Quote:
Originally Posted by mithrandir
For the 6 to remain facing the earth the die (singular noun) has to be tidally locked, so it is spinning, just like the moon. Once it is spinning it takes no force to keep it spinning.
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I don't believe it requires to be Tidally Locked to do so. So long as the Earth is uniformly round and dense around the Equator (and it pretty much is), then the geodesic pathway the die travels will be uniform. Remember, the die is moving in a dead straight line with uniform motion through the geodesic. If the geodesic is curving around the Earth, then the die does not need to spin in order for the 6 to remain facing the Earth. Tidal Lock seems to be a slow acting phenomenon like a dynamic system finding equilibrium, but geodesic pathways are always there and are instantaneous.