Life's Great Mysteries - What if Earth stopped turning?

In the 1978 movie, Superman: The Movie, Superman appears to fly around the earth so fast that the earth stops spinning, then it starts spinning in reverse, thus turning back time so he could save Lois Lane. Well… true Superman fans will say, “Hey! What really happened was that particular Superman—the Silver Age Superman from the comic books—could travel back in time under his own power, and the movie showed the earth reversing its rotation simply to show that time was backing up. But I digress. Back to the question: What would happen if the world really did stop turning?

First of all, this is unlikely to happen abruptly. Why? Because of the immense momentum involved in Earth’s rotation. Scientists estimate this planet has a mass of 5,974,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms (otherwise known as six ronnagrams). At the equator, the surface is spinning at 1,037 miles per hour (1,670 km per hour). The amount of force it would take to suddenly stop this spin is almost incomprehensible. And, to be honest, the entire planet would probably break apart in the process.

But, for the sake of curiosity, let’s say that somehow Earth suddenly stopped spinning without the planet self-destructing (maybe because of magic? I don’t know… let’s just run with it). If that happened, the result is… death and destruction. Here are a few of the many reasons.

First, the earth’s surface is spinning at 1,037 miles per hour (although somewhat slower as you get farther from the equator). If the spin somehow abruptly stopped, everything on the earth, including people, would continue flying east at hundreds of miles per hour, slamming into trees, or each other, or whatever. If you jump out of a car going 60 mph, you probably won’t survive. Now imagine jumping from a car going a thousand miles per hour. Only at the north or south pole (where there is almost no eastward motion) would you survive. But not for long…

We can assume the water of the oceans would be thrown eastward with just as much speed, resulting in massive tsunamis. We can also assume the atmosphere will continue eastward, producing winds faster than the shockwave of a nuclear explosion. Winds this fast would destroy everything, leaving the surface as smooth as a billiard ball.

Okay… for fun, let’s say that everything stops when the earth stops, including people, water, and air, and we are all still alive (more magic). But, with the earth no longer spinning, half of the planet would constantly face the sun and become really hot. The other half would be in constant darkness and would freeze. The only moderate area would be a narrow strip around the border between the light and dark side. Unfortunately, that won’t be safe either…

The iron core of the earth would stop spinning also, which means the planet would lose its protective magnetic field. Radiation then would kill whatever is left.

I just thought you might want something to think about during those nights when you can't sleep. You're welcome.

Image Credit:
Destroyed Earth - Midjourney 6.1