If the earth is spinning so fast, why don't we all just fall off?
406946
gravity, which is only effective when the object is really big compared to the speed. the gravity of a beach ball might hold ants if it moved reaaly slow, but it would basically not be moving at all. we can escape earth gravity if we move fast enough - thats how rocket ships get into space.
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.
747632
First of all, there's no such thing as "Centrifugal Force".  What people are seeing is Momentum...\n\nGravity is acting as a Centripital force pulling the earth into an orbit against momentum.\n\nRight now the Earth is moving about 66,000 MPH in it's orbit.  This would be constant if we were alone in the solar system.  But we're not.\n\nThe Gravity from other bodies in our solar system causes us to slow down and speed up, and as we do, the earth does fall closer to the Sun or even move further out...  \n\nIt is possible that an errant massive body be added to our system could cause the Earth's orbit to falter and fail, but for now were in a fairly steady state of accelerating and decelerating, and we're holding our own against the Sun's Siren call of Gravity and Death...
1085566
The earth's approx circumference at equator is 24,800 miles.  It takes about one day for it to spin around once.  So, at the equator one would be zipping right along at approx 1,000mph.  It gets slower the further north or south of the equator you go since the "circle" of latitudes gets smaller.  So, do we move fast? We do, but since we are part of the gravity well created by the earth, its spin is our frame of reference and relative to us we are not accelerating out of it.  Gravity and accelerated motion are covariant (thanks to Einstein) and an internal observer cannot tell one from the other.  Just like going along in a car.  If the car could travel extremely smoothly enough and you could not see any external input--like out the windows, unless it changed direction or speed i.e. its velocity by undergoing acceleration, you would never know you were moving. Think about it you can only really tell you're moving along by the road vibrations in the vehicle and by seeing things going by outside the windows.  You only feel "moved" if it turns or speeds up/brakes.
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.
642685
Ummm.... relativity doesn't have anything to do with it.\n\nBoth objects, regardless of their mass, are pulled toward Earth by the exact same gravitational force, and therefor are accelerated in exactly the same way (9.8 m/s^2) Thus they fall at the same rate.
1179173
It is more like they are falling around the Sun. Earth is always falling into the Sun, but it's sideways orbital speed keeps moving Earth to the side of it's direction of fall. So the direction it would have to fall to hit the sun keeps changing and Earth has to keep starting over to get up speed falling in the new direction. This just keeps going on forever, falling toward the Sun but always missing it to one side. Of course, this takes enormous speed on the part of the Earth, about 66,000 miles per hour sideways all the time. Closer planets must move sideways faster, because they are closer to the Sun and are pulled down to it more strongly than distant planets. So Mercury moves much faster than Earth and Pluto much slower. But it is the same principle.
1155257
We won't feel it because we are moving along with it. We will only notice any movement if the acceleration changes. It's like being in a car, when you speed up, you kind of stay in place for a moment and go back in your seat. If you stop suddenly, you go forward in your seat. If the Earth slows down, we will continue to move at the previous rate of speed and we will shoot through the atmosphere and land back on Earth many miles east of our original location.
271490
Yep, even though we are at the 'bottom' of the earth we too have gravity.\n\nLucky for us, hey!!!
481150
the earth spins at 1500 mph.  If you take a ball and spin it extreemly fast you will find that the center of the ball will grow and the poles will flatten.  It is like driving a car very fast.  The higher up ion speed you go the lower to the ground it will become.  I has to do with Volocity.
256767
I'm not sure I really understand your question.  Are you how fast a particular point on earth is moving?  If that is the case it's not an easy answer because it depends where you are on the planet.  If you are on one of the poles then there is very little rotational speed.  If you are on the equator then your velocity is much greater.  Think of it like a CD in a CD player.  Also you would need to factor in the speed of the earth as it travels around the sun sometimes spinning in the same direction the earth is traveling resulting in a greater total velocity and sometimes spinning in the opposite direction yielding a lower total velocity.  The final analogy would be to tie a CD player to a string and swing it in circles while the CD is playing.  The speed of a single point, other than the center, of the CD is constantly changing.  However, it's still not even that simple due to the earth's eliptical orbit and varied velocity.
992390
It keeps spinning because of its angular momentum. The same reason why a top keeps spinning, until friction slows it down. But since the Earth is floating in space, there is no friction and it keeps spinning indefinitely.\n\nIt has not been spinning "since the Big Bang" because the Earth has not existed for that long. The Big Bang was about 14 billion years ago. The Earth is 4.6 billion years old.\n\nAlso, the speed of rotation is not constant. The tidal effect of the moon and sun are very gradually slowing the Earth down, making the length of the day very very slightly longer all the time. But it will take billions of years for a significant change in day length.\n\nIf the Earth suddenly stopped spinning, everything on the surface, especially at the lower latitudes, would be destroyed. The Equator is traveling at about 1,000 miles per hour (1600 km/h) and if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning the chaos would be incredible. But you don't have to worry about that because there is nothing that could possibly do that.
1077909
They're already flying East.  That's why they can't stop.  Let's just say for the sake of argument that anything attached to the surface of the Earth stops instantly.  We do that and there are still interesting things to talk about.\n       Anything not attached in that case would go flying East.  But how fast it went would depend on how close it is to the equator or the poles.  If you were on the south pole or north pole, you would just stop slowly rotating.  If you were near one of the poles, you would fly east, but not so fast.  If you were in the continental U.S., you would go east somewhere around 600 - 700 mph depending on your latitude.  If you were at the equator, you would fly east at around 1000mph.
195652
the earth is a oblate spheroid....we do not fall to the edges because of the gravitational pull...
414593
Hi Keenan!  Im Matt, an astronomy wizz.  If you look at most astronomy questions where I am, my answers are usually always the best of the best thanks to my power source, Blue Moons to Black holes By Melton Knocke.\n\nAnyway your question:\n\nEarth is moving fast, despite what people think.  It spins at about 1000 miles per hour, and goes 67 miles per hour around the sun.  You'd think that you would feel the spinning right?  WRONG!!!!  Sorry, cant help it.  Its so fun.  ANyway, the reason: All of the motions are almost completely constant. \n\nDon't get it?  Ever ride a train?  If you haven't, you can surely picture it as a car if you wish.  Notice how you feel abolutly no motion pretty much unless you speed up, slow down, or hit a bump?  Thats the same reason the earth never can be felt.  Its always going at a constant speed, never slowing unless it actually is hit with something dangerous enough to wipe out the human race.  \n\nThere is also another way in which we could indirectly feel the Earth's spin. Above we said that the Earth spinning is an example of almost constant motion. The reason we said "almost" is that the Earth's spin carries us around in a circle, not in a straight line. It's a very big circle, and it takes a long time to go around, but qualitatively it is the same thing that happens on a spinning amusement park ride, where it feels like you're being flung outward as the ride spins around. The spinning Earth is flinging us away from its surface a tiny bit, so that we weigh a little less than we would otherwise, simply because we are not being held down to the surface as tightly. \n\nAnyway, my answer is yours truly.  Enjoy!  Have fun.
767389
If you were traveling at such a speed that an hour lasted 60 minutes, then you would be traveling at the same speed which the Earth rotates. That is the spped that we are all traveling at all times, even when we are sitting still.
322637
when we fall off the edge of the earth or we spin into the sun....take your choice