Imagine that the Earth suddenly stops rotating around its axis. In this case, life on our planet would change fundamentally.
Medianews.az reports that Turkey's "Haber Global" website published an article about this.
Currently, the Earth moves around its axis at a speed of about 1600 kilometers per hour. The reason for the occurrence of day and night is precisely this rotation. We do not feel this movement because we move together at the same speed. However, if the speed suddenly changes, the consequences would be destructive.
This phenomenon was explained in the 17th century by Galileo Galilei and later shaped by Isaac Newton's first law – the principle of inertia. According to the law, a moving object continues its motion unless acted upon by a force.
If the Earth stopped all at once, living beings, oceans, and the atmosphere would continue moving eastward at thousands of kilometers per hour from the previous speed. This would cause destruction on a global scale.
The planet would be divided into two hemispheres. One hemisphere would have constant daylight and scorching heat, while the other would be ruled by endless night and severe cold.
The atmosphere, maintaining its previous speed, would create destructive winds. In the oceans, giant waves advancing toward the continents would form. This scene would resemble those in the film "Interstellar."
When the rotation stops, the centrifugal force would decrease, causing people to feel somewhat heavier.
Without sunrise and sunset, the concept of a 24-hour day would lose its meaning. Time would be measured only by artificial clocks. People's sleep patterns, attention, and psychological states would be seriously disturbed, and artificial light-dark cycles would need to be created for adaptation.
Over millions of years, the Earth's magnetic field would weaken. This field protects us from solar winds and cosmic radiation. As the protective shield weakens, radiation would increase, raising the risk of DNA damage and diseases.
In the illuminated hemisphere, excessive heat would vaporize water and change the atmosphere. In the dark hemisphere, the temperature could drop so much that some gases would reach their freezing point.
As a result, the sudden stopping of the Earth could lead to a global disaster and the large-scale destruction of life.
Medianews.az