explain why the earth rotates faster at 0' latitude than at 60' latitude
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The Earth is a (mostly) solid object that rotates once every 24 hours. Because it is solid, every point on Earth will complete one full rotation about the axis it is rotating on in the same amount of time. The difference in speed comes down to a location’s distance from this axis.
This means that if you were standing still 10 feet from the north or south pole, it would take you 24 hours to travel the circumference of a 20 foot diameter circle as the Earth completed one full rotation (a distance of roughly 63 feet total). If you were standing on the Earth’s equator, you would complete a circle that is the circumference of the entire Earth, or just under 25,000 miles, in the same 24 hour period, obviously covering a much greater distance in the same amount of time.
Speed is a measure of distance divided by time. To cover 25,000 miles in 24 hours equals a speed of a little more than 1,000 miles per hour. To travel 63 feet in 24 hours equals a speed of roughly 2.5 feet per hour.
We don’t feel the difference in speed either way because everything around us is moving at the same relative speed, even the atmosphere. If the Earth suddenly stopped rotating, you and I would also stop moving, but the atmosphere would continue moving at the same speed. Now it’s not the same relative motion anymore, and we would immediately notice the difference if we were at the equator, as winds would quickly pick up to 1,000+ MPH.
This means that if you were standing still 10 feet from the north or south pole, it would take you 24 hours to travel the circumference of a 20 foot diameter circle as the Earth completed one full rotation (a distance of roughly 63 feet total). If you were standing on the Earth’s equator, you would complete a circle that is the circumference of the entire Earth, or just under 25,000 miles, in the same 24 hour period, obviously covering a much greater distance in the same amount of time.
Speed is a measure of distance divided by time. To cover 25,000 miles in 24 hours equals a speed of a little more than 1,000 miles per hour. To travel 63 feet in 24 hours equals a speed of roughly 2.5 feet per hour.
We don’t feel the difference in speed either way because everything around us is moving at the same relative speed, even the atmosphere. If the Earth suddenly stopped rotating, you and I would also stop moving, but the atmosphere would continue moving at the same speed. Now it’s not the same relative motion anymore, and we would immediately notice the difference if we were at the equator, as winds would quickly pick up to 1,000+ MPH.
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