NOTE TO THE FILES

Date: 25 April, 2002

Author: R.A. Beatty

Subject: HAS THE MASS OF EARTH INCREASED WITH TIME?
 

INTRODUCTION

Several noted geologists report they have found compelling evidence to suggest the Earth has expanded over time, including Emeritus Professor Samuel Warren Carey, University of Tasmania, who was an initiator of this concept in 1956. Estimates of Earth's expansion of between 72-82% in 280My (sic Perin) have been made. It is difficult to imagine this quantity of material arriving on Earth purely through cosmic dust and asteroid admission. This has left a major conundrum facing the Expanding Earth theory and which may now be explained by considering the nature of Gravity Waves.
 

BACKGROUND

Consider a crane suspending a load above the ground with the winch brake engaged. The load is not moving, so there is no work being done, even though the force of gravity is acting on the suspended load. Now consider the winch brake is released, but the electric motor driving the winch is powered sufficiently to stall the motor, and hold the load suspended above the ground. Still no work is being performed on the load, but the winch is consuming power, which is converted into heat. The difference in these two situations is that the crane with the brake applied represents a fixed link with the load, while the stalled motor alternative represents an elastic link with the load.

Similarly, the force of gravity represents an elastic link between the Sun and the Earth during sidereal rotation. The orbit is not circular, it is elastic, and varies from a minimal distance of 1.471E+011 to a maximum of 1.521E+011 metres from the Sun. This is a variation of 5 billion metres each year, or 1.0E+010 m both ways (L).

The force of gravity acting to hold the Earth in orbit around the Sun is calculated from Newton's equation Fg = G x M x m / r2 where (M) and (m) are the Sun and Earth masses, (G) is the gravitational constant and (r) is the radial distance between the two bodies. We can calculate that Fg is currently equal to 3.564E+022 Newtons, but would have been less with a reduced Earth mass in the Paleozoic.

GRAVITY CONUNDRUM

Now, if we accept that the elastic nature of the link between the two bodies suggests work is being done, we can calculate that during one orbit the force Fg acts through a distance of L, and the work is 3.098E+032 N.m. The units for Work (N.m) and joules of Energy (J) have the same value, so we can say this also represents the amount of energy involved. In the crane example the energy consumed, transpired as heat. We recognise that our current understanding of gravity is still very basic, but lets assume for the present that gravity represents a convertible form of energy, as discussed under www.bosmin.com/PSL/note1.htm, and that energy may also report as Mass. We can then use Einstein's relativity formula (E=mc2) to calculate the mass generated.

The quantity of mass produced is 3.447E+015 Kg per annum, which over 280 My comes to 1.755E+020 m3 (Earth SG 5500 kg/m3). The Paleozoic surface area would have been 4.545E+008Km2, while the existing surface is 5.111E+008, an increase of 12.5%, (not 82% suggested by Perin).

Since the Earth has always been orbiting the Sun, this effect should have existed for the previous 4.55By. When we make allowance for the growing Earth mass during this time, we find the Earth started off with a surface area of 3.188E+008 Km2, an increase of 60% over its lifetime.

Additional Earth mass has certainly come from meteorites and could account for the mass short fall between 60% and 72-82% suggested by Perin.
 

DEDUCTION

We need the assistance of a quantum mechanic to comment on the opportunity for generating extra mass through 'gravitational elasticity'. My view is that the explanation could well lie in the ubiquitous neutrino particle which is 'everywhere' in space, but nowhere to be found. It may be that it is hard to detect neutrinos because they are absorbed into the atomic structure without emitting a tell tale energy trace? Proof of this deduction would have profound implications for the 'big bang' and 'expanding universe' theories.

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