No, I don’t think it did. Not that my goal in life is to stifle discussion, but if we’re going to get into the issue of “is the Bible true?” then perhaps «[Great Debates](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=7)» would be a better forum. * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2001, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/17 "2001-03-27T22:00:28Z")
Bravo! I heartily agree, Arnold! 🙂 Interesting how easily threads can become hijacked, eh? Someone calls an aside-statement stupid, and it’s difficult not to reply. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/18 "2001-03-28T13:09:58Z")
I’m not discussing “Is the Bible true?” I’m discussing sloppy logic, both in reading the Bible and (by the way) in reading me. But I should know by now that you can’t argue with slogan-chanting bigots. So this will be, if possible, my last post. (By the way, the dispute between “spermists” and “ovists” continued into the age of the microscope. But what on earth would the _“spermist”_ position do in support of a _naturalistic_ explanation of the Virgin Birth? Sloppy, sloppy logic.) ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/19 "2001-03-28T16:53:41Z")
John W. Kennedy, I hope you meant your last post in this thread, and not your last post on the board! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-earth-stopped-spinning/59224/20 "2001-03-28T17:05:31Z")
And by the way, I trust that the side discussion is now officially closed, and that no one feels the need to add any more commentary on the subject. The discussion can be continued in Great Debates or in The BBQ Pit if tempers are high. Also let me remind you all that personal insults are not allowed in this forum. * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)»