Right now we are moving at breakneck speed due to the movements of the Earth. Not only do we have the translational movement around the Sun, but the planet also rotates on its own axis. The combination of both movements makes us travel at really high speeds, so why don’t we feel that the Earth is rotating?
on its own axis once every 24 hours and although the most immediate thought is that this speed is the same in all regions of the planet, the truth is that this is not the case. Due to its geoid shape, the speed of rotation is not the same as at the poles; at the equator it is much higher, approximately 1,600 kilometers per hour. That is too fast considering that the speeds we are used to on land are less than 300 kilometers per hour.
Why don’t we feel the rotation movement?
With all the above data it is clear to us that right now we are moving at breakneck speed, but it happens that we do not realize it, why? It is very simple; It is because everything, absolutely everything, including us, moves at the same constant speed. Both the huge oceans, the land and everything on the planet move with it.
We would only realize that we are spinning at a high speed if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning. Only then would we realize that all this time we were spinning incessantly, because we would feel something similar to what it feels like when a speeding car suddenly brakes.
It may sound very simple but to give us a clearer idea we have to think about it like traveling on a plane or in a car. As long as the trip goes smoothly, when the plane reaches a constant speed without turbulence, then we stop feeling the movement, since everything inside the plane is moving at the same speed as us. The coffee we serve, the people and even the air itself travel at the same speed. When these constant speeds are reached, the only thing that tells us that we are still moving is the outside, but if it weren’t for that, we could almost swear that we are not moving.
An opposite case would happen if the plane or car does not reach a constant speed, if they accelerate and decelerate, then we would be aware that we are in motion. Well, it turns out that the Earth does not have an acceleration and deceleration, it rotates at a constant speed and therefore, we can exist on it as if nothing were happening, although we know that in reality a lot is happening right now.