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How Much Would It Cost to Move the Earth and Fix Climate Change?
I wish I could say this wasn’t true — but it’s true. A congressman proposed the following idea: what if we could fix climate change by moving the Earth’s orbit?
I told you it was true. Check it out.
Yes, it’s a crazy idea (for multiple reasons). However, we can’t let crazy get us down. Instead, let’s use this as a basis for an awesome physics problem. Here it is:
Suppose you move the Earth such that the intensity of light from the Sun decreases by 1 percent. How much energy would this orbital change require? If you paid for this energy, how much would it cost?
There’s a bunch of physics, so let’s get started.
Solar Intensity
The idea is that the Sun radiates light and this light can warm things up (or run your solar panel). If the Sun radiates power equally in all directions, then the farther you get from the Sun the less power per unit area you get.
