A chunk of ice from space that falls to Earth gains enough energy to warm the ice up, melt it, boil it into vapor, and then heat the vapor to thousands of degrees. Outer space is a lot higher up than Niagara Falls, so the plunge down into the atmosphere at the bottom of Earth's gravity well adds a lot more than 0.1 degrees worth of heat. (This added heat is minor compared to the cooling effects of evaporation on the way down, so the actual temperature at the bottom is likely colder.) Water that goes over Niagara Falls, for example, gains enough kinetic energy during the 50-meter plunge to warm it up by about 0.1☌ by the time it reaches the bottom. When it stops falling, that energy has to go somewhere. When water-or anything else-falls, it gains kinetic energy. One is that dropping things from space creates heat. In fact, it's honestly sort of impressive to find a solution that would actively make the problem worse in so many different ways.ĭropping a comet into the ocean to cool the planet, famously suggested by the 2002 Futurama episode None Like It Hot, I'm used to stuff making me feel old, but the fact that this episode aired 20 years ago is distressing in multiple ways. What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! Order here! ◀︎ ▶︎ Comet IceĬould I cool down the Earth by capturing a comet and dropping it in the ocean, like an ice cube in a glass of water?
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