Is the Earth Gaining Or Losing Mass?

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Is the Earth Gaining Or Losing Mass?

Posted by timothy on Thursday February 2, 2012 @08:06AM from the do-your-genes-make-this-planet-look-fat? dept.

Hugh Pickens writes writes "BBC recently asked physicist and Cambridge University professor Dave Ansell to draw up a balance sheet of the mass that's coming in to the earth, and the mass going out to find out if the earth is gaining or losing mass. By far the biggest contributor to the world's mass is the 40,000 tonnes of dust that is falling from space to Earth every year. 'The Earth is acting like a giant vacuum cleaner powered by gravity in space, pulling in particles of dust,' says Dr. Chris Smith. Another factor increasing the earth's mass is global warming which adds about 160 tonnes a year because as the temperature of the Earth goes up, energy is added to the system, so the mass must go up. On the minus side, at the very center of the Earth, within the inner core, there exists a sphere of uranium five mile in diameter which acts as a natural nuclear reactor so these nuclear reactions cause a loss of mass of about 16 tonnes per year." (Read more, below.) Pickens continues: "What about launching rockets and satellites into space, like Phobos-Grunt? Smith discounts this as the mass is negligible and most of it will fall back down to Earth again anyway. But by far the biggest factor in earth's weight loss are the 95,000 tonnes of hydrogen that escape from the atmosphere every year. 'The other very light gas this is happening to is helium and there is much less of that around, so it's about 1,600 tonnes a year of helium that we lose.' Taking all the factors into account, Smith reckons the Earth is getting about 50,000 tonnes lighter a year, which is just less than half the gross weight of the Costa Concordia, the Italian cruise liner that recently ran aground."

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I was really hoping for gaining mass by elrous0 · 2012-02-02 08:06 · Score: 5, Funny

It would have given me a nice excuse the next time my wife noticed I had gained weight. "It's not the junk food, honey. The earth is gaining mass and causing me to weigh more!!!"

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
1. Re:I was really hoping for gaining mass by RenHoek · 2012-02-02 08:34 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Well I got good new for you regardless. Since the earth is losing mass, the gravity will become weaker, resulting in lower numbers on your bathroom scale. :)
  (Although it's probably not going to be so noticeable in the shortcut.)
2. Re:I was really hoping for gaining mass by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-02 08:37 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Look at it the other way: The earth is losing mass, so you're doing it a favor by gaining mass to compensate.
3. Re:I was really hoping for gaining mass by Chris+Burke · 2012-02-02 08:59 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  My take-away is that we're going to have to kick Global Warming into high-gear in order to counteract the much more serious (and embarrassing) Global Shrinkage!
  
  --
  
  The enemies of Democracy are
4. Re:I was really hoping for gaining mass by Toonol · 2012-02-02 09:22 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  You're not getting fatter, baby... the extra pounds are because you're getting hotter!
5. Re:I was really hoping for gaining mass by griffjon · 2012-02-02 09:50 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Except that the mass gained by him was transferred from the food that he ate, and not created from outer space.
  Well, that depends on your diet, now doesn't it?
  
  --
  Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
Re:Good grief. Religious zealots really annoy me. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-02 08:10 · Score: 5, Funny

IF one assumes AGW the mass of heating the crust and atmosphere of the earth a tiny fraction of a degree per year isn't going to give tons either. Math people, try it sometime. It works a lot better than your hokey religion.
And neither match a good blaster by your side.
Re:Good grief. Religious zealots really annoy me. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-02 08:16 · Score: 5, Funny

Math people, try it sometime. It works a lot better than your hokey religion.
Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerous ways, Lord jmorris42. Your sad devotion to that ancient math has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you enough clairvoyance to find the rebels' hidden fortress...
Re:Enough for Eternity by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-02 08:17 · Score: 5, Funny

And here some people are worried about running out of uranium.
We'll never use up a 5-mile diameter sphere of uranium!
The problem is getting to it.
I mean if you believe "science" then it's surrounded by molten rock.
And if you believe the book journey to the center of the earth, then its surrounded by dinosaurs.
Both I understand are fatal to humans.
I know for a fact that Earth is gaining in mass by dicobalt · 2012-02-02 08:19 · Score: 1, Funny

... because half of that dust is on my car.
The Earth may be losing mass... by kehren77 · 2012-02-02 08:28 · Score: 5, Funny

But Americans are attempting to even things out.
Re:One kilogram of mass = 40 minutes by Gordonjcp · 2012-02-02 10:04 · Score: 3, Funny

One kilogram of mass converted directly to energy would last about 40 minutes.
(Picks up a bag of sugar, eyes it thoughtfully)
40 minutes, eh? That's still pretty cool...
Re:Good grief. Religious zealots really annoy me. by Bucky24 · 2012-02-02 10:26 · Score: 3, Funny

Congratulations! You've just posted the most idiotic slashdot comment of 2012.
We've still got a little less than 11 months to go, don't be giving that award out just yet.

--
All the world's a CPU, and all the men and women merely AI agents
Re:Good grief. Religious zealots really annoy me by Chris+Burke · 2012-02-02 12:00 · Score: 3, Funny

Yeah it sucks how the earth warms 1000 degrees every time I drive to work. Sorry for cooking everyone! :)

--

The enemies of Democracy are