The Earth stops spinning
Discussion
Terminator X said:
skeeterm5 said:
evenflow said:
What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning:
A) Really slowly, over a period of years
B) Suddenly, within a second (I'm imagining tsunamis, earthquakes and general mayhem)
A) it already is. Predicted to stop in c4 billion years assuming it is still around.A) Really slowly, over a period of years
B) Suddenly, within a second (I'm imagining tsunamis, earthquakes and general mayhem)
B) Climate change would be on a whole new level
TX.
skeeterm5 said:
Terminator X said:
Sun will be too hot in 1bn years though, sorry man made climate change kicks in.
TX.
Nope, the sun is a main sequence star and should be stable for another 4 or 5 billion years, and then it will start to cool. ??TX.
There are other things that will happen along the way, of course. In about 5 billion years, the Sun is due to turn into a red giant. The core of the star will shrink, but its outer layers will expand out to the orbit of Mars, engulfing our planet in the process. If it's even still there.
One thing is certain: By that time, we won't be around. In fact, humanity only has about 1 billion years left unless we find a way off this rock. That's because the Sun is increasing in brightness by about 10 percent every billion years.
That doesn't sound like much, but that increase in brightness will end life on Earth. Our oceans will evaporate, and the surface will become too hot for water to form. We'll be about as kaput as you can get."
TX.
thegreenhell said:
What about the inertial effects of the sudden deceleration? He says that anyone underground or in a bunker sufficiently sheltered from the surface winds and debris storm would probably survive, but neglects the fact that anyone inside that bunker or tunnel would be launched at high speed against the walls.
“What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?”I guess people and buildings count as terrestrial objects.
My thoughts that :
A) If the Earth stopped spinning slowly over years, there would be gradual changes in climate and ocean patterns, affecting coastlines, but no immediate disasters.
B) If the Earth stopped spinning suddenly, within a second, it'd cause massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and widespread destruction, reshaping the planet's surface dramatically, leading to catastrophic events.
A) If the Earth stopped spinning slowly over years, there would be gradual changes in climate and ocean patterns, affecting coastlines, but no immediate disasters.
B) If the Earth stopped spinning suddenly, within a second, it'd cause massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and widespread destruction, reshaping the planet's surface dramatically, leading to catastrophic events.
It’s not that fragile but our existence on it is, our distance to the sun isn’t fixed and our rotational speed varies up and down like a wave and has in fact been getting slower over time hence a day now being 24 hours vs 22 hours millions of years ago.
Our tilt axis varies back and forth between 22 and 24.5 degrees over a relatively short period of time compared to earths age.
These factors do have a large effect on climate (arguably much more than we can ever have). We’re arrogant to suppose meeting co2 targets will save us from these natural changes.
Our tilt axis varies back and forth between 22 and 24.5 degrees over a relatively short period of time compared to earths age.
These factors do have a large effect on climate (arguably much more than we can ever have). We’re arrogant to suppose meeting co2 targets will save us from these natural changes.
Edited by LivLL on Tuesday 19th September 08:32
LivLL said:
These factors do have a large effect on climate (arguably much more than we can ever have). We’re arrogant to suppose meeting co2 targets will save us from these natural changes.
It's not intended to, it's intended to save us from unnatural changes happening over a much shorted timescale.Gassing Station | Science! | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff