moving the earth?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by EmptyForceOfChi, Jul 18, 2007.

  1. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    the earth is weightless in space, so if it was possible and you had a long enough pole (just say). could you push the earth from outside?


    if you were on another planet or the moon, and you had a long enough rod or pole type thing. and you poked the earth with it. what would happen? since both things are weightless what would be the effect? because it would require hardly any force to move a weightless object.


    so we could move the earth like that right?


    peace.
     
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  3. weed_eater_guy It ain't broke, don't fix it! Registered Senior Member

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    earth is weightless, but that's not the same as massless. weight is the force an object of such-and-such mass exerts onto something due to gravity. 1 slug of matter with an acceleration of gravity of 33.2 ft/s^2 (earth's gravity) will exert 33.2 lbs. of weight on the ground. much simpler, 1 kg of matter with 9.81m/s^2 exerts 9.81 N. This is the formula:

    force = mass * acceleration

    Now, to influence a force onto the earth, the only way to "push" is to have something to push back on. rockets push out rocket exhaust very fast to get their speed. it's all based on momentum, where...

    (mass 1) * (change in velocity 1) = (mass 2) * (change in velocity 2)

    So, if the mass of the earth is mass 1 (and that's a huge number), and the velocity you want to change the earth is velocity 1, then your equation gives you how much mass you need to chuck at whatever speed to get the earth to move. obviously, since the earth's MASS is very large, even though it is weightless, it would take considerable forces to alter its course. something akin to a fast, large comet strike would do it. to be able to just poke it, you'd need to be a very large being to move it significantly
     
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  5. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    so basicaly i cant poke the earth with a stick and move it. damn i thought i was onto something that would help mankind.

    peace.
     
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  7. brights Registered Senior Member

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    The Earth can wobble by an Earthquake of Mag 9.0 like what happened to the Asian Tsunami. A more powerful quake has the possibility to change the Earth's orbit which can wreak havoc on the climate.
     
  8. tablariddim forexU2 Valued Senior Member

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    No, put your stick away and think of something more practical.

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  9. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    back to the drawing board i go. (rocket jet engines plugged into the earth)


    peace.
     

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