The Flip,Is the Earth going to change the direction of its rotation,...?

Question

and go the opposite way.Does it stop or slow down?Are we all going to be sucked out into space then?

Answer 1

As I understand it, any body in the weightless frictionless environment of space will tend to rotate spontaneously as long as it possesses some energy. A purist could no doubt pick that statement apart. Conceivably a body lacking energy altogether might not rotate. This equals a temperature of absolute zero, or the complete absence of molecular motion. Absolute zero is thought to be a theoretical value only, not actually permitted in the physical universe. The direction of rotation is based on the direction of rotation of the original accretion disk that formed into the solar system. Most bodies in the solar system rotate in the same direction. Where you see one that doesn't (there aren't many) it's thought to be the result of an external force, such as a collision with another body OR that it wandered in from outside the solar system and was captured but gravity.

To stop or reverse the rotation would require an enormous input of energy. You'd be talking about planetary sized retro rockets, or a collision with another planet. It is thought that the moon was formed when a body about the size of Mars collided with the earth. This was enough to knock loose a pretty good sized hunk of matter, but not enough to change the direction of rotation (it's possible that striking from a different angle it might have. We just don't know). So we'd be talking about a REALLY BIG energy input.

Is it possible that the "flip" you're referring to is actually the flip of the magnetic poles, where the North and the South pole have swapped locations? That's not understood real well, but it's known to have occurred a number of times in the past.

Answer 2

The inertial direction won't change. There have been a number of calculations about how far "down" the poles can tilt as an eventual reaction, on the order of billions of years, to drag on the earth's rotation.

So far as I have read, the earth could eventually be almost at right angles to its current inclination, which would be a radically different course of affairs (for one thing, one hemisphere might be perpetually in light, depending on which way the poles point). The analogy everyone uses is like a top spinning down till it wobbles more and more and at last lies flat on the floor.

But of course there is no floor in space, and the friction of the floor against the spinning top is not the floor, but the combined gravitational effects of sun and moon. Whether the process could continue till the poles actually reverse their "up and down" orientation, I'm not sure, but if that did occur, then you would actually have, relative to the sun, a change in rotational direction. No catastrophic collision would be required, and the angular momentum would continue to be conserved.

It goes without saying that the earth's day/night period of rotation is getting longer as a result mostly of sun and moon tidal drag. The effect is measurable with an atomic clock, but not something human beings need worry about.

In any case the answer to this question lies in the dynamics of how the Earth's precessional movement and angle of tilt from the plane of the ecliptic will be change over very long time periods. One would be better advised to worry about asteroid and comet impacts, or the impending free-for-all with the Andromeda galaxy two billion years from now. Or indeed: the solar system has a north-south oscillation in its rotation around the galaxy of about 60 million years (the orbital period itself is around 250 million years, 200 million according to some). This oscillation is associated with increased gamma radiation at one point in its cycle, and the next point is only 14 million years. The latest theory has it that the gamma radiation is associated with extinction events.

Fourteen million years is about 3 times longer than our species has been sort-of recognizable in the evolutionary tree. We've been "smart folk" for maybe a tenth that time (if one can call it smart). In any event it is clear that when we make our Congressional priorities we should tackle the galactic oscillation problem first, the angular tilt of the planet second. Well comets and asteroids should probably come first.

The shift in the magnetic poles has occurred several times in planet's history and is likely related to dynamics of the molten core inside the earth. The North magnetic pole used to be in Africa. This is not strictly speaking related to the tilt/precession/rotation issues discussed above.

Hope that helps,

GN

Answer 3

The earth is not going to change the direction of it's rotation. Planets do not do that without some catastrophic event that would turn it into a small asteroid area before changing it's direction would even be possible; it is a relatively fragile thing in that respect when compared to the energy needed. What you may be confusing that with is the talk of the magnetosphere changing polarity as it seems to do on occasion. Everyone keeps throwing around a doomsday date. Research would probably show that what will happen is that the poles will wander to their new and opposite positions over a very long time (long for us but very short for the planet). Below is a chart of the times that the reversal has happened as documented from cooled lava core samples and sea basalt rock layer samples.

Answer 4

The Earths Rotation is slowing down but it will never completely stop. About 500 million to 1 billion years ago the earths rotation had about an 18 hour day. The Earths rotation will one day slow to what the moons rotation is but not stop.

The only time that the Earths rotation may stop is at the end of our sun. But that it is in about 4 1/2 to 5 billion years from now. Unfortunately the human race will need to be gone by then in order for us to survive.

Answer 5

Even if it did stop rotating then reversed its direction, which it will not, nobody would be sucked into space. Earth's gravity would not suddenly disappear and it is gravity that holds things to the surface of the planet. Gravity and rotation are not the same thing.

Answer 6

i do not think that we will be sucked into outer space, but interestingly enough there is a particular verse in the gospel that really interests me. I often wonder what Jesus meat when he said that 'the powers in space will be driven off their courses. Matthew 24:29:c
He mentioned that the son will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine and the stars will fall from heaven..... [the a and b parts of the verse 29]

Answer 7

The Orbit of the Earth according to J .Keppler was discovered to be an eliptical orbit.As this elipse moves relative to the Galaxy ,it continually changes direction.
The motion of the earth is Relative to the solar system dynamic barry center.and folows a larger relative orbit than the sun. The Earth moves fowards of the elipse to one tip called the perehelium. and reversese direction to travel to the opposite tip,caled the aphelium.The earth does slow down with time . It does not "get sucked into space" rather it expands into space just like the Galaxies.Hence as it expands, it actually slows down.
Five thounsand years ago the yearly period of orbit around the Sun were much shorter than today.
The Motion of the Earth cannot stop because it follows Newton's Law of Inertia, which is a phenomenon of Gravitation.

Answer 8

No, that will not happen. It is impossible. You may be thinking of a magnetic pole reversal. That has happened many times before and may happen again in the next few thousand years. When it does, it will make a magnetic compass point south, but no other important differences. And the switch will probably take many years, or even hundreds of years, not happen suddenly one day.

Answer 9

I saw something a while back that said there is evidence that the magnetic poles are going to reverse soon but nobody knew what effect that would have.

Answer 10

YES`its stopping Tomorrow` but dont` you be worrying` because` Tomorrow`never` Comes`?