Weight on the earth

[Dizzieblonde]

Bit of an odd question, but...consider the tremendous weight of a building and it's pressure on the ground below it, with all the buildings on the earth, how come the sheer weight doesn't slow its spinning down or make it stop entirely...?

[treborwood]

im no scientist but wasnt everything that made that building on the earth to begin with?

besides the earth weighs: Estimated Weight (mass) (5,940,000,000,000,000,000,000 metric tons).
so im not sure what ever we build will make a significant difference.

Anyone else feel free to give a more educated answer!
im just as curious as the dizzieblonde ;)

[KebabMeister]

Put it this way, do you think an ant could slow down a steamroller? :D

[furrycheeky]

The way I look at it all the materials for the building were on the earth already, so no net weight change.

[Loosehead]

yes dizzie no new weight in buildings.

[ryanster44]

because of the weightlessness in space, if u look at it logicly, the earth wouldnt acuarily weigh anything and the gravity isnt too strong so the planet would just collapse on it self. it could be geting slower but because of alot of the ice melting in the poles, those bits are gettin lighter. but as all the earth's resourse were on the earth to begin with, when we use the resources, it doesnt get any heavier. Yes?

By the way, im 11.

[ryanster44]

when we combine different materiels, we sometimes make them heavier, but we are taking away other recources. But again therioeticly, because of all the more babies being born that people dying, and the sewage waste building up, there probably will be a dramatic increase in the earths weight.

Thanks 4 listein' folks!

[pagey]

The total mass of the earth and all its surface-based things can never increase unless something is added from outside our atmosphere. like a meteor.

Likewise, the mass of the earth will only decrease if we keep sending satellites and space-stations into space.

Yes there are lots of babies and they all make poo, but this has all derived from the food they or thier mothers have eaten which has come from the earth.

[treborwood]

bless the 11 yr old who thinks a million or so more babies will make a dramatic difference to the weight of the earth. maybe u are the cleverest in your class at school, maybe?
did he not read my previous weight estimate of the earth which is currently: (5,940,000,000,000,000,000,000 metric tons).

[JudgeJ]

Sorry to be a pedant, but the earth�s weight and mass are two different things. The weight of an object depends upon where it is. An object registering 1kg on a weighing machine on the earth would weigh only about 165 grams on the same machine on the Moon. It would even register a slightly lower amount if it were weighed on an aircraft flying about five miles above the earth.

The earth's �weight� as quoted only holds good under its own gravity. If it were to be weighed elsewhere (say on the surface of the Sun) the measurement would be considerably different.

[Gef]

Sorry to be even more pedantic than the judge but weight is not measured in kilograms and grams.

[mibn2cweus]

Just to add to the confusion:

The gravitational attraction between the Earth and the Moon has locked the moons rotation to that of the Earth�s. The Moon, although considerably smaller, is having a similar effect and is gradually slowing the Earth's rotation.

In principle, a balance scale would indicate the same weight for a given object on the Earth as on the Moon since the counterweight would be equally effected by the difference in gravity.

[JudgeJ]

Quite right Gef !

I didn't want to add any more to the confusion than I already had, but we pedants must support each other!

[ryepie]

The Earth's rotation IS slowing down, due to transfer of its rotational momentum to the Moons orbital momentum. This also means, via the laws of conservation of momentum, that the Moon is receding away from us. But once the length of our day (as measured by 1 earth revolution) matches the length of a month (measured by the 1 orbital revolution of the moon), the Earth's rotation will then stay constant.

Oh, and the Earth's weight is increasing all the time, due to the interstellar medium of dust and gas through which it travels. Estimates say this can be up to several hundred tons per day. This is far more than any losses.

[Gef]

Well said judge, lol.