If dooms day was ever to come

through nuclear fallout or an asteroid do you think there is anything man made that would remain in maybe 1 million years,would satellites and space stations still be in one piece orbiting the earth,or would these giant lumps of steel we cast for parts of buildings and ships which weigh 1000s of tons still be in one piece,or remains of landfills that are preserved,if dinosaur bones can remains in tact after millions of years surely they will be some stuff that survive that shows proof of a former civilization,if there ever is a new intelligent life form that grows after we are wiped out by an asteroid or commit suicide.

what do you all think?

Well a civilizations remains, it's hard to say. The show life after people covered that idea pretty well, I thought. I'm sure there would be remains of people like we have of dinosaurs. I could say stone monuments still being around for quite some time. But a million years is quite a stretch for made structures to survive. It would all rust away probaly. The earth would clean it's self up over a certain amount of time. I could see future visitors finding our current atmosphere conditions in the ice of north and south poles, and other foot prints of us in sediment layers. it's a two way street, what could we make to last that long and how hard the beings look for our remains and structures. We could built and bury a pyramid somewhere and use as a time capsule. Because I think it would take longer for a stone structure that in the ground to be eroded and weathers away. But I have no evidence to back that theory of mine

I'm personally thinking that there are some remains of all that has come before. The problem is, there were millions of dinosaurs and we find only thousands of examples. I think only the right circumstances will allow for segments of what we are now to get immortality by being preserved like a Mammoth in the ice... Most, over time would return to whatever it once had been before Man turned it into something else.....but not quite everything.

reply to post by TBR47


Due to tidal and/or atmospheric orbital decay, satellites would probably, eventually, crash to earth. Objects can last thousands of years...probably even tens of thousands of years...millions of years, probably not...the only reason fossils remain is because the bones, and someone correct me if I don't have it exactly right, are porus and absorb surrounding minerals...essentially, the bone does not remain, but is rather replaced by a mineral replica...

...technology-wise...if something was deep underground, in a secure area away from major seismic activity and elemental erosion...I don't see why it couldn't have a chance...but metals do oxidise and plastics erode.

Not much would survive for a million years, metals would corrode buildings would weaken and erode and all satellites would eventually succumb to gravity. Dinosaur fossils are due to exceptional circumstances and conditions and it is only through luck that conditions prevailed to preserve them in their current state. Gold is pretty durable and diamonds are forever but its hard to believe that they would survive in their 'worked' forms.

Saying all that, the only man made thing to survive an apocalyptic civilisation ending event would be a McDonald's Apple Pie which even after a thousand millennia would still retain a core temperature equal to that of a medium star.

Actually there is a documentary about this, check it out
in 9 parts

What about all the non biodegradable trash laying everywhere? Would micro-organisms eventually pick those clean?

Originally posted by HumansEh
Not much would survive for a million years, metals would corrode buildings would weaken and erode and all satellites would eventually succumb to gravity.

If this were true, then why hasn't the Earth, a satellite of the sun, succumbed to gravity after 4 + billion years?

Because it's not necessarily true. Low Earth orbit satellites won't last long due to friction.

However, geosynchronous orbits are much higher and more stable. I'm not aware of how long their orbits are expected to last but I am aware of a requirement that new geosynchronous launches in the US have to have a provision to move the satellite into a "graveyard orbit" after the life of the satellite, which means it's expected to last a very long time.

There's no atmosphere to speak of in Geostationary orbit, so what would corrode the satellite? Solar wind would probably erode it, but it may last quite a long time.

Originally posted by TBR47
through nuclear fallout or an asteroid do you think there is anything man made that would remain in maybe 1 million years,

You're asking much the same question as was discussed in this thread...

If we had a high-tech civilization Millions of years on Earth/Mars..what would be left..what would w

Maybe your answers lie there.

reply to post by SSimon


thanks for that documentary,it is quite good just watched the first two parts.

reply to post by HumansEh


lol i came a cross an article a while ago about a guy who forgot he left a McDonald's cheese burger in his jacket for over 2 years and it didn't even go mouldy,and remained perfectly preserved,it really does make you wander what actually goes into their foods,