What if earth stopped spinning

Could the Earth actually stop spinning? More importantly, what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning? Read on for everything you need to know about why the Earth spins, if the blue marble could actually stop spinning, and what would happen if it did. The Earth has spun on its axis since the planet came into being more than 4. Billions of years ago, the solar system was born out of a nebula, which is a giant cloud of gas and dust.

The nebula first formed a star, and gravity caused the star to move in a circular orbit. So the new southern ocean would be lower. Because it's a bigger 'bowl' with a greater capacity, its sea level would be about 1. Now it's not just the spin of the Earth that has given us today's eight-kilometre-high bulge of water at the equator.

The other factor is gravity. The poles are about 10 kilometres closer to the centre of the Earth than the equator, so the gravity is ever so slightly stronger at the poles. Our spinning Earth is in fact slowing down. Billions of years in the past, the faster-spinning Earth had a bigger bulge around the equator, and billions of years in the future, the slowed-down Earth will have a smaller bulge, and will be closer to a sphere.

In fact, this slowing of the spin is why we have to add an extra second into our clocks every days or so. I'll talk more about that, next time. What would happen if the Earth stopped rotating?

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Tuesday 17 January am. A high-resolution image of Earth from space. Image: NASA. Listen to this episode If the world stopped spinning would we fall off? Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has the answer. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. May 6, , am EDT. Feb 9, , am EST. Feb 4, , am EST. Jan 26, , am EST. Oct 29, , pm EDT. Oct 27, , pm EDT. Oct 13, , pm EDT.