Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Day and Night (Earth's rotation)

When the earth rotates on its axis, only one portion of the earth's surface comes into the rays of the the sun and experiences daylight. The other portion which is away from the sun's rays will be in darkness. As the earth rotates from west to east, every part of the earth's surface will be brought under the sun at some time or other. A part of the earth's surface that emerges from darkness into the sun's rays experiences sunrise. Later, when it is gradually obscured from the sun's beams it experiences sunset. The sun is, in fact, stationary and it is earth which rotates. The illusion is exactly the same as when we travel in a fast-moving train. The trees and houses around us appear to move and we feel that the train is stationary.

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