Question

A few hundred tons of comet dust are added to Earth daily from the millions of meteors that enter our atmosphere. Estimate the time it would take for Earth to get 0.1% heavier at this rate. is this mass accumulation significant for earth as a planet? Explain.

Answer 1

Answer:

$=9.953\times 10^{16} Days$

Explanation:

The weight of the Earth = $5.972\times 10^{24} KG$

0.1% of the weight of the Earth will be

$=5.972\times 10^{24} \times \frac{1}{1000}$

$=5.972\times 10^{21} KG$

As per a research conducted in 2014, it was estimated that 60 tons of cosmic dust fall on the Earth every day. So, the time it would take for the cosmic dust to make up 0.1% of the weight of the Earth will be,

$=\frac{1}{60000}\times 5.972\times 10^{21} Days$

$=9.953\times 10^{16} Days$.

Though the quantity of the cosmic dust might seem huge but its negligible in comparison to the weight of the Earth. Also, this cosmic dust plays a role in formation of clouds and fertilization of plankton in Polar region.