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What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning for one minute?

Last Updated: 20.06.2025 03:45

What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning for one minute?

Bottom line: Depending on the underlying intent of the question, the answer could be anything from the destruction of the planet and every living thing, to a minor inconvenience that requires resetting our clocks.

The answer depends entirely on how you interpret the question, which is why you see so many completely different responses.

Does the whole planet (from core to atmosphere) stop spinning?

You found a love potion, and your friend tried to use it on an attractive popular girl, but he accidentally dropped it on the neighbors dog. Now the dog won't stop following him. How would you help him?

If the whole Earth stops by magic, with the angular momentum just vanishing and then reappearing, then the result is very minor. Every clock on Earth would need to be recalibrated against our satellites (unless they magically got paused as well). Siderial, solar, and atomic time would all be out of sync. Other than that, everybody would want to know: What the heck just happened? How did Earth magically stop and start again? But everybody is just fine.

If Earth’s rotation is stopped by a collision, everyone dies. The planet is destroyed.

If Earth’s rotation is stopped and all the angular momentum is released as heat, everyone dies.

Do opposites attract? How often do you see weird couples like a guy/girl dating someone who is boring with no sense of humor ?

If only the atmosphere keeps going, Earth’s surface is blasted with winds moving at hundreds of miles per hour. Most people die.

If it stops by magic, does all the energy from Earth’s angular momentum also disappear by magic, or is it released as heat?

“What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning for one minute?”

What would happen if the US government told the British government in no uncertain terms all RAF bases with USAF personnel now must follow the Constitution and us law, and if the UK tried to defy this, the US military would directly attack the UK?

Does the solid Earth + the oceans stop spinning?

Does the rocky planet alone stop spinning?

If the oceans keep going, Earth’s surface is scoured clean by tsunamis moving at hundreds of miles per hour. Nearly everyone dies.

What does it mean when we dream about demons, ghosts, monsters, etc.?

Does it stop due to a massive collision, or does it stop by magic?