Could we move the Earth out of its orbit if we all, all seven (and more) billion people, jumped at the same time?
Astrophysicist Paul Sutter from the University of Ohio and Mark Boslow from the Sandia Laboratory provide an answer to that question.
They assumed that all people should be gathered in one place, so that they would know when to jump.
Assuming they all got to their feet at the same time, the combined impact would release an enormous amount of energy.
Part of that energy would be absorbed by the shoes, but the rest would end up in the air and soil. The impact would be as loud as the loudest thunder and would have about 200 decibels, which is enough to rupture the eardrums.
At the same time we would feel the ground shaking. A jump at the same time would trigger an earthquake of magnitude between four and eight, depending on how much shock is absorbed by the shoes and how much by the ground.
An earthquake of magnitude four would not cause major consequences, and an "eight" would level all weaker buildings, power lines, bend railways and collapse bridges. In addition, the impact would cause a tsunami with waves higher than 30 meters.
Although this scenario sounds apocalyptic, it only applies to the area of Earth where the "jumpers" are located. The rest would not notice any major changes, and the Earth would continue its orbit around the Sun.
Source: B92
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