Ever wondered why we don't feel Earth's rotation? I mean, we’re spinning, right? So why aren’t we all feeling giddy! It’s a good question and has a surprisingly simple answer.
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Earth spins on its axis once in every 24 hour day. The speed of Earth’s rotation at the equator is 1600 kilometres per hour. Stay with me!
This means that at this very moment, you're travelling at something like 465 metres per second, or a little less if you're situated near to one of the poles.
So the question is, why can’t we feel it? Well there is simple physics behind all this.
The precise answer lies in the nature of Earth's movement.
The constant spin of the Earth confused our ancestors. They noticed that the stars, the sun and the moon, all appeared to move above the Earth in an arc.
Because they couldn’t feel Earth move, they logically figured this to mean that Earth was stationary and the heavens moved above us.
Think of being on an aeroplane when it's smoothly travelling at a constant speed and constant altitude. You've unbuckled your seatbelt to go on a walk down the aisle, but you can't feel the movement of the plane.
The reason is simple, you, and everything around you are travelling at the same speed. The only way you know you’re moving is if you glance at the clouds outside.
Now, if Earth were to change suddenly change direction, we'd certainly feel that, and it wouldn't be pleasant, like a sudden slam on the brakes at a planetary scale. See, I told you it was easy to understand.
OK, so why does Earth spin so constantly, like it has for billions of years? Hmm, that’s another good question and again, has a simple answer. Because there's nothing stopping it!
Our Solar System formed from a hot collapsing dust cloud. Our Sun formed and spun out into a flattened disc to create all the planets. Those newly formed planets inherited that rotation.
The spin of our planet is happening at an almost constant rate, but Earth is slowing down by about two thousandths of a second every day thanks to the Moon’s gravity.
OK, 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.
