Question I Would An Answer To;

Ice Rich · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:35

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

DailyGeek · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:36

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

Hang on i'll get me kitchen scales...

Dr_Evil · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:38

Heavier because a few meteores have struck since it was created, adding extra weight to it....

Visage · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:39

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

I suspect heavier, since matter is always being accreted, via the particles of the solar wind, plus the build up of interstellar dust/ meteorites etc.

On the 'negative side', gasses are always being 'boiled off' the top of the atmosphere, but i'd wager that the masses involved are relatively small....

DailyGeek · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:39

Dr_Evil said:
Heavier because a few meteores have struck since it was created, adding extra weight to it....

That plus we've built all over it

matthew_o50 · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:41

Don't forget the fat people

The_KiD · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:41

DailyGeek said:
That plus we've built all over it

but we only build out of materials that are already on the planet

However we breed like mofo's!

a1ex2001 · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:41

DailyGeek said:
That plus we've built all over it

We've built all over it using materials that were already here hence not adding anything. Although the Americans do claim to have imported some moon rocks so it should be a little bit bigger!

Scuzi · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:41

DailyGeek said:
That plus we've built all over it

Everything we've used to build has come from the earth in the form of raw materials so putting buildings up wouldn't actually increase the mass

DailyGeek · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:42

a1ex2001 said:
We've built all over it using materials that were already here hence not adding anything. Although the Americans do claim to have imported some moon rocks so it should be a little bit bigger!

Some man made materials must have more mass than their molecular components?

jezsoup · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:43

DailyGeek said:
That plus we've built all over it

wow everyone so took that bit of humor way too seriously!!!

Dr_Evil · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:44

a1ex2001 said:
We've built all over it using materials that were already here hence not adding anything. Although the Americans do claim to have imported some moon rocks so it should be a little bit bigger!

Then again we lost a few rockets going in space, that would compensate for that again ....

DailyGeek · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:45

jezsoup said:
wow everyone so took that bit of humor way too seriously!!!

Yep :/ lol

iCraig · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:46

Of course it would.

There are what, 6 billion people on the world? We alone weigh a fair whack all together. So compared to say, millions of years ago when the Earth only contained small primitive life, then yeah.

The answer and question is superfluous anyway.

Glaucus · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:48

DailyGeek said:
Some man made materials must have more mass than their molecular components?

Nope...

Nuclear reactions can turn matter into energy. But I can't think of a process to create matter from energy(might be wrong).

So nuclear energy = lose in weight
Space exploration = loss in weight
Solar wind bringing/taking upper atmosphere = lose of weight (I believe we are loosing atmosphere not gaining?)

Meteors = gain in weight.

Ice Rich · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:48

iCraig said:
Of course it would.

There are what, 6 billion people on the world? We alone weigh a fair whack all together. So compared to say, millions of years ago when the Earth only contained small primitive life, then yeah.

The answer and question is superfluous anyway.

But most of what we are made up of is stuff that was already on the planet except for sunlight which caused so much to 'grow'.

Glaucus · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:49

iCraig said:
Of course it would.

There are what, 6 billion people on the world? We alone weigh a fair whack all together. So compared to say, millions of years ago when the Earth only contained small primitive life, then yeah.

No, where do humans come from?

nutrients and elements in the ground. So all you've done is transferred mass from the ground to 6billion humans. So the net weight is the same.

Ice Rich said:
But most of what we are made up of is stuff that was already on the planet except for sunlight which caused so much to 'grow'.

Does that actually gain mass. I thought it was just the energy used to perform a chemical reaction.

DailyGeek · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:50

You can just tell this is going to end up like 20 pages long.

AcidHell2 said:
No because where do humans come from?

nutrients and elements in the ground. So all you've done is transferred mass from the ground to 6billion humans. So the net weight is the same.

You were never told about the birds and the bees?

VIRII · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:51

it is lighter because of all the holes we've dug in it and all the water we've drunk.

no, i am not being serious

Alex_L · 16 Oct 2006 at 16:51

iCraig said:
Of course it would.

There are what, 6 billion people on the world? We alone weigh a fair whack all together. So compared to say, millions of years ago when the Earth only contained small primitive life, then yeah.

The answer and question is superfluous anyway.

[edit] already pointed out above.