Tunnel through the center of the Earth
lalaland
Posts: 11,882 Forum Member
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May be a bit of a daft thought, but here goes.
Ignoring the hot core and other technicalities, if we had a tunnel that went directly through the center of the Earth, directly from one side to the other what would happen in the middle?
Each side being a hole, just straight down. So at each side of the planet it was just a crater that you could jump in to.
Obviously jumping in to the hole at your side of the world would mean you fall downwards, but what would happen as you got to the center of the planet? Obviously at some point down would no longer be down, however you couldn't keep falling and shoot upwards from the hole at the other side of the planet.
So at which point would you stop falling and how would it all work?
Ignoring the hot core and other technicalities, if we had a tunnel that went directly through the center of the Earth, directly from one side to the other what would happen in the middle?
Each side being a hole, just straight down. So at each side of the planet it was just a crater that you could jump in to.
Obviously jumping in to the hole at your side of the world would mean you fall downwards, but what would happen as you got to the center of the planet? Obviously at some point down would no longer be down, however you couldn't keep falling and shoot upwards from the hole at the other side of the planet.
So at which point would you stop falling and how would it all work?
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Thats what i think there is no scientific basis to that (apart from gravity)
also why dont we realise we are walking upside down?
i know gravity pulls us in anyway
but the earth still goes upside down
you would fall onto one side of the hole, which ever is denser because seeing as there is no dead centre anymore you would fall to the bigger half or just be drownd as water would swamp you:)
no way, it would at least be chuck noris!
It's just something I've been thinking about
So it's looking like you'd be stopping at the core then.
I presume you'd pick up a lot of speed traveling that far from the surface to the center though.
Interesting thought. Do you think you'd reach the other side?
I just edited my post and quoted a HSW article on the subject. It looks like there'd be too much drag to reach the other side on Earth, so you'd probably - eventually - end up stuck in the centre.
Which isn't ideal.
About 120mph in air, like a skydiver. Head 1st, you can get up to about 220 in a skinny suit. In vacuum, I'd have to write a program on a scientific calculator to work it out, but as acceleration and deceleration would be equal, you'd finish at the surface.
So, anyone up for a spot of digging
If stopping in the center wouldn't kill you and stopped you comfortably, which I doubt, then it could make quite an exciting sport. Obviously we'd have to work out a way to get people back out from the center, but it'd certainly be a money maker and great hobby
You can do it in Super Mario Galaxy. It is very fun
Unless you had a graple gun
It would still be a tunnel through the centre of earth but sideways
The result would be the same. It's all relative.
I would have thought it would work whichever way it was viewed as being dug?
I'm really thinking hard here
Wouldn't make any difference just as gravity is the same on the equator as it is at the north pole. (there maybe minute differences)
you would still be going in the same direction
dont think of space and north/south east/west, you dont have that in space its only a way of making directions