On 9/28/12 9/28/12 - 8:54 AM, Big Dog wrote:
> On 9/28/2012 3:26 AM, Y wrote:
>> If light contains relativistic mass, as we burn fossil fuels to create
>> artificial lighting, the Earth loses rest mass into outer space via
>> light. Could this loss of mass be drawing us nearer or further to the
>> sun ?
>>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip2ZGND1I9Q
>
> Here's an interesting exercise to calculate.
> Which is more?
> The light radiated from the earth by burning fossil fuels?
> The light received by the earth from the sun?
> As you can see, the answer here will have an impact on your other question.
Don't forget the influx of micrometeorites. And big ones. There is also ablation
of the atmosphere, and simple escape of hydrogen and helium. Plus the occasional
space probe launch. I'll bet these affect earth's mass far more than either of
the above. These are just the effects that come immediately to mind; there
surely are others....
Also, a simple increase in the mass of the earth would only affect its orbit at
higher orders (e.g. via increased interactions with other planets or the
oblateness of the sun, or more pulling of the sun away from the barycenter of
the solar system). Variations in the mass of the sun are larger and MUCH more
important.
Note that all of the effects in my first paragraph transfer momentum to the
earth, which affects its orbit directly, and that can have a direct effect on
the mean orbital radius. Experimentally, their sum is VERY tiny.
Tom Roberts