If Earth moves then why can’t we feel it? This one question haunts curious minds across different age groups. Thank the celestial stars that there is a scientific explanation for everything. The phenomenon can be explained in one line:
We cannot feel the earth move because we are attached to its surface and there is no relative motion between us and the earth. All of us are moving with it at a constant speed.
What do we mean by relative motion here?
It is true that all motion is relative but since our bodies move along with the earth, it means that our body is at rest. Since we are moving with the earth in the same direction, we don’t feel it move.
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For example, if you were to toss a coin in the moving bus, it will land at the same where it started from. Since you are moving in the speed of the bus, nothing will disturb the motion of the coin. However, if the bus were to decelerate or take a sharp turn, the coin will definitely fall at some other place because the coin continued to follow the same frame of motion whereas the bus changed.
Similarly, since we live on the surface of the Earth, we don’t feel the speed, unless it halts, decelerates, or change direction.
The fact that Earth rotates faster than the Shanghai Maglev train, the world’s fastest high-speed electric train, is mind-boggling. So, if it itches you to experience the speed of the earth, then jump off from that height above Earth’s surface where you decouple from Earths rotation (create relative motion). You will land on a different spot.
Just be safe with your stunt!
