Why do the earth rotate anticlockwise and not clockwise?
347854
It's pretty arbitrary isn't it? Look down on the North pole and the earth is turning clockwise, look down on the South Pole and it's the other way around.\n\nA more interesting question is: why are (almost) all planets orbiting and rotating in the same direction?\n\nThe solar system, earth included, is supposed to have formed from a dust cloud that contracted due to gravity. This cloud rotated in a certain way. As spin has to be conserved, all bodies in the solar system rotate in the same way.
234240
Because if it went counterclockwise time would be going in reverse? :)
122713
The direction of draining water is no different in either of Earth's hemispheres. This is a perpetual myth that has no basis in scientific fact. This website provides a good discussion about the whole thing, plus lots of information about the Coriolis Effect itself --\nhttp://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html
25693
Down. Clockwise or anti-clockwise rotation is very much dependent on the first impulse when you open the drain, with coriolis force a distant second.
1162718
Because the sun does rise in the east and set in the west.  \n\nWe do know now that the reason is not because the sun is revolving around the earth, but because the earth spins on its axis.
199932
The earth's rotation.
299849
The 24 hour clock was originally devised by the ancient civilisations of Egypt, India and China. It has stuck ever since.\n\nIt actually takes the Earth 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds to rotate 360 degrees. The reason for the extra 4 minutes or so it that the earth has to rotate just that little bit more (361 degrees) because it has orbited the sun a little during that period.
379517
This is because we see them as rotating so.Actually the earth rotates west to east on it's axis.That's why we see'em rotating east to west.
591941
Because of the coriolis effect. However, this is 100% not true. The water could either flow clockwise, counterclockwise or straight down depending on the shape and curvature of the sink/toilet
9991
To a first-order approximation the Earth is round.  This\nis due to gravity.  Gravity pulls with equal strength in all\ndirections; therefore any variations from a spherical\nshape will lead to gravitational forces that\nbring the shape back into that of a sphere.\n \nThis is without considering the rotation of the earth,\nhowever.  The rotation of the earth adds centrifugal\neffects, which cause the earth to bulge slightly at\nits equator and flatten slightly at its poles.\n(This is like twirling a rock on the end of a string\nand then letting go--the rock flies away from the\ntwirler.)  Because of these centrifugal effects, the\ndistance from the center of the earth to the surface\nof the earth is about 0.33% shorter at the poles\ncompared to the equator.
595431
For the most part, yes. Low pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere spin counterclockwise and Highs spin clockwise. The reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere.
1119993
This is simply a matter of perspective. From the South Pole, the earth's rotation is clockwise.
85444
Earth rotates. Sun on one side.
308954
After the Earth formed and all the component asteroids and other proto-planetary debris coalesced the residual spin from the collisions left us spinning counter-clockwise.  Were there to be another collision, a series of collisions, or close interaction with some super-massive object (i.e. black hole, brown dwarf, etc.) with enough momentum or gravity to retard, stop or reverse our rotation, it could definitely do so.  Venus is an example of a planet in a retrograde rotation (probably because some massive impact reversed its spin), so it is definitely possible...hell, Uranus spins almost 90 degrees out of alignment with the orbital plane.  Most planets in our solar system spin in relatively the same direction, and that is likely to be the case in most systems in the universe, but it is by no means set in stone.
995635
great question -way beyond my knowledge base\nsomebody correct me when I'm wrong.  If the earth spins in the opposite direction then all the things affected by the Coriolis Effect are opposite- do Atlantic hurricanes  happen ? does the Gulf Stream exist ? I don't  think so because the current on the American side of the Atlantic would be going south from Arctic regions and the Europeans would get the African waters. lots of possibilities\nwe know for sure that the jet streams  will go  in the opposite direction \nclimates  would be different- a question of where  water is coming from and going to.\nagain great question
365073
We will be telling that earth rotates clokwise and all heavenly objects are moving anticlokwise.\n\nOr we would make all clocks move in opposite direction and will be telling that earth rotates anticlockwise and others rotate in clockwise.
167554
It is highly unlikly that the earth will ever change the direction of rotation. A strong outside force must be present. But the rotation of the earth is slowing down over time due to the pull from the moon. dont worry if anything does change you will not be here to see it.