Question: in about, lets say 1 million year , is the world gonna change its shape and get smaller or bigger?

Asked by nalizade to Edward, Kate, Nathan on 23 Jun 2011.

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  1. Photo: Kate PattersonKate Patterson
    answered on 23 Jun 2011:

    Hi nalizade!

    Interesting thought! To some degree the world is changing its shape all the time – but only very slightly. The plates on the earth’s surface shift slightly and move (creating earthquakes sometimes like the ones in Christchurch NZ) But these changes in shape pretty much only happen to the superficial layers of the earth. I think you are talking about BIG changes in size – like a ping pong ball to tennis ball etc

    I think no… not really. The earth’s elements sit together in quite a tight balance and the gravitational forces keep all those things fairly neatly in place. IF however a huge planet, moon , sun etc came flying into our orbit then it could definitely alter the way we function because that gravity would change completely

    Its a scary thought – I don’t know that anything on earth would survive a massive and sudden change in size!

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  2. Photo: Edward ShinEdward Shin
    answered on 23 Jun 2011:

    Hi nalizade,

    1 million years is too short a time for really big changes on Earth. But yes, over the 4.5 billion years (billion = 1000 million) or so of Earth’s history, Earth has changed A LOT. Not it’s shape — it will still be round and the whole Earth will be the same size — but the Earth’s surface, where we are, does change a lot.

    Whole continents move around, oceans are created and destroyed, and the atmosphere (air) changes as well (for example, in the beginning there was no oxygen in the atmosphere).

    But in 5 billion years or so, the Sun will be getting towards the end of its life, and it will swell up into a huge red thing that will swallow up Mercury, Venus, and probably Earth as well. In any case, Earth will be pretty much burnt to a crisp.

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