Can we change the orbit of the planet?

Question

If the entire population of Earth stood on the same side of the planet and jumped up and down, could we change its orbit?

Answer 1

No the low of equal conservation of energy would prevent us from moving it. We would push it away from us just a little bit but all our mass would pull the earth back to us, just as it pulled us back to it.

But we have changed the orbit of the planet earth. When the Galileo space craft got a speed boast from with the "sling shot maneuver" it used the planet to speed itself up. in return the space craft pulled back on the planet as well, and slow the orbit of the earth around the sun by one billionth of an in per year.

Answer 2

To answer your first question, yes, we can change the orbit of the earth, but, not by having everybody go to one side of it and jump up and down. Every time we launch anything into space we are also almost impercievably altering the earth's orbit around the sun. It is so imperceivable that if we were to launch one Saturn V rocket at midnight every day for a million years, our orbit around the sun might be diminished by a day.

But, jumping up and down on the surface of the earth won't actually cause any change in the earth's orbit, because there would be no net change in the kinetic energy of the relationships between the world and any of the individual people doing the jumping.

Answer 3

Well, not really. Because, although you're applying a force to the Earth, it's applying an equal force to you - thereby *not* changing the center of mass.

When you jump, you push the Earth a little away from you, and you move far more, because your mass is *much* less than the Earth. But, the center of mass between the two bodies will not change.

Answer 4

No.

But if every human being on the planet were to face in one direction and begin running at the same time, we might be able to get it spinning a "little bit" faster.

Jumping up and down would just pack the dirt under your feet a little tighter.

You might also consider placing a big rope around the nearest mountain and having everyone anywhere nearby gather and pull on the rope in the opposite direction of the Earth's spin to slow it down somewhat and give us longer days. There is just not enough time in a given day to get all my work done. If you look long and hard enough, you might be able to get a large enough group of people to buy into that argument and participate in the challenge with the rope. Now that I think about it some... you might need two or three ropes.

Answer 5

If human beings have been some day in a position to get a 'grip on time itself,a planet would desire to be led to to fall right into a clean physique of gravitational reference.If completed in a relentless way Mars would desire to be moved to the alternative fringe of the sunlight close to earths orbital course.the completed mass of Mars could would desire to be vibrationally pivoted against the vibrational in line with ion of the completed huge-unfold perturbation for this to accrue.no longer something is impossible for the unlazy.

Answer 6

First of all, you can't move something by jumping up and down on it. If you don't believe that, try propelling a rowboat without putting anything in the water. Secondly, consider the proportion - the entire mass of the human race relative to Earth is about like an ant on a high-rise block.

Answer 7

No ... you have to exert a large force from outside the earth. We are a part of the earth system.


Added -- We and tha planet have a center of mass that orbits the sun. We cannot change that orbit from inside the system.

Answer 8

No, but there have been proposals to change the orbit of the Earth by tossing asteroids near the planet creating a gravitational slingshot effect.

Answer 9

Not by jumping up and down, no. However, hundreds of rocket motors all on the same side facing the same direction could move it a bit ! There was a sci-fi story about this once, can't remember what it was called though !

Answer 10

Hmmmm. Possibly. With the Western world getting fatter maybe that will cause an imbalance?! We could go screwing off to the side and into the sun? You'd lose 4 points for that in snooker.