Earth's Rotation - Earth Discover

The astronomical clock in the town square of Prague, Czech Republic. Analog clocks like this, which tracked hours, minutes, and the motions of the Sun and Moon, have been replaced in scientific research by precise digital clocks and an internationally regulated system of timekeeping.

1999: Understanding Earth’s Gradually Slowing Spin

The Earth's spin gradually slows due to factors like tidal friction, affecting timekeeping and necessitating the addition of leap seconds to UTC

A substantial Foucault's pendulum displayed at the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum of the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain. In this configuration, a small ball-and-stick model is gradually tilted approximately every 30 minutes due to the Earth's rotation beneath the pendulum's fixed plane of motion.

1851: Foucault’s Pendulum – Demonstrating Earth’s Rotation

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault's 1851 experiment, using a simple pendulum, provided clear, observable proof of Earth's rotation. This groundbreaking demonstration, utilizing basic principles of physics, transformed our understanding of Earth's dynamics