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Why We Can't Feel Earth’s Spin - Science/Technology - Nairaland

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Why We Can't Feel Earth’s Spin by bytemeister(m): 1:52am On Mar 29, 2016
Hi guys, I won't go about making this a long epistle, I'll make it as short as possible.
Earth spins on its axis once in every 24-hour day. At
Earth’s equator, the speed of Earth’s spin is about
1,000 miles per hour (1,600 kph). The day-night has
carried you around in a grand circle under the stars
every day of your life, and yet you don’t feel Earth
spinning. Why not? It’s because you and everything
else – including Earth’s oceans and atmosphere –
are spinning along with the Earth at the same
constant speed.
Think about riding in a car or flying in a plane. As
long as the ride is going smoothly, you can almost
convince yourself you’re not moving. A jumbo jet
flies at about 500 miles per hour (about 800 km per
hour), or about half as fast as the Earth spins at its
equator. But, while you’re riding on that jet, if you
close your eyes, you don’t feel like you’re moving at
all. And when the flight attendant comes by and
pours coffee into your cup, the coffee doesn’t fly to
the back of the plane. That’s because the coffee, the
cup and you are all moving at the same rate as the
plane.
Now think about what would happen if the car or
plane wasn’t moving at a constant rate, but instead
speeding up and slowing down. Then, when the
flight attendant poured your coffee … look out!

If you’re drinking coffee in a steadily moving
car or airplane, no problem. But if the car or
plane speeds up or slows down, your coffee
sloshes and maybe spills. Likewise, as long as
Earth spins steadily, we can’t feel it move.
Earth is moving at a fixed rate, and we’re
all moving along with it, and that’s why we don’t
feel Earth’s spin. If Earth’s spin were suddenly to
speed up or slow down, you would definitely feel it.

The constant spin of the Earth had our ancestors
pretty confused about the true nature of the
cosmos. They noticed that the stars, and the sun
and the moon, all appeared to move above the
Earth. Because they couldn’t feel Earth move, they
logically interpreted this observation to mean that
Earth was stationary and “the heavens” moved
above us.
With the notable exception of the early Greek
scientist Aristarchus, who first proposed a
heliocentric (sun-centered) model of the universe
hundreds of years B.C.E., the world’s great thinkers
upheld the geocentric (Earth-centered) idea of the

cosmos for many centuries.
It wasn’t until the 16th Century that the
heliocentric model of Copernicus began to be
discussed and understood. While not without
errors, Copernicus’ model eventually convinced the
world that Earth spun on its axis beneath the stars
… and also moved in orbit around the sun.

BOTTOM LINE: Why don’t we feel Earth rotating, or
spinning, on its axis? It’s because Earth spins
steadily – and moves at a constant rate in orbit
around the sun – carrying you as a passenger right
along with it.
http://earthsky.org/earth/why-cant-we-feel-earths-spin

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Re: Why We Can't Feel Earth’s Spin by YOUNGELDER1(m): 2:05am On Mar 29, 2016
Educating ..

1 Like

Re: Why We Can't Feel Earth’s Spin by OurSchoolNews: 2:13am On Mar 29, 2016
nice one
Re: Why We Can't Feel Earth’s Spin by Nobody: 4:12am On Mar 29, 2016
Nice one, a lay man explanation.

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