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Has the number of atoms on Earth changed since the birth of the Earth?

       
  

My science teacher said, “The number of atoms on Earth has not changed since the birth of the Earth”. But I think that the number of atoms on Earth is changing because rockets and satellites are going to space…
  

Ginny (Jun 2005)

  
 

Answer:  

An anonymous professor, who is actually studying earth and space, kindly answered the question above:
 
 

The gross weight of meteorites falling to Earth in a year is said to be approximately 100,000 tons, but almost all of them are dust (cosmic dust). The value of “100,000 tons” is roughly estimated from:

  1. The number of cosmic dust in the atmosphere
     

  2. The size (weight) of meteorite, and the frequency of fallen meteorite in the past


  
Meteorite
Courtesy of 
Kiseki Museum

Atmosphere is also scattered (released) to outer space, on the other hand, high-energy particles (cosmic ray) are pouring from space to Earth. But both amounts are small.
 
The amount of space probes which humans are sending into space is very small.
 
 
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank an anonymous professor for the kind answer.
  
 

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