There are 6.4 billion people on Earth. If we all faced East , ran in place, could Earth  rotate clockwise?
825744
I think you meant to say that the people were running forward, not in place.  If they were running in place, nothing changes.\n\nOtherwise, assuming that an average person has a mass of 70kg.  That means that all the people have a combined mass of about 70*6.4*10^9 = 448*10^9 kg.  The earths mass is approximately 6*10^24 kg.  That means that all of the peoples mass is only 0.00000000000007466667 of the earths mass.  Using the conservation of angular momentum with:\nm = moment of inertia of people\nM= moment of inertia of earth\nw_1 = angular velocity of earth with people standing still\nw_p = angular velocity of FORWARD running people\nw_e = angular velocity of earth while people are running \n\nw_1*(m+M) = w_e*M + w_p*m\n\nso by the conservation of angular momentum you can see that you would effect the rotation of earth.  However m compared to M is essentially zero, as mentioned before (mass is in a way related to ineria) so setting m = 0, you get:\n\nw_1*(m+M) = w_e*M + w_p*m\nw_1M = w_e*M\nw_1 = w_e\n\nThe effect that this would have is practically none so no you will not change the direction but, yes you do slow the earth down a tiny, tiny, minuscule amount.
1094061
Earth is revolving in orbit, held in place by the Sun's gravitational pull
223771
This is not true, but widely circulated as fact.\n\nI quote verbatim from snopes:\n\n"Because  \n\n   the Earth is a globe spinning on an invisible axis, a point at its equator will make a circuit of 25,000 miles in the space of a day, but any point not on the equator will make a shorter round trip; the closer that point is to either of the poles, the shorter its trip will be. Put another way, a pencil     at the equator travels 1,030 miles an hour, whereas another at Sarasota, Florida, moves at 930 miles per hour, and one at the North pole doesn't move at all. \n\n This apparent difference in speed results in the Coriolis force, an effect that imparts a twist to largish events happening away from the equator. Best known is its effect on air masses: as they move away from the equator, their speed (which matches that of where they started from) appears to be faster than that of the surface over which they are traveling. This sets them turning in a clockwise twist in the northern hemisphere and a counterclockwise twist in the southern. (Before you complain we have that backwards, please click here.)  Likewise, a cannonball fired due north will veer a teeny bit to the east, and one fired to the south will deflect ever so slightly to the west, something a skilled gunner would make an adjustment for. \n\n The twisting effect of the Coriolis force is real and does influence certain large things like the movement of air masses, but the effect is so small that it plays no role in determining the direction in which water rotates as it exits from a draining sink or toilet. The Coriolis effect produces a measurable effect over huge distances and long periods of time, neither of which applies to your bathroom. Toilets and sinks drain in the directions they do because of the way water is directed into them or pulled from them. If water enters in a swirling motion (as it does when a toilet is flushed, for example), the water will exit in that same swirling pattern; as well, most basins have irregular surfaces and are not perfectly level, factors which influence the direction in which water spirals down their drains. The configuration of taps and drains is responsible for the direction of spin given to water draining from sinks and bathtubs to a degree that overwhelms the slight influence of the Coriolis force. \n\n The belief that the Coriolis force influences the direction in which water drains from plumbing fixtures is widespread and has been repeated as fact in a number of venues, including popular television shows (such as world traveler Michael Palin's Pole to Pole) and even in textbooks.  We can only speculate on why people are so enamored of this snippet of misinformation, guessing that it has something to do with the desire to find some of the mysteries of science in the realm of the everyday. "
739091
because the earth rotates on an axis
182304
great question - I wish I knew more but tides would be different. Also - the day would be shorter. The equatorial regions would be hotter, and the regions further away would be colder. The earth's rotation would be more stable with less wobble.
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.
431091
It is because of the Earth's rotation.
864302
I'll assume it is your typical physics problem, which states some highly simplified conditions to demonstrate some physics principal and not a real engineering or natural science problem. We will assume the Earth increases its radius by 30 meters without any change in total mass, and that the Earth is a sphere of uniform density. In that case, the rotation rate would be proportional to the change in the moment of inertia of the Earth, I. For a uniform sphere I=2/5MR^2. You need to calculate the existing I and the new I after the radius change. Since M does not change, and we want only the ratio of the two Is, we can ignore the 2/5M and just compare radius. The radius of the Earth is about 6,370km or 6,370,000 meters. Adding  30 meters makes it 6,370,030 meters and the ratio of 6,730,030^2/6,730,000^2 is about 1.00001. That is about a 0.001% change, and about 0.001% of 24 hours is about 0.8 seconds. \n\nAs an angular momentum problem it is neat, but as a real life Earth problem it is totally bogus. There are all sorts of complications, like the sea only covers 70% of the Earth, the density of water is less than the average density of the Earth, the ice that melted started out far above sea level in many cases, and so on.
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.
1085967
I don't think anyone has done the math to figure out how quickly it would happen but with out the moon the Earth's rotation on it's axis would not be stable where it is now.  If that got out of wack we would have some serious weather problems.  It's the tilt of the Earth not the distance from the sun that makes the difference between summer and winter.  So if that wobble that has the the northern hemisphere facing the sun in the summer and leaning away at 23 some degrees in the winter was screwed up we'd probably all die.  There's a good move called, odly enough< If we Had no Moon.  It's from the discovery channel, and you can buy it or just check their TV schedule, it comes on once or twice a year.
85444
Earth rotates. Sun on one side.
193168
Geosynchronous orbits are at an altitude of 40 thousand km.\n\n An observer in such an orbit will observe as follows. \n\nIf he makes one revolution per day (earth time) in his orbit around the earth in the direction of earth’s rotation, the earth will exhibit always its one side.\n\nIf he makes one revolution per day in the opposite direction of earth’s rotation, the earth exhibits its entire surface to the observer by rotating itself twice per day. Similarly, we on the Earth will view the observer two times for a period of 0.25 day moving from East to West.\n\n If he makes one revolution per day in the same direction of earth’s rotation, the earth exhibits its entire surface to the observer by rotating itself twice per day but in a direction opposite to the previous one. Similarly, we on the Earth will view the observer two times for a period of 0.25 day moving from West to East.\n\n Instead of speed I am referring revolution per day because it is directly proportional to the revolution per day when the distance from the center of earth is fixed.\n\nIn the so called lower Earth orbits (up to 1400 km) there are 8000 satellites which are about 10 cm long   orbiting now around our earth with various speed and various directions. Some of them revolve the earth once in one hour.\n\nI am answering for unasked questions because just to reveal the fact that there are objects revolving around our earth with various speeds (more than the earth’s rotational speed) in various directions.
176155
They are in space.. so it depends from what angle or where are you looking as a whole picture. Since we are on earth, we take earth's orbit as the reference and draw the other planet's rotation. But from outside in space (outside earth), if you are positioned perpendicular to earth's rotation, then earth is rotating in vertical direction.. thats what i could imagine..
135033
Probably won't work.  If you assume 10 billion people with an average weight of 150 lbs, the mass of the earth is about 10,000,000,000,000 (10^13) times greater.  If everyone jumped up and down, even on the same side of the Earth, it wouldn't affect the earth's momentum or motion in it's orbit.  The acceleration applied by the mass of people is just too small.  Think of it as being in the 13th decimal place(0.0000000000001), it's essentially unnoticeable.
762828
Jason, that's bullshit.\n\nOur planet doesn't have to rotate at any particular pace to stay in this orbit.\n\nObviously though, if it rotated 20x slower, the days would be 20x longer and the nights would be 20x longer as well.  This would mean that part of the Earth would heat up much more while the other side cooled much more.  As long as we still had an atmosphere like the one we have now, this would probably cause a lot of storms and wind also due to the extreme tempurature differences.
1083999
Sun rises in east and sets in west, so earth spins easterly
600116
Lets see now, Earth rotates aproximately once every 24 hours, thats one over 60 x 60 X 24, thats one over 86400 rotations per second. All the time we are doing that, consider this, we are also going around the sun at aproximately 66500 miles per hour.