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[KyleL]

I have been asking this question to friends and family and I have been amazed at the varied responses. So this is it; (for now just answer yes or no)

The world population has recently reached 7 billion. That's a lot of people, more than ever before. Lets say you could put the earth and everything on it on a set of scales - Would it weigh more than ever before, now that it has all those extra people?

For now, just answer yes or no, then we can get some explanations from people a little later on.

So go ahead! Answer for yourself, and ask some people in your household - but hold off on the explanations for now.

Cheers!

- Kyle

[Eamonn]

No

[Mourneman]

no

[twentyclicks]

No - (a 'poll' would have been good for responses).

[Drongo]

No

[Dowser]

Yes

[Rumblebum]

Yes!

And its solely down to the fact that Spud and Moureman have eaten so much flamin steak! 

[KyleL]

And so the divide begins.... :p

Okay now feel free to explain your opinions!

(This isn't about making anyone feel stupid - it's just amazing how divided everyone is on this, and yet how simple each opposing explanation is. Ask your friends, your family, etc)

[Dowser]

My thoughts would be that the earth is getting heavier but not necessarily because there are more people.  People are formed from the elements that already exist on earth so it's just a transfer of matter from out of the ground into humans then back into the ground again as we die.

I believe the earth is getting heavier as there are meteor strikes thousands of times a year which land on earth from outer space.  The only matter that leaves the planet for good is the space rockets and satellites that we send up but these are so tiny in comparison to the weight of the planet that they are fairly insignificant.

Another thought that I would have is that the energy from the sun is converted by plants into food via photosynthesis and this is building up on earth.  Basic physics is that energy does not cease to exist it is also just transferred elsewhere.  So the energy from the sun is absorbed by the planet earth and converted into matter via plants adding to the weight of the earth.  I suppose if more plants equals more food and therefore the ability to support more humans then maybe the energy from the sun is ultimately ending up stored in the extra humans.

Anyway, I still think the earth is getting heavier but will be interested to hear more views and hopefully an actual answer if there is one :-)

[LandyLiam]

No, just because

[Mourneman]

No- basically without going into great detail: imagine the earth as a wet sponge & all the liquid contained is gas,now leave that wet sponge out in sun & all those gases will evaporate,loved geography class 

[FairWeatherCamper]

No. We do not have the ability to create something from nothing, and therefore we just cycle and recycle the resources available. We have a light energy (sun) input and a heat output - a imbalance in this is the only thing that could change our weight methinks.

Also weight is defined as the force exerted under gravity. Gravity is pretty much directed at the centre of the earth. There is also the gravitational pull of the sun on the earth. If this force (weight) changed, surely we would go out of orbit. I think to maintain equilibrium, I have to assume the answer to your question is no.

Well designed old system that.

[twentyclicks]

Meteor strikes is an interesting thought... but it's literally the curveball from outer space in regards the question. As is Mourneman's addition of gas loss from the atmosphere into space.
In relation to the number of people we're all just recycling of matter already here.

I'm not versed enough in bio-chemistry (or bothered to google it) to know if energy is converted to a mass when used to combine molecules in plants (or whether it simply raises the energy of the particles to a point where they hold hands), but if you take the whole life-cycle into account I believe it is a moot point as said energy would be released as heat when the plant is broken down. All things tend towards entropy in the end and that heat escapes into space (buffered by the atmosphere... at a fairly constant rate +/- a few degrees here and there).

As it was more interesting and relevant I did google meteor and atmospheric gas loss 
Estimate 100,000 tonnes meteor fall on earth each year.
Estimate 3kg/s Hydrogen + 0.05kg/s Helium lost from atmosphere = 96,000 tonnes each year. As they are both wild estimates you could hazard that they more or less cancel out... compared to the mass of the earth it is all insignificant anyway.

[KyleL]

That's very interesting that the gas loss estimates and the meteor strike gains are so similar.

Well designed old system that.

Okay so now the light one that Dowser mentioned. A very good one I hadn't thought of before but I have some initial issues on it. First of all according to the almighty Google, it is still debated whether or not a photon actually has any mass. Also, if you shine a torch toward the sky, does the light go into space? And surely the earth is emitting (and reflecting) light all the time up into the galaxy. Apparently plants only absorb 1% of the suns' light as so much is reflected of clouds, water, and other non-green plant objects. If that is the case then we are actually reflecting 99% of the sunlight back into space - The other 1% is absorbed, and maybe offset by man-made light that we give off into space?

I love a good nonsense chat about nothing

[RedLeader]

Either heavier (meteors & space dust gathering on earth) or lighter (evaporation, loss of mass to space). I'm genuinely not sure which. If I had to guess, the earth coalesced from space crap (that's a technical term) to form in the first place and there are a staggering number of items hitting us from space on a daily basis so if I had to hang my hat on something, I'd go with Dowser. Definitely the combined mass of people doesn't make a difference because you just get recycled on a cosmic basis - we're all star dust!
http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=52

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