The Catastrophic Effects of the Earth Stopping Rotation

KOMPAS.com – As the earth orbits the Sun, it rotates on its axis. This is known as rotation.

To complete one rotation in (less than) 24 hours at the equator, the surface must move at a speed of more than 400 meters per second.

Humans do not feel this movement, because the earth moves at a constant speed, and everything on the earth is held firmly in place by gravity.

However, if the earth suddenly stopped rotating, humans and everyone on earth would only become aware of the rotation.

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So, what would happen if the earth stopped rotating?

Quoting the Astronomy page, if the earth suddenly stopped rotating, this would cause a major disaster for most of the planet’s surface.

The Earth rotates, at the equator, at a speed of up to 1,770 kilometers per hour. When the rotation stops, everything above it will fly eastward.

As a result, high-speed winds whose gusts still rotate almost as fast as the planet, will sweep the surface clean.

In fact, if the rotation stops gradually and slowly, the impact will still be large, even though it will occur over a longer period of time.

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What happens when the earth stops rotating?

Apart from the major impacts mentioned above, here are several things that might happen if the earth does not rotate:

1. Changes in the movement of the sun

The first thing you might easily notice is that the Sun no longer crosses the sky all day.

The visible movement of the Sun comes from the Earth’s rotation, so if the planet were stationary, then one day would last half a year.

This means that you will see increasingly longer days and nights, depending on which hemisphere you are in

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2. Disruption of circadian rhythm

Without the 24-hour day we are used to, biological circadian rhythms would be thrown into disarray.

A rhythmic cellular process that tells the body when to sleep and when to wake up, its function depends in part on regular changes in sunlight.

Many creatures on earth, from bees to trees, rely on circadian rhythms to live their lives. Changing this cycle can alter normal behavior patterns.

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3. Changes in weather patterns

Quoted from the BBC Sky at Night page, weather patterns can be affected if the earth’s rotation changes. If the planet stopped rotating, this would greatly change the way air currents move.

One impact, for example, is that the wind patterns you see today play an important role in driving rainfall and temperatures around the world.

Any change in air currents could result in the development of deserts where forests currently exist, for example, or habitable frozen tundra.

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4. Constraints on satellite orbits

Technology that relies on satellites in orbit will experience problems. For example, the orbit of a geostationary satellite is synchronized with the movement of the earth so that its position remains above the same point on the equator.

If the earth stopped rotating, the satellites would continue to rotate making it impossible to maintain telecommunications and weather monitoring systems properly.

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5. Loss of magnetic field

Humans may also experience the loss of the magnetic field and all its benefits, such as protection from harmful radiation, as it is linked to the rotation of the planet Earth.

As a result, the Earth will be tidally locked with the Sun. One side of the Earth will be exposed to continuous sunlight, and the other side will experience eternal night, and become very cold.

Both are unfavorable to many life forms. Organisms that carry out photosynthesis or depend on photosynthetic organisms will become extinct, especially on the dark side of the earth.

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2023-12-27 04:45:00
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