Why does the earth spin?

It truly amazes me how a concept such as angular momentum which is applied to every day engineering applications is also applied on a larger astronomical scale.
 
Say we got all the planes in the world, and attached them to the ground. And flew counter to the way the earth spins, would it stop it then?
 
I have a question for all the physicists/theorists out there:

- If someone made the Earth rotate the wrong way round, and made the planets and moons orbit the wrong way round, and made everything else go backwards, would we go back in time? :D

I always wondered this when I watched that old Superman movie. :p
 
Vita said:
Say we got all the planes in the world, and attached them to the ground. And flew counter to the way the earth spins, would it stop it then?
Click to expand...

No. For one thing they'd be flying in the atmosphere which moves with the earth, so as soon as the rope became taut they'd fall. For another thing they'd be flying in the atmosphere which moves with the earth, so they wouldn't exert any force against the motion of the earth as they'd still be within the earth system.
 
Vita said:
Say we got all the planes in the world, and attached them to the ground. And flew counter to the way the earth spins, would it stop it then?
Click to expand...

i doubt it, we don't have anywhere nearly enough aircraft. :p

<edit> was some other, more pertinent stuff, but it was wrong because i didn't read the question right :o
 
vonhelmet said:
No. For one thing they'd be flying in the atmosphere which moves with the earth, so as soon as the rope became taut they'd fall. For another thing they'd be flying in the atmosphere which moves with the earth, so they wouldn't exert any force against the motion of the earth as they'd still be within the earth system.
Click to expand...

Hmm I see. NOTHING WILL STOP IT!
 
vonhelmet said:
No. For one thing they'd be flying in the atmosphere which moves with the earth, so as soon as the rope became taut they'd fall. For another thing they'd be flying in the atmosphere which moves with the earth, so they wouldn't exert any force against the motion of the earth as they'd still be within the earth system.
Click to expand...

What if the planes were on treadmills?
 
Left, right, left, right

Left and right
Like day and night
That's what makes the world go round
In and out
Thin and stout
That's what makes the world go round

\o/
 
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