Eli5 will the earth ever run out of centrifugal force?

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Like if the sun was going to exist forever (which I know it isn’t). Would the earth ever stop spinning around the sun and eventually fall into it or is ongoing?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Yes and no?

There are forces acting on earth, solar winds, and the combine gravitational effects of every object in our solar system (and beyond). All else being equal, we would spiral into the sun eventually.

But… the sun is losing mass through its fusion reaction. And as a result, it’s pull on the planets is decreasing, meaning earth floats about 1.5cm away from the sun every year.

This reaches a paradox to your question, as the reduction in mass cannot be indefinite even in a hypothetical world. So in a world where the sun doesn’t age, and therefore doesn’t shrink… yes we would eventually spiral into the sun.

But in reality, the opposite is happening.

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