General Question

MaisyS's avatar

Can the switching of Earth's magnetic field cause the sun to rise from the West?

Asked by MaisyS (734points) June 4th, 2020

This article claims a switch would cause the Sun to rise from the West. Can someone confirm or deny this?
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/597607/Sunrise-WEST-Scientists-warn-magnetic-poles-SWITCHING-North-become-south

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10 Answers

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ragingloli's avatar

Only if you flip the definitions of east and west.
Otherwise you would have to reverse the planet’s rotation, and that is not happening.

LuckyGuy's avatar

If you are using a magnetic compass as your definition of East and West then it is true. But the Earth will continue to spin as usual.
He is an experiment you can try.
Find a cheap magnetic compass Place ti on the floor and look where it points The North arrow points North, The East arrow points to where the sun rises. the West arrow points to where the sun sets.

Now place a magnet near it. Move the magnet around so the north arrow points South.
What letter is facing the direction where the sun rises?
Did you really change the direction of the Earth’s rotation?

What have you learned? Treat anything you read from that source as sensational and misleading.

Response moderated (Writing Standards)
LuckyGuy's avatar

Here is a nice article explaining the difference between Magnetic North and Geographic (True) North Pole. GISGeography
You can see how the magnetic pole moves.

kritiper's avatar

No. That would mean reversing the planets rotation or turning the world upside down in it’s orbit.

MaisyS's avatar

Thank you all so much for your responses :)

AstroChuck's avatar

If the magnetic poles reverse then of course the sun would rise in the west and set in the east. It has nothing to do with reversing the rotation of the earth. Everything would appear the same from our point of view but with magnetic north now being magnetic south the same would apply to east and west.

Response moderated
stanleybmanly's avatar

Direction is the constant by which the field is defined. The field can shift. The directions are fixed. Proclaiming a horse to be a cow will not convert a ranch to a dairy farm.

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