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 ?
Think back to the last time you went on a long journey.
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).
Yet you could still quite comfortably sit and read a book, stare out of the window or get up and walk around.
That’s 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.
If you’d been sitting on the roof of the train, you’d still be moving at upwards of 160 km/h but the air you were moving into would be still.
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!
In the case of Earth, the planet is spinning – to be more precise – at 1,670 km/h (1,038 mph), but our velocity relative to that is generally zero or near-zero (in comparative terms).
And Earth’s atmosphere carries out much the same function as the walls of our hypothetical locomotive or aeroplane.
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. Instead feel like we’re sitting still, even though we’re not.
And here's another thought: what would happen if Earth stopped spinning?
