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  • Hey there.

  • Welcome to Life Noggin.

  • We live in a part of the solar system called the Goldilocks zone, where it's not too hot that all the water evaporates away, but it's also not too cold where it freezes instead.

  • And unless you're an astronaut, the big spherical rock will be your home for life.

  • But what if that home suddenly changed?

  • What if in a split second the earth doubled in size?

  • Let's assume that the density remains constant.

  • So the mass of the earth increased as well.

  • How would that change things?

  • Well, first off, gravity would be very different.

  • The earth would have eight times as much mass and gravity would be twice as strong.

  • So if you stepped on a scale you'd suddenly weigh twice as much as before, it would be much harder for you to walk and you get tired much more easily.

  • After all, you'd feel like you were giving another version of yourself a piggyback ride all day every day, which would look very funny.

  • Over the years, human bones, especially in the legs, would have to become stronger to support this increased weight.

  • Meanwhile, trees would start to collapse and any new trees that grow in their place might not grow as tall.

  • See, there's a limit for how tall a tree can grow, usually around 400 ft or so.

  • This limit is determined by gravity since the taller the tree is, the more energy is required to transport water from the roots to the top.

  • If the amount of energy the tree gains from photosynthesis is more than the energy it takes to transport the water, it'll keep growing; otherwise, it'll stop.

  • So if the earth suddenly got twice as big, trees like the California redwood may not be as impressive.

  • Luckily, even though the gravitational pull of the earth will be stronger, it still won't be enough to break the moon apart.

  • See, in order for that to happen, the moon would have to be within the Earth's Roche limit.

  • This is the minimum distance the moon can approach the earth without being torn apart by tidal forces.

  • This happens because the near side of the moon is pulled in harder than the far side.

  • When the moon gets close enough to the earth, the gravity holding it together is overcome by this cosmic tug.

  • Inside that limit Earth's gravity will tear the moon apart, giving us a ring like those around Saturn.

  • Oh, and the more earth there is, the more it will heat up.

  • See, if there are more unstable elements in the crust and interior, more heat will reach the surface and there may be much more volcanic activity.

  • And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not live in a world where there's a constant threat of an exploding volcano.

  • Oh wait, are we already living in that?

  • I'm looking at you, Yellowstone.

  • Anyway, if you could live anywhere in the universe, no limitations, where would it be and why?

  • If I could, I'd totally live in Jupiter's great red spot.

  • It'd be pretty dangerous, but I'm an animation.

  • I can totally handle it.

  • Make sure you come back every monday for a brand new video.

  • As always, I'm Blocko.

  • Oh, this has been Life Noggin.

  • Don't forget to keep on thinking.

Hey there.

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