We know very well that our planet rotates around its axis, thanks to which we see day and night. However, the Earth, although very slowly, is gradually slowing down. Scientists say that its complete stop will occur in many billions of years. People will probably not catch this moment, because by that time the Sun will increase in size and destroy first life on Earth, and then the planet itself. In this article we will try to simulate the following situation: what will happen if the Earth stops rotating in the foreseeable future.
Why does rotation happen at all?
According to the generally accepted theory, the rotation of the Earth is caused by processes that occurred during the time of its formation. In those days, clouds of cosmic dust gathered into one “heap”, to which other cosmic bodies were attracted. As a result of this confusion, the planet was formed over billions of years. And its rotation is due to the inertia that remained after the collision with those same cosmic bodies.
Why is the Earth slowing down?
At the dawn of its existence, our planet rotated much faster. A day then was about 6 hours long. The opinion became popular that most of all The change in the speed of rotation of the Earth is influenced by the Moon. With its attractive force it causes fluctuations in the water level in the earth's oceans. Due to the tides, the Earth seems to sway, which leads to its very slow deceleration.
What would happen if the Earth suddenly stopped?
Yes, this option is almost incredible, but why not?
Today, the Earth's rotation speed is no less than 1670 km/h. When the planet suddenly stopped, everything that was on its surface, including people, will be instantly swept away due to the action of centrifugal force. In fact, the Earth will stop, but objects on its surface will continue to move.
This option may be more acceptable to people, because everything will happen so quickly that no one will understand anything. But in the case of a gradual deceleration of the Earth, we will have to experience many destructive consequences.
What will happen if the Earth gradually stops its rotation?
Now let's move on to a more realistic simulation of the situation if our planet began to slow down much faster and humanity still caught the moment of its stop.
We already know that our planet will stop only in billions of years, but hypothetically this could happen earlier. Scientists do not rule out that the planet’s rotation speed may decrease, for example, due to a collision with an asteroid. Such an event in itself will be disastrous for earthlings, and a slowdown in the planet’s rotation speed will be an unpleasant bonus to everything. But let's imagine that this happened without the participation of huge asteroids, but for more “inconspicuous reasons.”
Light and darkness
The first thing that comes to mind is eternal day on one hemisphere and eternal night on the other. In fact, these are minor changes compared to other global changes, ranging from terrible cataclysms to the redistribution of the waters of the World Ocean, which will lead to the mass death of all life on the planet.
The concept of a day will disappear. On one side of the Earth there will be eternal day. At the same time, the constant sun will destroy many plants, and the soil will dry out and crack. The dark side of the Earth will be like a snowy tundra. Scientists believe that the intermediate region between day and night will be more or less suitable.
Equator without oceans
The waters of the World Ocean will change their location, moving from the equator to the poles. That is the equatorial line will become one large landmass, and many continental areas closer to the poles will be flooded. The fact is that our planet is slightly convex due to rotation, so it has a kind of “hump” along the equator. Thus, after the Earth stops, the waters of the World Ocean will no longer be evenly held and will actually “flow down” from the equator.
Climate and planetary habitability
In addition to the fact that the land and oceans on Earth will look different, the climate will also change dramatically. Now the winds blow parallel to the equator, but if what happens, they will blow from the equator towards the poles. The currents will naturally change. It is difficult to say what climatic conditions will be in a particular region, but you can be sure that one hemisphere will be dry and the other incredibly cold.
The Earth's atmosphere, like ocean waters, will become denser closer to the poles, and thinner at the equator.
Due to the fact that the metal core of the Earth rotates, there is a magnetic field around it. It provides protection from the harmful solar wind and from high-energy particles from space. Without rotation, there will be no magnetic field, and therefore, all living things will die under direct sunlight.
Among representatives of animal and plant species it will be inevitable. Flooding of large areas, climate change, natural disasters - all this will clearly reduce the diversity of life on Earth.
Will people be able to survive?
People would definitely be able to adapt to new conditions. There won’t be many places left where you can somehow survive. People will be able to live in small areas on the border of day and night. In such places there will be an eternal sunrise or sunset depending on the hemispheres. In addition, it will not be possible to settle along the entire “favorable line”, since a considerable part of the land will be flooded by the oceans, and you will have to choose an area where there will be optimal atmospheric pressure and temperature.
It is possible that, due to dangerous cosmic radiation, people will have to move underground and organize their life activities there, and spacesuits will be needed to walk on the surface.
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It’s not for nothing that Hollywood has made so many films about the apocalypse - many are both scared and curious about what will happen to the Earth and to us if some kind of disaster suddenly happens.
Here we are in website decided to find out what would happen if the Earth suddenly stopped abruptly (and it actually gradually slows down its rotation), studied the opinions of scientists and drew gifs on this topic.
1. All objects will fly east at great speed by inertia
- We do not pay attention to the enormous speed at which the Earth rotates. But if it suddenly stops abruptly, says NASA physicist and astronomer Sten Odenwald, then people, cars, houses and everything else on its surface will break away (like passengers on a suddenly braked bus) and, by inertia, will rapidly fly east , and then falls to the ground. The speed at the equator will be very high - more than 1,600 km/h, closer to the poles - more than 1,300 km/h.
2. Strong tsunamis are formed
- The force of inertia will force the water in the seas and oceans to move, and the strongest, unimaginable tsunamis, moving to the east, will cover the land and swallow up coastal cities.
3. A powerful wind will rise
- After the Earth stops, the atmosphere will also continue its movement, carried away by the force of inertia, and “turn” around the planet, possibly several times. The initial speed of the air flow will be enormous - more than 1,700 km/h; nothing can resist such a hurricane wind. It may well be that the Earth will lose part of its atmosphere.
4. All the water on Earth will be collected into 2 oceans, and a new continent will be formed
- Now, due to centrifugal force, water tends to the equator, and after the Earth stops, a redistribution of land and water will occur. Ocean waters will gather closer to the poles, and 2 huge oceans will appear - North and South. And the land in the equator region will emerge from under the water and form a single giant continent encircling the Earth like a ring - a new Pangea.
5. Volcanic eruptions, tornadoes and earthquakes will begin
- If the planet suddenly stops, then the enormous kinetic energy of the Earth and the forces of inertia will shake it to the ground - all layers of the planet will become agitated. The result is predictable: severe hurricanes, countless volcanic eruptions and devastating earthquakes.
6. The Earth will change its shape - from a geoid to a sphere
- The Earth takes on the shape of a geoid due to rotation - it is slightly flattened at the poles and forms a convexity towards the equator due to centrifugal force (see lecture by Professor Etienne Guis from ENS de Lyon University). After stopping, the shape of the planet will become more spherical.
7. On one hemisphere there will be heat, like in the Sahara desert, on the other - arctic cold
- If the Earth makes one revolution around the Sun, then there will be eternal day on one side and eternal night on the other. The sun will heat one hemisphere to such an extent that it will be hellishly hot, and it will be hottest at the equator, and a little cooler - closer to the poles. The second half will remain in the dark and cool to arctic temperatures. Another scenario according to NASA: The Earth will not rotate at all, even once every 365 days, and then day and night will replace each other and last for 6 months.
8. The magnetic field that protects the Earth from dangerous cosmic rays will disappear
- The Earth's magnetic field is created as a result of processes in the outer core, consisting mainly of iron, and the rotation of the planet (this, of course, is simplified, in reality it is more complex). If the rotation stops, then the magnetic field will disappear,
People have always been interested in the question of what will happen to the planet and its inhabitants if any disaster occurs. This is probably why Hollywood makes so many movies about the end of the world. There are too many Apocalypse scenarios to describe all the consequences, so we decided to find out what to expect if the Earth suddenly stops (and it really does slow down, by the way). This is what the end of the world will look like in this case.
1. All objects will fly east at high speed by inertia
“We don’t notice the enormous speed of the Earth’s rotation. But if it suddenly stopped,” says Sten Odenwald of NASA, “every object on the planet would break away from its surface and fly east at high speed, and then fall down. At the equator, the speed of movement will be the highest large (about 1600 km/h), and closer to the poles it will reach 1300 km/h."
2. Huge tidal waves will begin to form
The force of the impulse will cause the water in the seas and oceans to move, which will lead to a powerful tsunami that will go east, washing away coastal cities from the face of the Earth.
3. Wind strength will increase
As the atmosphere continues to move, its rotation speed around the planet will increase several times. The starting speed of the air flow will be enormous: about 1800 km/h. It is possible that the Earth will lose part of its atmosphere as a result.
4. All the water on the planet will be collected in two oceans, which will lead to the formation of a new continent
Currently, water collects at the equator due to the centrifugal force of the Earth. But its sudden stop will lead to a redistribution of land and water, forming two giant oceans at both poles. The landmass at the equator will form a new continent spanning the entire planet. 
5. Volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and earthquakes will begin
The enormous kinetic force of the Earth and its momentum can even affect the core. The result is quite predictable: powerful hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and destructive earthquakes. And this is all over the planet.
6. The Earth will change from a geoid to a sphere
The earth has its geoid shape due to the nature of its movement. Now it is slightly flattened at the poles and expanded at the equator. But if the planet stops, its shape will become spherical.
7. In one hemisphere it will become hot, like in the desert, and in the other, cold, like in Antarctica
If the Earth continues to make only one revolution around the Sun, only half of it will heat up. This means that the temperature here will become too high, especially at the equator. The second hemisphere will turn into a kingdom of eternal night and arctic cold. NASA has another version: The Earth may stop rotating as a whole, and not just around its axis, which will lead to alternating 6 months of heat and 6 months of cold.
8. The magnetic field that protects the Earth from dangerous cosmic radiation will disappear
The magnetic field is formed mainly due to the outer core (which consists of iron) and the movement of the planet around its axis. But if the Earth stops moving, the magnetic field will also disappear, as Sten Odenwald predicts. The field protects us from the solar wind - these are charged particles from the Sun, fatal to any living creature.
9. If people can survive, then only on the border of heat and cold
Humanity will be able to adapt to new conditions only at the border of day and night. People will have to live underground and come to the surface only in protective suits due to radiation.
10. The moon will eventually fall to Earth, but it won't be anytime soon.
Professor Vaughan Pratt of Stanford University says the Moon will gradually slow down and its distance from Earth decrease. Over time, it will probably just fall onto our planet.
In fact, the Earth is actually slowing down. In her youth, she rotated much faster: the day lasted only 6 hours. The Moon's gravity causes ebbs and flows, which gradually reduce the planet's rotation speed. NASA calculated that every 100 years, the length of the day increases by 2.3 milliseconds. Most likely, after billions of years, the days will become so long that the Earth will stop rotating completely.
This illustration shows the view of Earth from space. Credit: NASA.
As you probably know, the Earth rotates on its axis, which is why we have, for example, day and night. Of course, this is impossible, but what would happen if the Earth stopped rotating?
The first thing that comes to mind is the impulse that will be received by everything that is on the surface of the Earth. You and I are held together by gravity, but we are moving through space with a linear rotation speed of 1,674.4 km/h (at the equator). You don't notice it. A good example to understand what will happen is driving a car and suddenly stopping. That is, if the Earth suddenly stopped rotating, everything on its surface would suddenly begin to move at a speed of more than 1600 km/h (at the equator). This will not be enough to fly into space, but it will be enough to cause terrible damage. Just imagine for a moment that all the oceans began to move at a speed of 1600 km/h towards land.
The Earth's rotation speed decreases from the equator to the poles. Therefore, the further you are from the equator, the lower your speed will be. If you stand directly on the north or south pole, then you will not feel anything.
The next problem is that the day and night will become much longer. The Earth now rotates on its axis, returning the Sun to almost the same position in the sky every 24 hours. However, if the Earth stops moving, it will take 365 days for it to return the Sun to the same position. Thus, on one half of the Earth there will be a day lasting about 182 days, while the other hemisphere will remain in pitch darkness.
It will be very hot on the sunny side and very cold on the shaded side. This will have devastating consequences for plants and animals. Something similar can be seen at the poles, where there are several weeks of constant night, and then several weeks of constant day, but this cannot be compared with 6 months of night, and then 6 months of day.
This may seem minor compared to other changes, but the Earth will become an almost perfect sphere. Currently, our planet rotates around its axis, spending approximately 24 hours per rotation. This rotation causes the Earth to elongate at the equator, becoming an oblate spheroid. Without this rotation, due to the presence of gravity, the Earth will turn into an almost ideally shaped sphere. It seems completely harmless, but it is actually a big problem. Due to changes in the shape of the Earth, the waters of the world's oceans will be redistributed, thereby causing floods in many regions of the planet. The ocean will eventually consume most of the planet's surface.
> > > What happens if the Earth stops rotating?
What will happen on the day when the Earth stops and does not rotate? around the axis: interesting facts of the scenario with a description of gravity, day length at the equator and poles.
Planet Earth rotates around an axis. Thanks to this, a change of day and night is created. Of course, the Earth is not capable of stopping suddenly. But let's imagine what this will lead to. So, what happens on the day the Earth stands still?
Everything will go sideways
The main thing is not to forget about impulse. Our planet is rushing through space at an acceleration of 1674.4 km/h, and you are held together only by Earth's gravity. But you don't feel movement in space because of momentum. If the Earth stops, everything on the surface will suddenly move at a speed of 1600 km/h to the side. This is not enough to break away from the surface, but just imagine how the oceans leave their territories. Moreover, the closer to the equator, the stronger the push. Residents of the poles will not notice anything at all.
Day = 365 days
Yes, day and night will function the same. Now it will take the Sun a whole year to move across our sky. For a whole six months, one half of the earth would suffer from the heat, and the other would freeze in the dark. Just think how this will affect the plant and animal world, which are unable to defend themselves.
Ideal Sphere
Planet Earth will take the shape of a perfect sphere. Now it takes 24 hours to rotate the axis. It is this acceleration that causes the planet to bulge at the equatorial line. Without this, gravity will return the planet to a sphere again. It seems like nothing special, but it threatens problems for us. The oceans will be redistributed and flood vast residential areas. As a result, we get a single continent surrounded by a body of water.
No tilt
The Earth's axis tilt is determined by rotation. And this is extremely important, since the planet will lose its usual seasons. Just imagine how this will affect the climate situation. Now you know what will happen to the planet on the day the Earth stops.