{"id":66053,"date":"2024-11-17T09:22:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T09:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3d03cb5e-e23e-43c1-8cad-185c829ca96a"},"modified":"2024-11-17T10:39:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T10:39:35","slug":"were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re hurtling around at 1,000 miles per hour as our planet rotates. So why can’t we feel the Earth spinning?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Sunday, 17 November 2024 at 09:22 AM<\/p>

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Earth spins on its axis at a speed of, very roughly, a little over 1,600 km\/h (1,000 mph) at the equator.<\/p>

But it doesn’t feel like it, does it? Why can’t we feel Earth spinning, since we’re standing (or sitting) on the planet as it does ?<\/p>

We’re stable on the ground and can move at our own pace, because we’re travelling with Earth’s spin. Credit: Andy Andrews \/ Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
Think back to the last time you went on a long journey.<\/p>
If you caught the train, you were hurtling along for most of that journey at speeds in excess of 160 km\/h (100 mph), while if you were in a plane, you were whizzing along at speeds in excess of 925 km\/h (575 mph).<\/p>
Yet you could still quite comfortably sit and read a book, stare out of the window or get up and walk around.<\/p>
That\u2019s because your own velocity relative to that of your immediate surroundings (the plane\/train) was zero, and because the outer walls of the plane\/train shielded you from the wider environment around you.<\/p>
$\"On$
On train, you feel as though you’re still. A good demonstration of why we can’t feel Earth spinning. Credit: mapodile \/ Getty Images <\/figcaption> <\/figure>
If you\u2019d been sitting on the roof of the train, you\u2019d still be moving at upwards of 160 km\/h but the air you were moving into would be still.<\/p>
From where you were sitting, it would feel as if you were in a 160km\/h wind, and walking around would be a sight more difficult whatever all those westerns and action movies try to make us believe!<\/p>
In the case of Earth, the planet is spinning \u2013 to be more precise \u2013 at 1,670 km\/h (1,038 mph), but our velocity relative to that is generally zero or near-zero (in comparative terms).<\/p>
And Earth\u2019s atmosphere carries out much the same function as the walls of our hypothetical locomotive or aeroplane.<\/p>
So, like passengers on a plane or train, we can’t feel Earth spinning, even though Earth spins at about 1,600 km per hour<\/a>. Instead feel like we\u2019re sitting still, even though we\u2019re not.<\/p>
And here’s another thought: what would happen if Earth stopped spinning<\/a>?<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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By Published: Sunday, 17 November 2024 at 09:22 AM Earth spins on its axis at a speed of, very roughly, a little over 1,600 km\/h (1,000 mph) at the equator. But it doesn’t feel like it, does it? Why can’t we feel Earth spinning, since we’re standing (or sitting) on the planet as it does […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":66054,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/11\/were-hurtling-around-at-1000-miles-per-hour-as-our-planet-rotates-so-why-cant-we-feel-the-earth-spinning.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Sunday, 17 November 2024 at 09:22 AM Earth spins on its axis at a speed of, very roughly, a little over 1,600 km\/h (1,000 mph) at the equator. But it doesn’t feel like it, does it? Why can’t we feel Earth spinning, since we’re standing (or sitting) on the planet as it does…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/66053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}