Re:How to destroy the Earth (completely)
by pvdm on Sunday June 20, 2010 @02:28PM
(#1446932)
"Give me the place to stand, and I shall move the earth."
Archimedes. Said to be his assertion in demonstrating the principle of the lever.
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Moving the Earth is dealt with in some (err, much) depth here: http://qntm.org/moving
In terms of Archimedes:
"Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth", proclaimed Archimedes upon discovering the principles of leverage. Unfortunately, that place needs to be immovable, which is impossible. Also, what he didn't specify is that he also needs an equally immovable fulcrum - equally impossible - and a lever of stunning length which is unbreakable. Hah! Nice try, Archimedes.
"Unfortunately, that place needs to be immovable"
No, it merely needs to be of sufficient mass. As a practical strategy for moving the earth, this would clearly be infeasible, but, strictly speaking, I don't think that it is impossible.