Economic and How-To theories aside, classical law of physics, called the "conservation of matter" dictate that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, but is always a constant.
How would bringing thousands (millions?) of tons of matter over the course of several hundred/thousand years affect the the earth? The mass of the earth is approximately 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (6E+24) kilograms. How much mass would we have to import to see a variation in the rotation of the planet? Is it even possible? Would we have to strategically place mining depots around the center of the Earth? If we were to add say, 1-2% to the overall mass of the planet, how would that affect seasons, rotation, and our environment?
This, not the financial impact is what I am most curious about.
Slashdot Mirror
Economic and How-To theories aside, classical law of physics, called the "conservation of matter" dictate that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, but is always a constant.
How would bringing thousands (millions?) of tons of matter over the course of several hundred/thousand years affect the the earth? The mass of the earth is approximately 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (6E+24) kilograms. How much mass would we have to import to see a variation in the rotation of the planet? Is it even possible? Would we have to strategically place mining depots around the center of the Earth? If we were to add say, 1-2% to the overall mass of the planet, how would that affect seasons, rotation, and our environment?
This, not the financial impact is what I am most curious about.