What if Earth stopped rotating?

You’re very familiar with the current day-night cycle that we didn’t explore the benefits. But, think about losing the concept of day and night because you’ll see the disastrous event of what if Earth stopped rotating. Let’s find out.

The Cause of Earth’s Rotational Termination

Firstly, we have to investigate the cause of this catastrophic event, and the reasons themselves are even more devastating.

Why are Earth, other planets, and the Sun always spinning? We have to go back to the formation of the Solar System before discussing the real reason. When the planets are forming in the disk, they are orbiting the center of mass. Then, the planet keeps spinning during the collision of the particles due to inertia. Most of the energy is still there, so Earth keeps rotating but is slightly slowing down.

Therefore, a loss of rotation could mean the loss of gravity, and all things that have once gathered would break up quickly.

Otherwise, it would be a planetary collision that knocked Earth’s rotation offline precisely (not reversing the rotation). The another object could vaporize our atmosphere or destroy Earth structurally.

Of course, inertia will prevent Earth from stopping to rotate all at once. It will occur quite gradually, probably taking billions of years in our current rotational rate.

Neither of the cause can explain the phenomenon interestingly. So, let’s assume that we somehow broke some physics and stopped Earth’s rotation in a sudden.

The Strong Winds and Tsunamis

Earth rotates at about 1,668 kilometers per hour across the equator, according to data from NASA. Keep in mind that the angular momentum would not stop, even if Earth managed to terminate its rotation at once. Thus, everything that wasn’t firmly secured to the ground would fly away at that speed.

Remember the atmosphere, too. So, supersonic winds will blow. The massive airflow would blow everything off, including some secured objects.

Moreover, as a direct result, epic tsunamis would also happen. These waves of water would sweep out so much land that the 2-mile safe distance wouldn’t work anymore.

Global Effects

After a couple of days, you’d see the climate changing quite drastically. If Earth completely stopped rotating, there’ll be 6 months of daytime and 6 months of nighttime. That would disrupt the seasons and our sleep cycles entirely, causing more harm than the pandemic.

Consequently, the side facing the Sun would heat up, while the hemisphere opposite our star would become colder. As a result, the cost of food and water would skyrocket, and many people wouldn’t afford that. Moreover, global droughts would strike Earth, and most species would be endangered or extinct.

Earth is not a sphere — the equator is further from Earth’s core than the poles. And that’s because of Earth’s rotation. Without the usual day-night cycle, Earth would be more spherical. But, water would drift to both poles, leaving a massive continent around the equator.

Look Further: The Magnetic Field

There’s one more reason for a mass extinction based on this event — the disappearance of the global magnetic field.

Our magnetic field is formed by the friction between the liquid outer core and the solid inner core, which is powered by Earth’s rotation.

Subsequently, losing the magnetic field would mean losing almost all protection to harmful solar radiation. These highly energized particles, known as solar wind, can easily render the planet uninhabitable and kill all living organisms on Earth.

Conclusion

Now, it’s best to be grateful for Earth’s current day length. Anything substantially shorter or longer, our life and survival will be a lot different. If Earth stopped rotating altogether, it would be a cataclysm for everyone.

If any vital aspects are missing, please leave that in the comments below.

References and Credits

1. Bright Side. (2017, August 31). What If the Earth Stopped Spinning Right Now – YouTube. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch/Pex2gaCJ954
2. What If. (2019, January 7). What If Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning? – YouTube. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHELVEpWUJQ
3. (2019, December 19). In Depth | Earth – NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/in-depth/
4. (n.d.). What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/q1168.html
5. How To Survive. (2020, April 22). How to Survive a Tsunami (RE-CUT) – YouTube. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSMXZPjJwAw
6. Rob Garner. (2016, September 12). Auroras Move to Rhythms of Earth’s Magnetic Field | NASA. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-s-themis-sees-auroras-move-to-the-rhythm-of-earth-s-magnetic-field

Image Credits: Canva, NASA’s Eyes, Emmanuel Masongsong/UCLA EPSS/NASA