Thread: I need answer to this scientific question............

Earth is rotating at constant speed, and everything on it, including me, move along with earth at the same speed. Suppose, I 'jump' from the ground, then the PHYSICAL CONTACT between me and the earth vanishes....... so in such a case, I should not be carried away along with the earth's speed in its direction in the few seconds of time while I am 'flying' in air. So, the ground below my feet should move ahead of me in its speed............I mean to say that, there should be relative motion between me and the ground for the period when I jump from the ground. BUT, this does not happen, I can't find any relative motion between me and the ground. WHY? CAN ANYBODY EXPLAIN THIS AND CLEAR MY DOUBT?

Not only the ground, but also everything on it (including the atmosphere) rotates. The reason the earth doesn't stop rotating is inertia, and this is the same principle that preserves your speed as you jump up from the ground. I hope this helps.

Losing contact with the Earth is not enough to stop you. If you stand in the middle of an aisle aboard a flying airliner and jump up, you do not immediately become motionless (with respect to the ground) and die splatted on the back wall like a bug on a car windscreen. No, your own inertia makes you continue to move at approximately the speed of the plane (plus or minus a relatively small component from the jump), and the whole experience is more or less like jumping in your own living room.

Then again, when you jump you move into a higher circular path with the same velocity, so your angular velocity will decrease. If you jump directly upwards, then, you will actually move a small amount horizontally (on the order of nanometres).

Thank you and all who cleared my doubt posted on 27.07.2010