Question I Would An Answer To;

iCraig · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:04

AcidHell2 said:
But how much of the upper atmosphere do we lose from solar winds.

Would you say we lose more than 40 thousand metric tons a year of our upper atmosphere?

Glaucus · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:08

iCraig said:
Would you say we lose more than 40 thousand metric tons a year of our upper atmosphere?

I have no idea possibly.

40k tons sounds a lot but isn't really.

every time a meteor hits it ejects particles from the upper atmosphere.

The impact of a large meteoroid can lead to the loss of atmosphere. If a collision is energetic enough, it is possible for ejecta, including atmospheric molecules, to reach escape velocity. Just one impact such as the Chicxulub event does not lead to a significant loss, but the terrestrial planets went through enough impacts when they were forming for this to matter.

I do remember reading somewhere we lose more atmosphere than gain though solar winds.

Trying to find some data on google at the moment.

daz · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:10

I'm going to go for lighter in the olden days.

locutus12 · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:12

Ice Rich said:
Hi all,

Im sure there is an obvious answer to this question and i'm sure i'll look like a fool for asking but here goes;

If you could weigh the earth would it be heavier when it was created or now?

Rich

well it would be heavier, but that asside, i like the idea behind the question

its the same as asking would a glass with an ice cube in it overflow if it melts ect ect

Visage · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:13

If thought about it some more. The Earth is getting heavier, the reason being that its a gravitational well, and a pretty hefty one at that.

For mass to accrete, it merely needs to pass close enough to the earth.

But for mass to eascape it needs a huge amount of energy - just look at the Saturn V rocket.

In other words - mass becoming part of eart -> V easy.
mass escaping Eart -> v difficult.

Ergo, the earth is getting heavier.

Hamzter · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:14

Can I be picky and point out you mean mass and not weight?

Glaucus · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:15

Visage said:
If thought about it some more. The Earth is getting heavier, the reason being that its a gravitational well, and a pretty hefty one at that.

For mass to accrete, it merely needs to pass close enough to the earth.

But for mass to eascape it needs a huge amount of energy - just look at the Saturn V rocket.

In other words - mass becoming part of eart -> V easy.
mass escaping Eart -> v difficult.

Ergo, the earth is getting heavier.

Yep I agree, But we do lose more mass than people realise. But Overall we do gain mass.

DailyGeek · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:18

Visage said:
If thought about it some more. The Earth is getting heavier, the reason being that its a gravitational well, and a pretty hefty one at that.

For mass to accrete, it merely needs to pass close enough to the earth.

But for mass to eascape it needs a huge amount of energy - just look at the Saturn V rocket.

In other words - mass becoming part of eart -> V easy.
mass escaping Eart -> v difficult.

Ergo, the earth is getting heavier.

Yeah, think i'll go along with that, makes sense \o/

G-MAN2004 · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:26

"After years of extremely hard research, we have come to conclude that the Earth today weighs 1 stone more than the Earth when it was first created."
- Dr. Roberts of the BS University

fatiain · 16 Oct 2006 at 17:35

G-MAN2004 said:
"After years of extremely hard reasearch, we have come to conclude that the Earth today weighs nearly 20 stone more than the Earth when it was first created."
- Dr. fatiain of the University of France