Scale Factors: Is a 10x Bigger Earth Possible?

  • Level: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Gondur
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Scale Scale factor
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
3 replies · 2K views
Gondur
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Hello,
Not really sure where this belongs (more sci fi)
But, suppose the Earth were 10 times bigger.
Would it be possible for everything on Earth to scale with this increase - Earth systems, land masses, trees etc (but also remain unchanged to us (except everything everything would be bigger).
So, would we also be 10 times bigger?
Literally, imagine stretching an image in photoshop or something - everything looks normal, except when you place it next to something else for reference, it looks huge (like fractal rocks)
Would something like this be possible in our universe?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You seem to be comparing evetything in new scenerio with present scenerio.So the idea may not remain meaningful.
 
Gondur said:
suppose the Earth were 10 times bigger.
I am not certain what you mean here. What experiment could you perform that would measure this effect you are thinking of? I am trying to understand what you physically mean by “10 times bigger”.
 
10 times more massive? Or 10 times larger radius? If the latter, then the Earth would be 1000 times more massive, given the same composition. But, the composition will actually change, due to the greatly increased pressures. Life might not be possible, but if it were, it would not look anything like us. With 10 times the radius, the surface gravity would be about 10 times greater, making it very difficult for large lifeforms to exist. If you were also 10 times as tall, you'd be 1000 times as massive, and weigh 10000 times as much. You couldn't move under your own weight. The air pressure would be much higher, possibly causing combustion of flammable materials if the oxygen concentration is at 20%.