Is the world getting smaller?

[stevie21]

2000 years ago if you weighed the world and all the people in it you'd get some random answer : X tons

Today, that answer has to be the same. It can't be heavier (ignoring asteroids hitting the planet) because you can't just create mass or energy out of nothing.

Today there are loads more people so does that mean that the world is now smaller and lighter?

Or are we new humans made of asteroids? :-)

[Peter Pedant]

the first person to weigh the earth was Boyes 1762

he did it with two great big lead balls, ok one big and one little and a microscope to measure the deviation of the little one. This allowed him to estimate G = the gravitation const. Also since the volume of the earth is known, you can also estimate its average density - whcih comes out to about 5.5 gm/cm3

CGS units - shows how long ago I did this.

the extra people since then ? They were trees basically, or fish, or something else - - and now they are people. no gain no loss (in weight)

[jake-the-peg]

The Earth gains up to 100,000 tonnes a year from asteroids you can ignore it I guess that's about a million people.

Although as Peter says you are "made" of the things you eat, drink and breathe.

These had mass and weight before they became part of you and have the same mass and weight after