what is the effect of human population growth on the earth's mass?

[The Boston Dangler]

what's that planet in hhgttg? - they weigh you upon arrival and departure, and if you had too much at the buffet they "removed" the extra mass.

 

[vi edit]

Heat is energy. Basically, it being gone depends on the system. Since earth isn't a closed system, we don't really lose as we get energy from the sun.

Thermodynamics basically says that since some is lost as heat energy, that over time it would add up, where if all were converted the heat would kill the system.

I'm just a caveman at heart. I see a big pile of *something that can burn* and then set it on fire..dance around a bit...and then look at the little pile of ashes left and think "oh hey, we just made a smaller pile!"

😀

 

[ElFenix]

Heat is energy. Basically, it being gone depends on the system. Since earth isn't a closed system, we don't really lose as we get energy from the sun.

Thermodynamics basically says that since some is lost as heat energy, that over time it would add up, where if all were converted the heat would kill the system.

thermodynamics wins again!

 

[roguerower]

I'm pretty sure that another Rosie O'Donnell will cause the earth to implode.

 

[Cogman]

I'm pretty sure that another Rosie O'Donnell will cause the earth to implode.

Well, she hasn't caused the earth to change its mass, only concentrated it into one location. Kind of like a black hole.

 

[zinfamous]

Is the paper bag wet?

Presumably.

does he get to use a hammer?

 

[zinfamous]

I'm just a caveman at heart. I see a big pile of *something that can burn* and then set it on fire..dance around a bit...and then look at the little pile of ashes left and think "oh hey, we just made a smaller pile!"

😀

😀

 

[JTsyo]

Energy in itself has mass. So a compressed spring has slightly more mass than an uncompressed spring in accordance to m = e/c^2. So, chemical reactions do actually result in a slight loss of mass even though they are non-nuclear. The mass loss is accounted for due to heat and photon emissions.

Mass is energy though. 😉

I seem to recall reading somewhere that converting graphite into diamond will result in a higher mass, as the diamond's structure contains more potential energy. However, this mass difference is very small compared to what goes on in a nuclear reaction.

:hmm:
Never heard that before.

Once thing nice about plants is that they draw carbon from the atmosphere and and sequester it in the earth. That is until we dig it up and burn it. It's all a balancing act. The matter has to be in the earth, on it or in the atmosphere.

The atmosphere does lose mass in terms of light gases. Especially helium.

 

[Fritzo]

an incredibly tiny amount of mass

Heat is energy. Mass is a property of matter, not energy. Energy can not have mass.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Not large enough to have an impact.

 

[Vette73]

over time, the population of the earth is increasing exponentially.
this means that the mass of the earth should be increasing as well, correct?

so if the law were to hold true, where is this additional mass/matter coming from?
nothing can come from nothing right?

yes, the earth is not a closed system, but ignore space debris which really doesn't contribute to the earth's mass.

Quoting to make sure FAIL is saved. :awe:

 

[bfdd]

After watching that video with Hank Johnson I have now realized I am smart enough to be a politician.

 

[Blunc]

the earth may have less mass due to the objects we send out into the solar system but that may be offset by the meteorites hitting the earth.

other than that...it's a wash

 

[KingGheedora]

Question for those smarter than me since my high school physics was a good 15 years ago....

What's the net effect on "mass" with things like combustion engines that you put a hundred pounds worth of fuel into and it converts a lot of that into energy but some of it into solid and gas exhaust...but not all of it.

Or even human bodies where we may consume 10+ pounds of food and water a day but only excrete a small percentage of that?

Isn't there some loss in converting that mass into energy?

Or what about cremating bodies?

Are these all still net zero conversions?

No, on Earth, in general mass is not converted to energy, except when nuclear reactions happen (weapons, reactors on warships and power plants, and possibly the earth's core).

Metabolizing food, or burning fuels like candles and gasoline (including combustion engines) does not convert mass to energy. Those reactions result in byproducts whose mass summed up is equal to the mass of the input fuels. In these reactions energy that is trapped in the input fuels is released through chemical reactions.

And vice-versa, plants capture the sun's energy and store it in the form of chemical bonds.

 

[KingGheedora]

Also, tons and tons of comets (mostly ice) hit the earth every day, adding water, and therefore adding mass.

 

[Ronstang]

I see some people do not understand science, or maybe they are just teaching shit these days. Either way we are doomed. The stupid are taking over.

 

[Squisher]

Factoid alert: Ants account for the heaviest biomass of all animals and make up 10% of the total animal biomass of the world.

 

[DrPizza]

Humans do not convert mass into energy. Nuclear fission and fusion do. All humans do is take something in a higher energy state, and chemically change it into something in a lower energy state and use the energy released from that process. It is much akin to going around and throwing rocks off of cliffs, you release energy in the process, but the energy was already stored by the very presence of the bolder on a cliff.

No, on Earth, in general mass is not converted to energy, except when nuclear reactions happen (weapons, reactors on warships and power plants, and possibly the earth's core).

Metabolizing food, or burning fuels like candles and gasoline (including combustion engines) does not convert mass to energy. Those reactions result in byproducts whose mass summed up is equal to the mass of the input fuels. In these reactions energy that is trapped in the input fuels is released through chemical reactions.

And vice-versa, plants capture the sun's energy and store it in the form of chemical bonds.

Sorry, but E=mc² doesn't "only" apply to nuclear reactions. It also applies to chemical reactions. It's just that in the case of chemical reactions, the amount of mass loss is insignificant compared to the amount of mass you started with. (But not insignificant compared to many things that we know the mass of.) If you burn 1 calorie of food (which is really a kilocalorie), then you've released 4184 Joules. That means, the mass changed by 4184/c^2 = 4.655 x 10^-14 kilograms. Compare this to the rest mass of a proton. In fact, it's equivalent to a shitload of protons - 2.7x10^13 of them actually. At a time when mankind is able to count 38 antimatter hydrogen atoms, and at a time when mankind is able to calculate that they can create a room temperature Bose-Einstein condensate by trapping roughly 77,000 photons (and did so), 270000000000000 protons has quite a bit of mass; hardly zero.

 

[vi edit]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but E=mc² doesn't "only" apply to nuclear reactions. It also applies to chemical reactions. It's just that in the case of chemical reactions, the amount of mass loss is insignificant compared to the amount of mass you started with. (But not insignificant compared to many things that we know the mass of.) If you burn 1 calorie of food (which is really a kilocalorie), then you've released 4184 Joules. That means, the mass changed by 4184/c^2 = 4.655 x 10^-14 kilograms. Compare this to the rest mass of a proton. In fact, it's equivalent to a shitload of protons - 2.7x10^13 of them actually. At a time when mankind is able to count 38 antimatter hydrogen atoms, and at a time when mankind is able to calculate that they can create a room temperature Bose-Einstein condensate by trapping roughly 77,000 photons (and did so), 270000000000000 protons has quite a bit of mass; hardly zero.

I have no idea what you just said, but you're a doctor, or at least play one on the internet...and that's good enough for me.

😀

 

[DrPizza]

The antimatter hydrogen atoms & the photon BEC were two very recent (within last week or so) achievements.