Is the Earth getting heavier?

[n2doc]

DR. DAVE GOLDBERG

Considering that planet Earth is being bombarded with energy from the sun, approximately how much mass does our planet gain from sunlight in say, a million years?

This is a fun question because it connects almost directly (and somewhat surprisingly) with how the Higgs works. We're all familiar with Einstein's great equation, E=mc^2, but the Higgs particle gives mass to others by virtue of the fact that the equation can be inverted:

m=E/c^2

Just as you can get energy out of annihilating mass, you can also create mass from whole cloth by producing energy. If you pour enough energy into the earth in the form of sunbeams, presumably the earth will get more and more massive, right? Wrong, but to understand why, we need a strict accounting of where all of the energy goes.

The Sun is Falling Apart

As you probably know, the sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace. There's no question that the sun is losing mass over time. It radiates at a rate of about about 4x10^26 W. To make that much energy, huge amounts of hydrogen are fused into a huge (but slightly smaller) amount of helium, with a deficit of about 4 billion kilograms every second, or about 370 billion tons a day.

more

http://io9.com/is-the-earth-gaining-weight-512456481

(starts off squirrly, I know, but gets better and more interesting later in the article. )

[Wounded Bear]

1. I thought the Earth was gaining mass...

from all of the dust and particles it vacuums up out of space as it orbits. Not to mention the meteorites that bombard it daily.

[Orsino]

3. Any mass gain from inbound energy will be insignificant next to that.

And even next to the lost mass as the Earth's core and mantle cool.

[Sirveri]

4. why would we lose mass because something cools?

All that would do is increase its density. The only mass loss I can think of is due to nuclear fission reactions and orbital launches.

[Orsino]

5. Earth radiates photons as it cools. n/t

[Sirveri]

6. photons aren't mass, they're energy, so unless mass is converted to energy, we wouldn't lose mass.

Only a few ways to convert mass to energy, one of the ones we do is nuclear fission, and that works due to a difference in binding energy in the resultant fission products.

[DetlefK]

8. If adding photons means adding mass, then the reverse also holds.

You should know that the majority of mass in baryonic matter is contained within the potential energy (manifested by virtual gluons) holding quarks together. That's why you can't just add up the masses of quarks to get the mass of a meson or baryon.

I don't know for sure but I don't see any obstacles why a similar mechanism shouldn't count for the potential energy between an atomic nucleus and the electrons (manifested in virtual photons and the virtual electrons within those virtual photons).

[Victor_c3]

2. great read

I'm going to have to remember some of these obscure numbers so I can baffle the people I work and interact with.

[cstanleytech]

7. Will the planet lose more mass than it gains before the sun engulfs it?

After all by then it will have blown most if not all the atmosphere and water off just before it turns it into a giant roasting marshmallow right?