Earth is steadily spinning like a top, even if we can’t see, touch, hear or feel it. So, what would happen if Earth were to abruptly stop rotating?
If the spinning were to stop, the angular momentum of every object on Earthwould rip the surface apart, resulting in a really, really bad day.
“This is just a thought experiment,” said James Zimbelman, senior geologist emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. “There is no natural force that would stop the Earth from spinning. That is part of why the planet has been spinning since it formed, which is pretty impressive.”