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&rsquo;s center of mass by roughly the size of an atomic nucleus.&nbsp;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&rsquo;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> <p><a href="https://avi-loeb.medium.com/the-rocket-effect-on-earth-33cd660eda4c"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>
Tags: Rocket Effects