If the earth stopped spinning

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

The truth is if the earth stopped spinning (rotates areound 2000 mph) anything that was not planted to the ground strong enough would start to travel the speed the earth was (2000 mph) which wouldnt be good would it? its like flying really really fast, and then landing with a splat

2

Welcome to the Straight Dope message board, Tigga. It is helpful to include a link to the column to which you are referring. I believe it’s this one: What if the earth stopped spinning? - Jill

3

well thank you jill from now on, i willknow this!!

4

A body in motion will remain in motion…
If the earth suddenly stopped spinning, the objects on the surface WOULD remain in motion - like your head “bobbing” while driving in a car…and the car comes to a complete stop.

  • Jinx
5

C’mon; we all know that what will happen is that the Plague O’ Locusts o’er the land will be flung of into space, thereby saving us! :slight_smile:

6

Good start, that.

(rotates areound 2000 mph)

Really? I figure that the earth is about 25,000 miles in circumference, and rotates every 24 hours, so that’s about 1000 mph, and certainly not 2000 mph.

7

That’s about right, at least at the equator. (Higher latitudes, smaller circumferences, etc.)

I guess the question could be rephrased - are we talking about the Earth gradually slowing down to a stop, or about it suddenly coming to a screeching halt?

8

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=82055

9

If the earth were to stop spinning, the resulting effect on our weight would be insignificant compared to other effects. Like, our days would be considerably longer. At the equator it would be six months from sunrise to sunset. And night, of course, would be half a year long too (at the equator). Then, apart from the searing heat in the day and freezing cold in the night, the air currents that exist now due to the earth’s spin would be completely taken over by the differences in temperatures between the daytime side and the nighttime side of the earth. Horrific storms caused by this temperature difference would cover the planet. The earth would never be the same again, and probably inhabitable at the surface. Now, what’s a little increase in weight compared to all that?