Re: [Phys-l] earth's rotation

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 01/04/2008 01:52 PM, David Ward wrote:

> ... "What would happen if
> the Earth rotated from East to West rather than West to East? 

> Would it change where the deserts are? 

Yes.  

Obvious examples of this abound.  For starters, consider 
Hawaii.  One side of the island is jungle, and the other
side is desert.  If you reversed the direction of the
prevailing winds, the effect would be quite dramatic.


> Would it alter our climate? 

Yes.

Even small changes in the Gulf Stream would give Britain
the climate that Kamchatka now has.  British agriculture
would consist of reindeer herding and not much else.

> Has anyone ever simulated this?"

I doubt it.

It's too hypothetical ... and the answers would depend on
details that are not well known.

Physics can calculate hydrogen atom orbitals from first
principles, but when you get to something as big and
messy as the whole earth, it becomes very hard to calculate
anything from first principles.

And it would not be easy to do the experiment, either.