What would happen if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning?
364195
None of us would have to worry about what we going to do the next day because we would all be dead.\n\nWhat would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?\nThe probability for such an event is practically zero in the next few billion years. If the Earth stopped spinning suddenly, the atmosphere would still be in motion with the Earth's original 1100 mile per hour rotation speed at the equator. All of the land masses would be scoured clean of anything not attached to bedrock. This means rocks, topsoil, trees, buildings, your pet dog, and so on, would be swept away into the atmosphere. \n\nIf the process happened gradually over billions of years, the situation would be very different, and it is this possibility which is the most likely as the constant torquing of the Sun and Moon upon the Earth finally reaches it's conclusion. If the rotation period slowed to 1 rotation every 365 days a condition called 'sun synchronous', every spot in the Earth would have permanent daytime or nighttime all year long. This is similar to the situation on the Moon where for 2 weeks the front-side is illuminated by the Sun, and for 2 weeks the back side is illuminated. This situation for the Earth is not the condition of 'stopped' rotation, but it is as close as the laws of physics will let the Earth get. \n\n \n\nIf it stopped spinning completely...not even once every 365 days, you would get 1/2 year daylight and 1/2 year nightime. During daytime for 6 months, the surface temperature would depend on your latitude, being far hotter that it is now at the equator than at the poles where the light rays are more slanted and heating efficiency is lower. This long-term temperature gradient would alter the atmospheric wind circulation pattern so that the air would move from the equator to the poles rather than in wind systems parallel to the equator like they are now. The yearly change in the Sun's position in the sky would now be just its seasonal motion up and down the sky towards the south due to the orbit of the Earth and its axial tilt. As you moved along constant lines of Earth latitude, you would see the elevation of the Sun increase or decrease in the sky just as we now see the elevation of the Sun change from a single point on the Earth due to the Earth's daily rotation. \n\nFor example, if you were at a latitude of +24 degrees North in the Summer and at a longitude where the Sun was exactly overhead, it would slide gradually to the horizon as Fall approached, but since the Sun has moved 90 degrees in its orbit, it would now be due west. Then as we approach Winter, you would now be located on the dark side of the Earth, and would have to travel in longitude to a location 180 degrees around the Earth to see the Sun 1/2 way up the sky because in the Winter, the Sun is 48 degrees south of its summer location in the sky. It's a little confusing, but if you use a globe of the Earth and orient it the right way, you can see how all this works out. \n\nAs for other effects, presumably the magnetic field of the Earth is generated by a dynamo effect that involves its rotation. If the Earth stopped rotating, it's magnetic field would no longer be regenerated and it would decay away to some low, residual value due to the very small component which is 'fossilized' in its iron-rich rocks. There would be no more 'northern lights' and the Van Allen radiation belts would probably vanish, as would our protection from cosmic rays and other high-energy particles. This is a significant biohazard.
274302
Do you mean if all the proccesses and reactions all stopped?\nthat would be wild.  I guess time would be sort of frozen...\nnot that time matters that much (simply a perception)\nit seems though, that even were everything frozen in time, all the stored energy would remain stored right where it's at.
756076
One would think that while standing on a spinning Earth, you would feel lots of different angles of acceleration.  But this is not the case.  The fact that the Earth spins results in another force called the centrifugal force, which points in the direction away from the earth's axis of rotation.  It is greatest the farther you are away from the rotation axis (i.e. at the equator), and non-existent at the north and south poles.  \nHowever, even at the equator, this force is very tiny (only 0.3% of the \ngravitational force) - so you don't notice it at all.  The reason it is so small is simply that the Earth doesn't rotate fast enough.
247837
if it stops rotating, then immediately the atmosphere will collapse, we will either feel very heavy or get stuck to the ground. this is cause the earth's gravitational force is not compensated by the centrifugal force.then there is the problem of having the same time ( day or night).the persons who r exposed to the sun will die of heat while the persons on the opposite side will die of cold.\n     if it stops revolving, then we won't have our regular seasons, if u last that long).the earth will collapse into the sun, cause the earth's attraction towards the sun due to the sun's gravitational pull is not compensated by the centrifugal force developed due to the earth's revolution. many of us cant see tv or other satellite programs, etc and etc.
474987
Ok lets look at the instant effects. The Earth is spinning at 1047 mph. If we were to suddenly switch directions our acceleration would be Huge! So how much is suddenly... 1 second? That means that it would be a whoping 2094miles/second^2 (if it was the same thats the same as slamming the breaks so it must be double if your going in full reverse). So you think we would go flying into space right? Partly We would be crushed instantly. Why? The Human body can only survive 12G's thats 12x the acceleration of gravity before we are crushed. The acceleration that would be experienced would be a little over 343874G's. We would be paper thin before we even cared about where we ended up.\nTo all those people who may see a mistake, if any, in my math, sorry.
393960
Well, assuming you mean that the Sun just went out, but the Earth keeps orbiting:  probably for a little while.\n\nThe temperature would fall pretty quickly, though the oceans would give us a little reprieve; temperatures would remain livable near the oceans longest, and would be coldest inland.  Meanwhile, every photosynthesizing plant would eventually die from lack of sunlight, and soon every land animal would freeze or starve to death.  Even with modern technology, I doubt the last humans could make it for a couple of months.  Eventually, the atmosphere would rain, then freeze onto the surface, while the oceans would eventually freeze solid, or nearly so.  It would not be pretty.\n\nI've included two relevant links below:
131841
The seasons would be far milder. There probably still would be some seasonal variations because the earth is not always the same distance from the sun.\n\nAlso, it should be noted that even if the axis of rotation was oriented to be normal to the ecliptic, there is still a 435 day period Chandler Wobble to the earth's axis, caused by redistribution of mass on the earth's surface (and presumably within the earth as well) and the conservation of angular momentum.
310151
The Coriolis effect. If the Earth were not rotating, the effect would be a mysterious "fifth force" with no physical explanation. See the source for details. \nAccelerating frames are absolutely determined. The above references to relativity theory are completely incorrect; Newtonian theory equates frames with constant velocity, Einstein equates an accelerating frame with a local curvature (gravitation). This is all the two theories have to do with the badly referenced quotations above.\nThe amount of pseudoscience and bad science on these forums is strange, given the amount of knowledge freely available over the internet.
206676
The world would come together in panic ... "Where the &*^^ did the US go?"  Conspiracy theorys would abound.  Tensions would be high - no one would trust anyone else.  Did an experiment go wrong?  Did one country develope an incredible weapon?  Are the aliens finally attacking?  Did God decide simply to wipe them off the face of the earth?  Different groups would claim responsibility -- most of them groups no one has ever heard of.  And all over this great world, there would be office pools involving which country would disappear next.  (My money would be on Akrotiri - but really, if they disappeared, who'd notice?)
1150339
It'd depend more on what forced the moon out of it's typical orbit.  If something slowed the moon then the moon would gradually fall to earth be a relatively smooth landing  probably destroying a lot of disruption where it lands and over most of the planet not to mention throwing off the equal libream of our axis causing the to rotate and wobble in random patterns until balanced again.  If it was forced very quickly it could shatter the planet, the planet would most likely pull back together but you could kiss all life goodbye, except very resilient bacteria. Refer to Mimas a moon that orbits around Saturn, also referred to as the death star moon.  Hope I helped
313191
If this happened I think the world would end because the vibrations would cause all volcano's to erupt, plates to shift causing massive earthquakes.  Then, all the volcanic dust would block out the sun causing the earth to freeze and sending us into another ice age. In desperation idiots in third world countries would launch nuclear weapons trying to heat things up but, this would kill all forms of life except of course cockroaches!
712077
Once it stopped spinning, it would most likley lose its balance, walk sideways, and eventually fall over
882232
Know what? The answer is "yes", we could and would change the rotation of Earth. If every wheeled vehicle simultaneously accelerated eastward, Earth's rotation would slow a bit, and if they accelerated westward, it would speed up.  You can calculate the amount, it's actually a pretty simple physics application, starting with say 1 billion 3000-pound vehicles, say all of them spread out along the equator, all accelerate at 1 G, and given the mass of Earth, which is easily look-up-able.  Of course, we're probably talking a change of only picoseconds or maybe only femtoseconds per day, but it is a true and calculatable, even theoretically testable change.  Also note that friction, both during the mass-acceleration and especially once everybody hits the brakes, will impart the opposite force, resulting in a zero net gain.  In other words, a temporary, but no permanent change in rotational speed is possible under this scheme, unless somehow the vehicles, while accelerating, attain a speed sufficient to launch them into space at escape velocity.  Then their effect on Earth's rotation can remain behind as permanent.\n\nInteresting thought, huh?\n\n[Below added after reading the 2 posts below]\n\nOkay, I took a crack at the math, thank you wikipedia for the definitions and equations:\n\n1 billion cars of average of 1000 kilograms each, lined up along the equator accelerate simultaneously from a dead stop at a rate of 1G (32ft/sec^2).  Their combined net torque looks to be a force of 10^12 kg, approximately equal to 10^13 Newtons. If I understand wiki correctly, the change in the speed of the rotation of Earth (in radians per second) will be the previously-calculated torque divided by the moment of inertia of Earth, which should be:\n\n(2/5)(6*10^24)(13*10^6)\n\n so the change in speed will be:\n\n10^13/[(2/5)(6*10^24)(13*10^6)] radians per second =\n0.3*10^ -18 radians per second that the cars accelerate at 1G.  If they can do that for just 10 seconds, the change in Earth's rotation would total  3*10^ -18 radians per second, or .26*10^ -12 radians per day.  Earth's rotation is about 24*10^12 times faster, so I think altogether that works out to a net change of 3.6*10^ -9, or 3.6 picoseconds change per day in Earth's rotation?  Tho I pretty sure I've made at least a couple of mistakes along the way, I gotta love how that agrees with my original guesstimate above.\n\nJeeez, it's 2 in the morn - I really DO need to get a life...
1113520
Earth is rotating at a speed of about 1100 miles per hour. If our planet suddenly stopped rotating, the atmosphere would still be in motion at that speed. The atmosphere would be moving so fast it would literally sweep the land masses clear of anything not anchored to bedrock, this would mean rocks, soil, trees, buildings, people and animals. All would be swept up into the atmosphere.
673492
No. If the Earth suddenly came to a stop and started orbiting the sun in the opposite direction it would probably kill us all. Inertia is not your friend.
1157171
As Debster92 pointed out, there is no way to stop the Earth from spinning once it starts.\n\nAlso, and perhaps more importantly, there is absolutely no way to get it started again if it did stop.\n\nThe angular momentum imparted on the solar system as it coalesced out the primordial gas cloud is what causes all the planets to spin and rotate as they do today.  If one were to somehow stop a body from rotating, it would take tremendous energy to get it started again.
707840
There are a lot of variables to consider.  First, lets assume the Earth's rotational axis is a line more or less on the same plane as the Earth's orbit around the Sun instead of the existing axis alignment which is more or less perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit.  Then, lets assume the Earth has the same axial rotation rate it does now, that is, one complete revolution around the rotational axis every 24 hours or so.  Next, lets assume the new rotational axis is fixed.  An easy was to visualize this scenario would be to see the Earth orbiting around the Sun's poles instead of it's equator.  Finally, lets assume you are standing at teh South Pole.  Let's start with the Earth at 12:00, directly above the Sun's North Pole.  The Earth's southern hemisphere would be bathed in sunlight with the South Pole being closest to the Sun.  The Earth's rotational axis would be pointing straight at the Sun from the South Pole.  The Earth's Northern Hemisphere would be in total darkness.  The Earth would still be rotating once about every 24 hours, but at the Earth's South Pole, the Sun would be directly overhead, like at high noon.  It would stay that way for a month, until the Earth moved to 1:00, then the Sun would appear to move about 1/3 of the way down in the sky from high noon to the horizon. and would completely circle the sky every 24 hours, staying at that position all the way around.  It would stay that way for about another month until the Earth moved to 2:00 around the Sun. Then the Sun would appear to be only 1/3 the way above the horizon, and would circle the sky at that level for about another month.   At 3:00 in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, the Earth's rotational axis would be perpendicular to the Sun and parallel with the Earth's orbital path.  Again from the Earth's South Pole, you would have a virtual perpetual dawn with the Sun apparent on the horizon but never quite coming into view.  It would appear that the Sun was circling just below the horizon every 24 hours.  The view from the Earth's North Pole would be the same, except the Sun would appear to be circling the opposite direction just below the horizon.  It would stay this way for about a month, then would reverse the process with the North Pole becoming brighter as the Sun seems to be slowly spiraling up in the sky until the Earth reaches the 6:00 point in it's orbit around the Sun.  At this time, the North pole would be pointing directly at the Sun and it would appear to be high noon at the North Pole for about another month.  The same would happen as the Earth orbits around the Sun from 6:00 to 12:00 only in reverse, with the North Pole getting slowly darker as the Sun appears to slowly spiral down in the sky until it sinks below the northern horizon and starts to slowly spiral back up the sky in the southern hemisphere.  Of course, summer at either of the Earth's poles would be a real scorcher, especially as the Sun climbed high into the sky for months at a time.  The opposite effect would occur on the other side of the Earth, as things started getting colder, until the Sun just disappeared for about 6 months at a time.  \n\nFor folks on the Earth's equator, the Sun would appear to be standing still just below the southern horizon at Earth's 12:00 position in orbit around the Sun.  As the Earth moved in orbit around the Sun, the Sun's rising and setting arc would rise every day until the Earth reached 3:00 in it's orbit around the Sun, then the Sun would be rising and setting in an arc directly overhead and appear much as it does today in mid summer, with 24 hour days and a sunrise and sunset every day.  \n\nProbably the best bet for human survival in such conditions, people would need to be nomads and travel between the equator and the Earth's 30th parallels north and south, following the Sun as it moves over the sky.  Probably wouldn't be much water