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January 15, 2020

What Would Happen If the Earth Rotated Faster?

Earth spin faster

What would happen if the Earth rotated faster? Sitting in your house on the sofa, have you ever thought that you are not really in a static position? Yes, that's right. The Earth always moves relative motion compared to the universe around it. It revolves around the sun just as it revolves around its axis.

Many natural phenomena occur around us, such as changing weather and wind, tides, and many other natural phenomena that occur due to these two relative movements of our planet (especially its rotation around itself). This is what prompted us to say, Have you ever wondered what would happen if the earth began to spin faster? Let's take a look at the answer!

What is the reason for the rotation of the Earth?


To answer this question, we must go back in time to the time when our solar system began to form. Initially, our solar system was made up of huge clouds of dust and gas.

As soon as the cloud began to collapse on itself, it turned into a giant disk with a bulge in the middle, what formed the sun at the end, and the planets and other celestial bodies (such as comets, asteroids, and moons) began to take parts of the original disk, then a need arose to maintain the overall angular momentum of the system. Thus, these celestial bodies inherited their rotation from the total motion of the solar system.

With no imbalanced forces in the system (nothing we currently know!), The inertia of the sun and planets maintained their combined rotation for billions of years. Moreover, it will continue to do so for billions of years until it collides with another crime.

The importance of Earth’s rotation

The 24-hour Earth’s rotation rate makes the Earth a suitable place for life, as it maintains the surrounding Earth’s temperature. The surface is flooded with sunlight during the day only for an appropriate period and then cools in the dark during the night.

The Earth's atmosphere is exposed to an internal pulling force toward Earth due to its rotation (along with the planet's gravitational force) and also maintains an appropriate distance from its surface.

The tidal phenomenon - the continuous rise and fall of sea level - occurs as a result of both the Earth's rotation around its axis and the effects of gravity from the Earth and the Moon.

What would happen if the Earth rotated faster?


  • Weightlessness:
What would happen if the Earth circulated faster, the wind speed increased throughout the day, rough floods, the reason for the rotation of the Earth, the Coriolis force, zero gravity

If you now weigh about 150 pounds at the Arctic Circle, your weight may drop to 149 pounds at the Equator. This is because of the additional centrifugal force generated, the equator rotates faster to travel a greater distance, compared to the poles. The faster you achieve, the more weight you lose.

If the velocity at the equator increases above 17,641 mph (28,320 km per hour), the centrifugal force will overpower the force of gravity, that is, we will be weightless!


  • Rough floods:
The extra velocity at the equator will cause the ocean water to accumulate there. At a rate, just one mile an hour faster than normal, the water at the equator will become deeper with a few inches in a few days. The centrifugal force will propel thousands of gallons of water toward the equator.

Many lowlands in the world, including New York City, Venice, Mumbai, and many other areas, will be inundated if the speed exceeds a few miles per hour, and millions of people are displaced from their homes.


  • Wind speed increases:
Earth's rotation is not considered the dominant force controlling the Earth's atmosphere. Heat transfer (convection) and winds occur due to the uneven heating of the planet's surface. On the other hand, the Coriolis effect plays its role in the directional deviation of these winds.

As the Earth's rotational speed increases, the pressure of the heat transfer cycles will increase, and the weather may carry more storms and hurricanes.

It is clear that the increased speed of the Earth's rotation has different effects on life ranging from the increase of earthquakes and tsunamis to the shortening of the day, and people may float in Central Africa while the polar ice may melt very quickly, flooding most parts of the world with water.

On the other hand, the Earth's rotation is slowing down due to the presence of the moon. Each year, the Moon acquires a little energy from the Earth and pushes away far too small. The Earth's rotational speed has been estimated to decrease by 1.4 milliseconds over the past 100 years. If we consider this a reference point, it would take about 50,000 years to add one second to the length of the day on Earth.

For the Earth's rotational speed to increase significantly, it must be struck with a sufficiently large object! This will have many consequences, such as the dissolution of the Earth's crust and large earthquakes that can easily kill us all.

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