The Rocket Effect on Earth
<p>What would have happened if a billion people on one side of Earth decided to jump up at the same time? A ten-centimeter jump would kick the Earth in the opposite direction and displace temporarily the rock’s center of mass by roughly the size of an atomic nucleus. When the billion people would return to the ground after a tenth of a second, the Earth would recover its original state. Although the resulting gravitational signal would cross the Earth at the speed of light, the mechanical pressure wave would propagate less than a kilometer during this short time interval.</p>
<p>A whimsical event of this character could be coordinated by social media. Gladly, it does not imprint any long-term damage on our habitat. However, if a large amount of mass was lifted up above the atmosphere in the form of a solid object which later falls back, the resulting impact would trigger a major environmental catastrophe. The object’s touchdown could create a tsunami and raise a vast amount of dust into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and leading to significantly cooler temperatures.</p>
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