You may know that the world or
planet Earth has an imaginary line pierced through it from the North Pole to
the South Pole in a slant. That is the Earth’s axis. The Earth spins on its
axis whilst it goes round the Sun. The significance of this spin is that when the
Earth is moving around the Sun the part that faces the Sun experiences daylight,
and the other half experiences darkness, giving us day and night. As long as
the Earth spins on its axis there is alternation in the process. Especially at the Equator there are twelve
hours of daylight and twelve hours darkness a day, daily. However at the poles
there are six months of sunshine and six months of darkness, annually. Those at
the poles experience the six months day time and six months night time. You may
see my post titled “6 CONTINUAL MONTHS OF SUNSHINE IN A PART OF PLANET EARTH”
posted on 22nd September, 2015.
Let us say a naughty Kwame or
Ama, on our blind side, went and pulled out the axis, and the world stopped
spinning, yet leaving the Earth in its slanted position, as though the
axis had not been removed, while still
going round the Sun. In Ghana, in the Akan culture, Kwame is the soul name for
a male born on Saturday, and Ama is the soul name of a female born on Saturday.
The Akans are the majority ethnic group in Ghana. Back to the scenario I am
creating. Obviously what should happen is that the side of the Earth facing the
Sun when the spinning stopped should get sunlight, while the side of the Earth
not facing the Sun should get darkness. But, it is more complex than that. The
following is going to delve further into the scenario:
CENTRIFUGAL FORCE
The term is derived from two
Latin words, centrum and fugere. Centrum means centre, and fugere means to
flee. Centrifugal Force is a fictitious force that occurs in a rotational
situation. When there is no rotation there is no centrifugal force. So as the
Earth spins on its axis, force moves away from the axis which is the centre of
the rotation. As the Latin words indicate, the force flees from the centre. The
centrifugal force causes the Earth to bulge at the Equator, giving the planet
its shape. Because of this bulge the oceans are held out by 8 km high at the
equator. Because of the absence of the centrifugal force to cause a bulge at
the equator, the Earth would become round, not spherical or oval. The bulge
would have no force to hold it.
GRAVITY
Gravity is the force that pulls
celestial bodies to each other. If the Earth stops spinning, the gravitational pull
between it and other celestial bodies would remain. If the centrifugal force
stops, because there was no rotation, the Earth’s gravity would be the main
force to control the extent of the oceans, but without the centrifugal force, the
oceans would have to gather where gravitation is strongest on an Earth that is
not rotating.
MAGNETIC FIELD
The rotation of the Earth has a
role in the generation of the Earth’s magnetic field. If the rotation stops,
the Earth’s magnetic field should no longer be generated.
SEASONS
The rotation of the Earth on its
axis determines the seasons. Without the rotation there would be no seasons-
summer, spring, fall etc. If rotation stops the side of the Earth facing the
Sun would be very hot, while the other side in darkness would be cold. You can
imagine the effect it would have on life forms. Places on Earth which normally
experiences 12 hours daylight and 12 hours darkness, would be receiving six
months of daylight and six months of darkness.
SURFACE REACTION
What happens to things on the
surface of the Earth when rotation comes to a halt? It depends on where that
thing is. Things at the equator would experience more severe reaction than the
others because rotational speed is fastest at the middle belt of the Earth. As
it gets to the poles the speed reduces, so that at the poles it would be like
nothing is happening. The reaction to rotational halt would be that things on
the surface of the Earth would be flung sideways. Humans would be flung
sideways. Oceans would slosh sideways. The halt of the rotation could be likened
to one riding a bike or motorcycle, with luggage. Depending on the rate of
speed, if the bike suddenly hits a block in its way, the rider and luggage
would be thrown off the bike or motorcycle.
This is but a projection, but what
if it happened?
Reference:
http://www.universetoday.com/66570/what-would-happen-if-the-earth-stopped-spinning/
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