I was thinking, you know how they say if all the chinese would jump at the same time, it would create a gigantic earthquake? It never sounds realistic. But around 1 biliion chinese and an average weight of 50 kilograms- that would be 50 million tons, 50,000,000,000 kilograms. That a lot. What about all of southeast asia including India? That's over 3 biliion! 150,000,000,000 kilograms! I wonder if the chinese feel thretend from nuclear weapons by America, they could just bump the americans off of Earth!
What do you think?

Probably not, I imagine the USGS could detect any such attempts, but your talking about F=ma, with about a tenth of a second of acceleration. Would someone notice? You betcha, but I wouldn't go reinforcing the foundations over it.

Other factors for consideration: Soil density (rock versus rice patty), overall area of distribution (I was once told a billion people could stand shoulder to shoulder, front to back, in the about the same amount of area that exists in the state of Rhode Island.) Compact them too much, and they're more likely to be a danger to themselves than someone on the other side of the world.

__________________
The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Cecil Adams has addressed this, although not very seriously:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_155.html

And I heard that the U.S. Government did some research into the question, but I'm not sure that's true.

I heard you could fit the entire world's population in the state of Texas.

I'd love to have the contract for the protable toilets if they ever try to put everyone in Texas. And with the reputation that Texas has for their chile, I'd make a fortune.

Heck, I could fit them all in Rhode Island... if I was allowed to stack them...

__________________
Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

50,000,000,000 kg sounds like a lot when you look at it. But the Earth weighs 120 trillion times more at 6*10^24 kg.

So the Earth would only accelerate 1/120 trillionth as much as the people I guess.

Err......lets look at numbers....
3.bil people at 100kg each weigh as much as a cube of Earth a mere 500meter on its side, where earth's density is taken as 2e3kg/m^3.

Suppose you were feeling more adventurous, and you were to, say, drop those same 3bil people from a height, of say, 1km. The energy released would be order of magnitude 10^15J.
Now, if you look here on Wikipedia , you'll notice that the energy released by the recent 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was of magnitude 10^20J. Hence, the falling people don't even make a whimper, as they release 100000 times less energy.

The Chinese, Indians, Europeans, Russians, Americans, or the whole planet altoghether, can jump all they want. They just don't matter!


edited 03/04 to say that dropping 500m cubes of earth from 1km height will result in a ~5.6 magnitude earthquake 8-[

__________________
"Its full of stars!"

By my calculations, that would result in a population density of about 9200 people per km^2, which is a bit less than the current population density of New York City.

Well, we could all just Stand on Zanzibar. No need for Texas or Rhode Island then :P

__________________
Knowledge is a curse, but ignorance is worse

You could see some effects, if they all jumped together from a couple of thousand feet high without parachutes...

__________________
What brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart

Ancient Chinese saying, “No way, Jose!”

No need for Rhode Island! Where would I get my Quahogs from and where would Family Guy live?!?

__________________
At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009
All moderation in purple

But if they all flushed simultaneously: Tsunami!

World Toilet Summit: A Flush of Excitement – It’s a good thing they have a lack of toilets.

100kg You have obviously never been to China. I bet there aren't a million of them that come close to weighing 100kg. That would be 220 lbs. Yao Ming may weigh that much. I'll estimate that I've seen about 10,000 chinese and not one looked like they weighed anywhere near 220 lbs.

I could be wrong but my estimate for the chinese "average weight" is between 70 & 75 kg. (154-165lbs.) So you may want to revise your estimate.

__________________
It's just one of those damn things of which there are many few. -- Dan Blocker

Last I heard, I think the average weight for men in the United States (land of the fat and home of the blubbery) was in the 85-90 kg range, so yeah, 100 kg is probably a bit too high for the average Chinese adult.

hehe.......mathematically speaking, it was an upper bound coupled with a strong safety factor

__________________
"Its full of stars!"

I estimated 50 KG. I include men, women, children, babies, and sumo wreslers...

__________________
Dr. Booblishmoops,
andrew.ender@gmail.com

PHD in Tziflingology
PHD in Astronomy and Astrophisics (awarded by Dr. Booblishmoops)
MASTERS DEGREE in HIR(Highly Intellegent Remarks) (also awarded by Dr. Booblishmoops)

If i'm not mistaken, if one object will bump into 2 objects right next to eachother, it will inflict that motion to the third object. No matter the wheight of the second (middle) object.

00 <--0
<-000<-
0<--00

Am I right?
If so, no matter how big Earth is, the far east will inflict 150 billion Kg. to Americans. Therefore- bumping the Americans off of Earth!
(don't you feel safe now?)

__________________
Dr. Booblishmoops,
andrew.ender@gmail.com

PHD in Tziflingology
PHD in Astronomy and Astrophisics (awarded by Dr. Booblishmoops)
MASTERS DEGREE in HIR(Highly Intellegent Remarks) (also awarded by Dr. Booblishmoops)

Darn, you beat me to it. I was trying to find a sumo wrestler smilie, too.

I think sumo's are primarily Japanese, though, but still funny.

I believe North America is roughly opposite the Indian Ocean, not China. Parts of South America may be opposite China, however. So, according to your idea, every time someone drops a bowling ball in China, a small dog is tossed into the air in Brazil.

Fascinating!

Edit: Could this be the explanation for potholes???

=D> =D> =D>

__________________
Home of the Illumi-Llama:
The Illuminati-R-Us Forums

The Chinese thing is pure rubbish.

I am quite sure a bowling ball would cause a poodle to become a mexican jumping bean... if the Earth were absolutely solid.

Otherwise you have to take the laws of thermodynamics and physics into effect before you assume the Chinese could do anything but sprain a billion ankles by jumping off their chairs.

Much of their energy would be dispersed as heat energy. The surface they jump on would have to be considered as well. if they are in their house and jump on the foundation. the foundation would spread the shock out to nothing. Is the foundation on dirt? Is the dirt covering rock, sand, water?

If you fused all the Chinese into a ball and slammed them into the Earth at 14,000 mph that might make you spill your drink.

__________________
This is bat country

We know. Even back with my statement, there's a world of difference between detection and any catastrophic event.

__________________
The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Aaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeek! There is a commie Chinese conspiricy to make me spill my Canadian Hunter on the rocks! :roll: :-? :wink:

__________________
It's just one of those damn things of which there are many few. -- Dan Blocker

Oh, but the Chinese are making the Earth quake.

With their Long March rocket family, that is:
http://www.astronautix.com/lvfam/lonmarch.htm

#-o :roll:

__________________
The last time I felt a warm fuzzy feeling, I was informed by my doctor that it was just gas.

Ahem... :roll: Sumo is a Japanese thiing so they don't count in this equation. :wink:

__________________
It's just one of those damn things of which there are many few. -- Dan Blocker

I feel complete, now.