One Second Without Gravity

If gravity turned off everywhere for one second, the effects would be sudden,

strange, and potentially dangerous—but not apocalyptic. First,

everything would start moving in a straight line at whatever velocity it already had.

Gravity is what keeps you pressed to the ground, the oceans held to Earth,

and the atmosphere bound to the planet. For people on the ground, you would instantly

become weightless and begin drifting upward at the same speed the Earth is rotating beneath

you. Near the equator, that’s about 1,000 miles per hour sideways, so when gravity

returned, you wouldn’t slam into space—but you could be thrown off balance or slammed