Why Don’t We Feel the Earth Spinning? The Physics Explained
Short answer: we don't feel the Earth spinning because it turns at a perfectly steady rate, and our bodies only feel changes in motion, not motion itself. Everything around us (the ground, the air, the oceans and you) moves together at the same speed, so there is nothing to push against you. The only trace of the rotation you could notice is a tiny outward effect that makes you about 0.3% lighter at the equator. Right now, if you are reading this in New York, you are moving eastward at roughly 1,270 km/h (790 mph) , faster than a passenger jet. At the equator it is about 1,670 km/h (1,040 mph) . And you feel absolutely nothing. Here is why, and how physicists proved the Earth is turning anyway. How fast is the Earth spinning? The Earth makes one full turn every 23 hours and 56 minutes. A point on the equator travels the whole circumference, about 40,075 km, in that time, which gives the 1,670 km/h figure. Closer to the poles, you travel a smaller circle in the same time, so...