well i know if the earth stoped rotating we would all die :*( but what if it rotated the other way would things change?
2006-07-26 01:57:52 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
If it suddenly rotated the other way, then it would be catastrophic. Newton's law says that all objects will remain the same velocity and direction unless a force is applied on it. Well, if something causes the Earth to suddenly rotate the other way, then we and almost everything on this planet will fly eastward at extremely high velocities because no force was acted upon us. Also, if something could trigger this, it would probably break the entire Earth apart to.
However, what if Earth was always rotating the other way? In that case, assuming it rotated the other way at the same speed (1667km/h at the equator), then it would be very different. First of all, assuming the cardinal directions are still the same, the Sun would rise in the west, and set in the east. A day on Earth would be 23 hours and 52 minutes instead of 24 hours. This is because Earth takes 23 hours and 56 minutes to rotate once. In today's world, the Earth is rotating eastward, when it rotates once, the Earth itself also moved a bit on its orbit, that means that you need to rotate slightly more than once to get back to the same time on the next day (4 minutes to be exact). When Earth rotates the other way, the Earth's rotation now allows the Sun to get back to the highest point without Earth making a whole rotation.
The above may sound complicated, but try this at home. Have a light source, and face that light source, you're the Earth. Now, it's best so that behind the light source is a wall that's perpendicular (90 degrees) to a line for you and the light source. Now start turning counterclockwise, and at the same time, move slowly around the light source counterclockwise, once you have turned once so that you're facing that wall again, you'll notice that the light is still a bit to the left so you need to turn more. Now try it again rotating clockwise and revolving counterclockwise.
2006-07-26 02:16:29 · answer #1 · answered by Science_Guy 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Ur question has two cases ( 1- what do you think would happen if the earth rotated the other way suddenly.
2 - what do you think would happen if the earth rotated the other way from beginning).
I will assume the 2nd case.
The seasons would have reversed.
The sun would have risen from west
And the time zones would have been oppsite.
But nothing too special like getting Younger, or other bullshit.
2006-07-26 11:00:32 · answer #2 · answered by Tanul M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it rotated the other way but at the same rate, almost nothing would change. Wind patterns might change and hurricanes would cycle the other way. The sun would rise in the west and set in the east. That's about it.
2006-07-26 12:11:26 · answer #3 · answered by mathematician 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am sure when it changed directions there would be lots of earth quakes and tidal waves and what not.
if you could somehow change directions with out all that and go to steady state after the change. the trade winds would be reversed due to the Coriolis effect. This would change all kinds of weather patterns. also the ocean currents would be different for the same reason.
Oh and you would have to look the other way to see sun rises and sun sets.
2006-07-26 10:59:56 · answer #4 · answered by thatoneguy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nothing would change seriously I think, except for some small matters, like the direction of water rotation e t.c.
2006-07-26 09:00:43 · answer #5 · answered by Synaps 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Amy, gravity is caused by factors other than which way the world spins, so it wouldn't be affected. It has to do with the mass of the earth, and it's magnetic force.
2006-07-26 09:10:07 · answer #6 · answered by Z Z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Our seasons would be in the opposite order and the sun would rise in the west and set in the east. Even the tides would not be bothered by this because they are affected by the lunar pull, not the sun.
2006-07-26 09:01:15 · answer #7 · answered by MyBestFriendIsMuslim.....So? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What has been left out is the change of earth's polarity. North and south poles would trade places.
2006-07-26 14:30:32 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would affect regional climates greatly. Prevailing winds would become easterly and ocean currents might also change. Locally places might become hotter or colder, wetter or drier.
2006-07-26 09:23:49 · answer #9 · answered by Robert A 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The planet Uranus actually does spin opposite on its axis to all of the other planets.
2006-07-26 11:36:55 · answer #10 · answered by captain2man 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋