spin

spin:
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It obviously happened before Newton, or else everything that wasn't attached real well would have been thrown off the face of the earth.
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Aquila ka Hecate:
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Why?
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"An object in motion tends to stay in motion,..., unless acted upon by an external force."

(Paraphrase of Newton)

The earth's circumferance is about 40,000 km.

It takes you one day to travel that far, so you are moving at about 1500 km per hour.

When the earth stops, you are still travelling at 1500 km per hour and Newton said "An object in motion tends to stay in motion..."

Aquila ka Hecate

Spin,
Ah, but we're postulating a physics-defying deity as the culprit, aren't we?

(Aren't we?)

Do you think It would allow It's creation to all fall off the planet just to satisfy It's megalomaniacal whim?

(Don't answer!)

spin

Ummm, well, I guess, you know, I spose you could put it..., hell, what a novel approach!

Amos

The earth stood still because on Easter Day the night did not follow the day and is why Easter is celebrated for two days.

At Christmas the sun stopped and therefore Christmas is celebrated for two days, or, do you maybe think it is the other way around?

Boro Nut

That probably explains why I turned up for an interview in NY on 1/6/2001 only to find the position had been filled 5 months previoulsy. Over here we base our 24 hour days on the rotation of the earth on its own axis. Silly us.

Boro Nut

NOGO

There is however a Godly solution. Make the sun move in a circle around the earth in the same direction of the earth's rotation. This movement can be adjusted so as to completely neutralize the earth's rotation. At least to a viewer on earth.

If you think that this is too far fetched for anyone to believe, think again.

This is how far believers will go in order to remain in their world of myth.

Edited to correct an obvious mistake.

[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: NOGO ]</p>

SmashingIdols

Everybody has addressed the celestial mechanical reasons why this couldn't have happened, but what about:

1. Joshua would have had one extremely hot day. My guess is everybody at his lattitude and longitude would have exploded into flames. Funny they make no mention of the heat. I wish I knew how to calculate exactly how hot it would have gotten - any volunteers? I remember talking to someone once who was pretty sure it would have gotten over 240 degrees on the side facing the sun.

2. North and South America would have frozen like a brick. Something under 100 degrees below zero. Once again, volunteers?

3. Everybody would have made historical mention of such an occurrence - especially those who were greatly interested in astronomy - namely the Babylonians. They would have done this in their air-conditioned underground bunkers wearing asbestos underwear. It is conceivable they could survive, if so equipped.

The statements above are ignoring the physical impossibility of stopping a planet from spinning (and the resulting self-destruction thereof), to further illustrate the ignorance of the people who would claim the sun stopped in the sky for an extra day.

SmashingIdols

Whoops, I just saw the bit about the sun orbiting about the earth for a day.. I am rolling on the floor clutching my sides!

To match the speed of the earth, imagine the suns orbit for this one day as defining a huge wheel, with the earth at the hub (center). The hub of the wheel is moving at some 1500km per hour.

Anybody care to guess how much faster than light the sun would have to move to keep pace, 93 million miles out, at the edge of this wheel?

It would effectively have to traverse the circumference of a circle whose radius is 93 million miles, in a mere 24 hour period.

Ignoring the fact, of course, that planets rotations and speeds are intimately tied to their orbit of the sun. Breaking that relationship by the above suggested method to provide this "extra day" would also destroyed the entire solar system.

LMAO

Rosiel

The picture that came to mind was in the cartoons where the character can fly or walk on air until they're told they can't, then regular physics take over and they smash into the ground.

Edited to fix quotes and to apologize for general sillyness.

[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: Rosiel ]</p>

Mageth

Anybody care to guess how much faster than light the sun would have to move to keep pace, 93 million miles out, at the edge of this wheel?

Don't have to guess. The circumference of the sun's "orbit" would be a tad over 584 million miles, which should be approximately the circumference of the earth's orbit around the sun. Divide this by 86400 (number of seconds in a day) and you get @6700 miles/sec, a fraction of the speed of light, but still pretty damn fast (note the surface of the earth is rotating at only @0.69 miles/sec). At the speed of light the sun's imaginary orbit could be traversed in less than an hour.

Not that this makes it any more plausible.