What Would Happen if Everyone on the Planet Jumped at the Same Time?

March 8th, 2023

Ok I just went into Geek Mode to find some kind of answer:
Going by the average weight of children 1-18 years old plus the average weight of adults (UK) the weight of the global population is 48,480×10^9 Kg*. Assuming they all jump 50cm high, the force required to overcome gravity and jump to that height combined with an equal force to bring back down would equal 23.27×10^13 Joules, a lot of energy. Now compare that to a relatively small thermo-nuclear device such as Fat Boy that blew up Hiroshima in August 1945 which was 1.8×10^13 Joules. Everyone jumping would exert 13 times the power of that bomb. But compared to the Russian Tsar Bomba weighing in with a mahoosive 50 megaton yield, the energy created by that blast was 20,000×10^13 Joules nearly 900 times the energy of the people jumping up and down. Although the destruction from the Tsar Bomba was phenomenal, the energy was released in a room sized space as apposed to spread around the globe. So I think the Earth would cope just fine.
*This is assuming everyone can jump that height which they cant for various reasons so this figure is way over the top.

Entry Filed under: General