While we are busy in our daily lives doing one thing or the other, we often forget to take a look at the bigger things, the bigger picture. The bigger thing I am talking about is Earth, you know, where you and I exist? In the humdrum of life, we never seem to think about what would happen if someday something was to happen to the Earth.

While thinking about the multiple scenarios can be interesting brain exercise, they are vital for our very survival. Granted, a lot of these scenarios can and will be out of our hands, but a lot of these can be prepared for in advance. This will motivate us, as a species, to ensure our survival with whatever means necessary.

In this article I want to talk about the scenario where the Earth stops spinning. We all know that the Earth rotates on its own axis which give us day and night. But what would happen if the Earth just stopped rotating?

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The Earth Stops Spinning

I mean just dead in its tracks! Such an event would be catastrophic, resulting in destruction of everything that we know and love, including our own selves. Now, before you start panicking, let me tell you that this is totally impossible.

But it doesn’t hurt to take a look at the “what if”, so let’s examine this further. Let’s say, right now, all of a sudden the Earth stops rotating. What would happen? What would we feel? 

Everything Displaced

Well, for starters, everything not firmly attached to the bedrock would be flung towards east at a speed of 1100 miles/hour. The reason for this is inertia, i.e. an object in motion will remain in motion until interfered by an external force.

The Earth rotates at the speed of 1100 miles/hour. Therefore, we, along with everything else on Earth are in motion at that speed as well. So, if the Earth stops suddenly, everything would be displaced and flung towards the east at the mentioned speed. It’s the same thing that happens when you hit the brakes in your car and your body goes forward.

The consequence would be that we would all die instantly and the whole planet would basically be a giant mix of a graveyard and junkyard. The only people relatively ‘safe’ from this would be the ones near the poles. The effects of inertia would be drastically less there. But not for long, as they would soon perish due to the following catastrophes.

Atmospheric Changes

Another thing that is important to mention here is that the atmosphere is moving along the Earth at the same speed. So, if the Earth stops spinning, the atmosphere would continue at the same speed. This will create storms never seen before. 

Also, the friction of the atmosphere with the surface of the Earth would be enough to cause massive fires and erosions. The Earth would literally get scorched!

Oceans Clean the Earth

The oceans would sweep across entire continents due to the effects of inertia, creating Tsunamis that are kilometres high, cleansing the Earth of our and everything else’s existence. It would be like cleaning the slate.

It will be like the movie 2012. Only, there will be no one left alive to experience the whole thing.

Destruction of Earth’s Magnetic Field

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Assuming that the core of the Earth also stops spinning, which would likely be the case, the Earth’s magnetic field would be destroyed, and the Sun’s deadly ionising radiation would freely enter Earth’s atmosphere.

But once again, we wouldn’t be harmed by it, because we would already be long gone.

Note: All the Gifs used were created from this video by VSauce on Youtube. Check him out, he is awesome!

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