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The Earth regularly spins like a top, even though we cannot see, touch, hear, or smell it. So what if the Earth suddenly stops spinning?
If the rotation stopped, the angular momentum of each object on Earth would tear the surface apart, resulting in a very, very bad day.
“This is just a thought experiment,” said James Zimbelman, senior geologist emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. why the planet has rotated since its formation, which is quite impressive. “
Related: How fast is the Earth moving?
Put a spin on it
The Earth rotates fully on its axis every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.09053 seconds. This results in a landing at the equator moving at about 1,100 mph (1,770 km / h), with rotational speed decreasing to zero at the poles, according to Zimbelman. If the planet were to come to a sudden stop, the angular momentum transmitted to air, water, and even rocks along the equator would continue to move at this speed of 1,100 mph. The movement would scour the surface while tearing it apart and sending shards to the upper regions of the atmosphere and space.
But what is angular momentum?
Let’s take a step back. Linear momentum is the product of an object’s mass and its speed (direction and speed). A passenger in a moving car that comes to an abrupt stop will continue to move forward due to linear momentum. Ouch.
Angular momentum is an analog of rotation to linear momentum. It is the product of the moment of inertia (the rotational force required to rotate the mass) and the angular velocity. A quarterback gives angular momentum to a soccer ball as it is lifted in the air towards the wide receiver.
“One of the fundamentals of physics is the conservation of angular momentum,” Zimbelman told Live Science. “Once something turns, you have to exert the same force [in the opposite direction] to keep it from spinning. “
But all would not be lost if the Earth stopped rotating.
Regroup, reform, increase
According to Zimbelman, the pieces that broke off the surface would regain a certain twist as the Earth and its remains continued their way around the sun. Finally, the planet gravitational sweater would bring back the halo of the fragments with an unexpected effect.
“What [Isaac] Newton Helped us understand with classical mechanics is that parts that accumulate and come together release some of their own energy, which heats things up, ”Zimbelman said.
Think of it like a meteorite crisscrossing the sky. The remains that ended up in the far reaches of the atmosphere and outer space would be attracted to the surface by the planet’s gravitational pull, and they would release energy on impact. The constant bombardment of these lumps would liquefy the crust into an “ocean of molten rock,” Zimbelman said. Eventually, the colliding fragments would be reabsorbed back into the molten sea through a process called accretion.
According to Zimbelman, the rapid and destructive transition would also vaporize most of the water on the planet’s surface. While most of this vaporized water would be wasted, some could be incorporated into newly solidified minerals, like olivine. Finally, all the fragments would not be reabsorbed by accretion. Some of the planetary pieces would be swept away by the the moon gravitational pull, bombarding the nearby satellite and creating countless other craters on its surface.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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