The planet beneath your feet is hurtling through space at over 1,600 kmph. So why does everything feel perfectly still?
This new series from India Today Science explores the why and how behind everyday phenomena we notice, question, and often overlook. Each edition breaks down the science behind familiar experiences in simple terms.
Today, we examine why the Earth’s constant spin goes completely unnoticed by the people living on it.
IS THE EARTH ACTUALLY MOVING?
Yes, the Earth is constantly moving, and faster than you might imagine.
The Earth completes one full rotation every 24 hours. At the equator, that works out to roughly 1,670 kilometres per hour. That is faster than most fighter jets fly.
Yet you are sitting there, perfectly still, feeling absolutely nothing. No wind rushing past. No dizziness. Not even the faintest tremor under your feet.
WHY DON’T WE FEEL EARTH MOVING?
The reason is deceptively simple.
The reason why, despite the planet moving at extremely fast speed, we don’t feel even a breeze is that everything around you is moving at exactly the same speed as you are.
Think about riding a smooth train or a plane on a calm day. When the ride is steady, you barely feel like you are moving at all. You can read a book, sip a drink, and almost forget you are travelling at hundreds of kilometres per hour.
The Earth works the same way.
You, the air, the buildings, the oceans, and everything else rotates together, at the same rate. When nothing around you is moving differently from you, there is simply nothing to feel.
Gravity also plays a role in our inability to register a change that big.
Gravity constantly pulls everything toward the centre of the Earth, keeping us firmly grounded.
This downward pull is strong enough to mask the very slight outward push caused by the planet’s spin. At the equator, that spin does reduce your weight by a tiny fraction, but far too small for any human body to notice.
WHAT DOES OUR BODY ACTUALLY SENSE?
Our bodies are built and are capable of detecting changes in speed or direction but not smooth, steady movement.
This is why a car feels comfortable on a straight highway but jolts you sideways when it turns sharply. The sharp turn is a change. The steady cruise is not.
The Earth’s rotation is extraordinarily smooth and consistent. It does not suddenly accelerate or jerk to one side. So our senses, which are wired to notice changes, feel nothing at all.
ARE THERE ANY CLUES THAT THE EARTH IS SPINNING?
Even though we don’t feel Earth moving, there are clues we can see and experience that assure that the planet is in constant rotation.
These clues are right in front of our eyes, if you know where to look.
Large storms like cyclones spin in opposite directions in the northern and southern hemispheres. This is a direct result of Earth’s rotation.
Similarly, a freely swinging pendulum, left alone for several hours, will appear to slowly change direction. The change in direction is not because it moved, but because the Earth rotated beneath it.
The rotation is also something pilots and long-range missile systems have to account for during navigation.
The Earth has been spinning for 4.5 billion years, and we are yet to feel the ground move or the sky turn.
Why? Because the only known planet to inhabit life is simply too smooth, too consistent, and too all-encompassing for any of us living on it to ever feel a thing.
