Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6487 times:
Inspired by the losing the sun thread.
Hypothetical question.
What if a whole of 6feet in diameter was drilled through the planet all the way to the other side?
What would happen?
Would molten lava shoot out both ends?
What effect on gravity would that have?
If a person or object fell in the whole, would they fly out the opposite end or would they be suspended in the middle?
Would everything on the surface near it get sucked in like rapid decompression?
TPASXM787 From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 1730 posts, RR: 22 Reply 1, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6478 times:
Quoting Superfly (Thread starter): What if a whole of 6feet in diameter was drilled through the planet all the way to the other side?
I'd say it would be a sure way to screw up the magnetic field if nothing else.
Quoting Superfly (Thread starter): If a person or object fell in the whole, would they fly out the opposite end or would they be suspended in the middle?
Would everything on the surface near it get sucked in like rapid decompression?
Both good questions. Perhaps this is where the servers go when a.net is down.
Logan22L From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6474 times:
Assuming you could round up enough auger flights to do this, by the time you got down to the molten core, lava would indeed come gushing up. So, you'd never make it past the core unless you have an asbestos jumpsuit with a big "S" on it.
If someone fell in the hole, they'd be vaporized by the heat of the core, but leaving that aside, the person would go past the center, then get drawn back the other way, and would oscillate back and forth in damped motion until finally coming to rest in the center - all of this due to the pull of gravity, which eminates from the center of the Earth.
I don't believe that anything would necessarily get "sucked in." Then again, what the hell do I know? I don't even know how the can opener works. - Woody Allen
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 3, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6450 times:
Quoting Logan22L (Reply 2): leaving that aside, the person would go past the center, then get drawn back the other way, and would oscillate back and forth in damped motion until finally coming to rest in the center - all of this due to the pull of gravity, which eminates from the center of the Earth.
Well the earths gravity is really powerful. Is it possible that they wouldn't go past the core? Afterall, it's gravity that is pulling you down.
Quoting Logan22L (Reply 2): So, you'd never make it past the core unless you have an asbestos jumpsuit with a big "S"
What does the "S" do?
Is that like a Ghostbuster?
Only Bon Jovi can stand temperatures that high. Remember there 7800 Fahrenheit album?
Also Rick Wakeman took a Journey to the Center of the Earth.
SlamClick From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 10062 posts, RR: 71 Reply 4, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6446 times:
This has long been my transportation dream. Imagine, a tunnel straight from San Francisco to, say, Tokyo. It wouldn't be straight through the center but it would be pretty steep.
Now the actual vehicle is cylindrical. It sits on rollers and when everything and everyone is boarded you just tip it down a gentle ramp into the hole. Gravity takes over and it freefalls to the center. Then its momentum carries it fairly close to the surface on the other side (a few hundred miles maybe) Then we fire the steam rockets. The energy in the steam was imparted by passing through the really hot parts of the Earth's interior. It may just be the perfect mode of transport - no energy use from outside sources.
Okay, there are a couple of problems to solve and a couple of inherent solutions.
If the Earth's center is molten then it seems probable that the middle part is a giant pousse cafe of molten metals. Somewhere down there, arranged according to its specific gravity is a layer miles deep of pure molten gold. That will pay for the project. There are probably even elements that have never been found at the surface - that will provide the scientific justification.
So, fly, meet me at next year's Burning Man and we'll discuss it.
Happiness is not seeing another trite Ste. Maarten photo all week long.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 3): Is it possible that they wouldn't go past the core?
Doubtful, although thinking about this, gravity is caused by mass, and at the center of the Earth the mass is largely "above" you. Hence the real answer is I have no freakin' clue. You know like the way ConcordeBoy and MaverickM11 talk about volcanos having more effect on global warming than man's activities.
SATL382G From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 7, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6431 times:
Quoting Superfly (Thread starter): What if a whole of 6feet in diameter was drilled through the planet all the way to the other side?
Unless you're "hypothetically" suspending the physical laws which govern the universe....
The hole will collapse when the pressures encountered overcome the bearing strength of the holes walls or of the drill bit.
If you are suspending the physical laws of the universe then I suggest we build a hi-speed rail link with a line change station and underground shopping area at the center of the earth. Such a train line would generate it's own energy, utilizing the potential energy it has prior to being dropped in the hole. The train will accelerate all the way to the line change station and decelerate all the way out to the other side of the earth coming to a complete stop only at the destination station. Passengers changing trains or going shopping will need to "jump" off at the at the change station, landing in a large pool of decelerative goo. Passengers leaving the station will be fired, by rail gun, into the observation car of a passing train.
Air travel, as we know it, will come to be seen as a slow and energy inefficient means of transportation. The phrase "catch a plane" will be replaced by "jump in a hole", as in "Sorry, gotta run. Gotta go jump in a hole". Atlanta Hartsfield will no longer be the predominant transportation hub in the U.S. That honor will go to the train change station, hereafter known as Hell (HLL). So to go from Poughkeepsie to Boise everyone would need to "go to Hell" first.
See, things really are easier if we just suspend reality.
SlamClick From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 10062 posts, RR: 71 Reply 8, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6422 times:
Quoting SATL382G (Reply 7): See, things really are easier if we just suspend reality.
Well hell, if we are going to suspend reality let's get back to politics.
Happiness is not seeing another trite Ste. Maarten photo all week long.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38512 posts, RR: 80 Reply 9, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6417 times:
Quoting SlamClick (Reply 4): This has long been my transportation dream.
Quoting SlamClick (Reply 4): So, fly, meet me at next year's Burning Man and we'll discuss it.
Sounds cool!
The closest we can get to that experience is if I drive my car and bring my quad 8track tape of Rick Wakeman's 'Journey To The Center Of The Earth'.
You'd need some acid or LSD to really feel like your are there. I'd just stick to pot brownies.
SATL382G From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6405 times:
Quoting SlamClick (Reply 4): This has long been my transportation dream. Imagine, a tunnel straight from San Francisco to, say, Tokyo. It wouldn't be straight through the center but it would be pretty steep.
Such a transportation scheme is going to require an outside source of energy as gravity will impart drag enroute. Of course with reality suspended you could pretty much do whatever you want.
That's the trouble with discussions like this, nobody but the thread originator knows what portions of reality are suspended and which are not.
Banco From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2001, 14752 posts, RR: 55 Reply 12, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 6398 times:
Quoting SATL382G (Reply 7): If you are suspending the physical laws of the universe then I suggest we build a hi-speed rail link with a line change station and underground shopping area at the center of the earth. Such a train line would generate it's own energy, utilizing the potential energy it has prior to being dropped in the hole. The train will accelerate all the way to the line change station and decelerate all the way out to the other side of the earth coming to a complete stop only at the destination station. Passengers changing trains or going shopping will need to "jump" off at the at the change station, landing in a large pool of decelerative goo. Passengers leaving the station will be fired, by rail gun, into the observation car of a passing train.
Of course, if the departure point was in the UK, services would be disrupted by any leaves that fell down the hole, or if it snowed.
She's as nervous as a very small nun at a penguin shoot.
Stlgph From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 8979 posts, RR: 27 Reply 13, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 6391 times:
Quoting Superfly (Thread starter): If a person or object fell in the whole, would they fly out the opposite end or would they be suspended in the middle?
they would be suspended in the middle.
Eternal darkness we all should dread. It's hard to party when you're dead.
SATL382G From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 6364 times:
Quoting Stlgph (Reply 13): they would be suspended in the middle
What would happen to the kinetic energy the item developed as it fell to the middle? You would have to dissipate it somehow otherwise the object will tend to continue in motion....
Lots of kids who enjoy swingsets are going to be dissappointed when you explain this and all the swings stop their motion halfway thru there arc.... Also their parents are probably going to be unhappy with you due to the damage done to their offspring from the sudden stop....
B744F From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 0 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 6334 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 3):
Well the earths gravity is really powerful.
raise your hand, congrats you just defied the "powerful" gravity of earth
Quoting Superfly (Thread starter): What if a whole of 6feet in diameter was drilled through the planet all the way to the other side?
What would happen?
Would molten lava shoot out both ends?
What effect on gravity would that have?
If a person or object fell in the whole, would they fly out the opposite end or would they be suspended in the middle?
Would everything on the surface near it get sucked in like rapid decompression?
First, it has to be hypothetical, because we've yet to get past a few miles, the Russians drilled down the farthest.
Second, it would be possible, but the problems would be the extreme heat, the core of the planet is as hot as the sun.
Third, not much on gravity effects, it would be possible, and according to some scientists, once you get past the liquid between the mantle and the core, you would have zero gravity effects, since that liquid accounts for the gravitational pull to begin with.
And that person would be in a zero gravity environment, but would melt because of said extreme heat and pressure changes.
No because of the pressure from the core and the gravity from the liquid, it wouldn't effect the surface.
But this is all hypothetical, scientists are really guessing through most of it, and our knowledge of our planet past the mantle is extremely little
Stlgph From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 8979 posts, RR: 27 Reply 16, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 6329 times:
Quoting SATL382G (Reply 14): You would have to dissipate it somehow otherwise the object will tend to continue in motion....
motion would continue. just suspended in a convectional current pattern.
Eternal darkness we all should dread. It's hard to party when you're dead.
Usnseallt82 From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 4891 posts, RR: 55 Reply 17, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 6328 times:
SATL382G From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 19, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6253 times:
Quoting Stlgph (Reply 16): motion would continue. just suspended in a convectional current pattern.
What force would suspend the travel of the body and start it in the "convectional current pattern"?. Let's not forget about conservation of momentum here.
DL021 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 11433 posts, RR: 81 Reply 20, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6247 times:
Fly....stop drinking and typing! Or dropping acid and staring at album covers by wanna-be Frazettas......
Quoting Superfly (Reply 3): Quoting Logan22L (Reply 2):
So, you'd never make it past the core unless you have an asbestos jumpsuit with a big "S"
What does the "S" do?
Is that like a Ghostbuster?
Are you serious? Dude........stop the insanity! Tell us you know what he's talking about.....
Quoting SlamClick (Reply 8): Quoting SATL382G (Reply 7):
See, things really are easier if we just suspend reality.
Well hell, if we are going to suspend reality let's get back to politics.
Ilikeyyc From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 1373 posts, RR: 22 Reply 21, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6240 times:
Quoting B744F (Reply 15): Third, not much on gravity effects, it would be possible, and according to some scientists, once you get past the liquid between the mantle and the core, you would have zero gravity effects, since that liquid accounts for the gravitational pull to begin with.
Interesting theory (source?) but I would believe that an object would simply be crushed by the force of gravity as it gets closer to the center of the earth. The inner core of the earth is believed to be solid iron and the most dense of all 4 layers of the earth. Gravity also acts from the center of mass, not the surface or any layer inbetween (such as the mantle in your theory). The Earth is approx. 7,900 miles (12,700 km) in diameter [3,950 miles (6,350 km)] in radius. The equations for gravity are exponential, not linear.
So if I go from the surface (3950 miles from the center of mass) to a point that is half the radius (1975 miles from the center of mass) I have decreased my distance by half, but the gravitational force has quadrupled.
But since someone pointed out that the laws of physics would have to be suspended to even have this scenario, why should we expect to be crushed by the force of gravity?
Kaddyuk From Wallis and Futuna, joined Nov 2001, 4125 posts, RR: 28 Reply 22, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6236 times:
There becomes a point in your "hole" where 'Up' is no longer 'Up'...
Remember DIRECTION is relational ...
Whoever said "laughter is the best medicine" never had Gonorrhea
Swisskloten From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 23, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6238 times:
Believe it or not, Hitler thought the earth was hollow and carried out flights in WWII to determine an entry point into the core. His plan was to have the Nazis hide out there if the Allies won the war. Fortunately, he was dead wrong.
DL021 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 11433 posts, RR: 81 Reply 24, posted (7 years 6 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 6234 times:
Yeah, but the Flash is faster than Superman and Aquaman is capable of withstanding incredible pressure found at the bottom of the ocean and J'onn J'onzz is not related to Spike Jonz and Spiderman is not a mutant from birth simply from accident which proves that people should be careful in laboratories with nuclear reactors and spiders.
Is my Pan Am ticket to the moon still good?
25 Jafa39: Some of these answers make 9/11 conspiracy theories seem plausible!!
26 B744F: No, geologists have only been able to theorize Interesting how you can come to this conclusion, since the experts in the field know very little to be
27 Ilikeyyc: Whoa, whoa, whoa...time out. You mean to tell me that the earth's gravity is created by the magnetic field? [gasp!] I've been lied to by all of my ph
28 Usnseallt82: Yes.....his sources come from wavelength alpha emitted from the mothership. They are highly reliable and cannot be disputed by us mortal beings. Unfo
29 B744F: How can your physics teachers tell you about something which we know so little about and you can call it the absolute truth?
30 Ilikeyyc: Look, the Gravitational LAW (not theory, a proven LAW) is based on mass, not magnetic fields (see my reply, #21). So for you to suggest that gravity
31 Usnseallt82: You get to listen to him long enough and most of what he says becomes hilarious. The only thing I will throw out there is quantum mechanics. While th
33 B744F: oops, my mistake. Long week at work. Anyway, the magnetic field is generated by the liquid core, while the core itself, made out of something unknown
34 Photopilot: Damn, I'm going to have to learn to say Beam Me Down Scotty hahaha, Steve
35 Usnseallt82: welcome to my world of quantum love
36 SATL382G: Well if you know that the material generates a magnetic field and you know it's approximate mass it's not hard to figure out what the material is. In
38 Cornish: and of course a replacement bus service would be offered on weekends due to "Essential Engineering Works"
39 Kevinl1011: Bugs Bunny already did it. Of course!....Cherynoble!
40 DL021: Wow...hey everyone! The aliens are talking to geologists now! Hooray! No...he missed the turn at Albequerque
41 Mr Spaceman: Hi guys. Finally, you would find Jimmy Hoffa. Chris
42 MD11Engineer: I had to calculate this problem once as an assignment when I was still studying physics. When you jump into the hole (assuming there is no friction),
43 2H4: Market this as an amusement park ride, and the revenue generated would pay for the research, construction, and then some. 2H4
44 SATL382G: Ok, great as far is it goes. Now, how to compensate for the rotational speed of the earth? At the surface the object will appear motionless in relati
45 MD11Engineer: Obviously with a rotating planet and the hole not equal to the axis of rotation the falling body would be subject to the Corriolis force and the path
46 SATL382G: It's a spiral, there are many examples of the effect in nature. Something lost in translation perhaps? This video is an even better example of the sp
47 Jet-lagged: Yes! So if you are falling down this hypothetical hole, your body would tend to move to the 'east' (since the earth rotates from west to east) and yo
48 SATL382G: Exactly, but our engineers will dig a perfect, frictionless hole so the falling body will never contact the east wall. Coming in contact with the eas
49 SATL382G: Oh BTW: I just realized there's another factor we haven't accounted for: tidal forces In other words, the path a falling body takes to the center of t
50 Usnseallt82: I can think of several members that could help you there.
51 SATL382G: Yeah, we could just drop them and let them bore the hole too!
53 Superfly: Good point. So the drilling would have to start under the Artic Ocean at the north pole and break the ice, drilling through the planet all the way to
54 SlamClick: Assuming that one end of the hole will be closer to the equator, since there are not a lot of probable origin/destination points that are equal in lat
55 Klaus: No, the air pressure would just increase massively down to the maximum at the core, way beyond surface pressure. The whole system would equalize out
56 Superfly: Would gravity crush your skull and break your ribs?
57 Klaus: No. Gravitation is a force that is effective between any two masses; This means for us standing on the surface (or above) that almost all of the eart
58 Theredbaron: Man I love this pointless and very funny threads.... Now BTT, it is theory that the inner core is actually a big nuclear reactor, the most heavy eleme
59 Klaus: No, the "radiation belt" has nothing to do with that. It's exclusively external radiation coming from the sun and other external sources. Magnetism a
60 Superfly: So at the core, there are is no gravity? Is that where time stands still?
61 Klaus: At the center there is equal gravitational force to all directions equally, which compensates out to zero. The theory that time would almost come to a
62 Superfly: So would you rip apart or be suspended in mid air?
63 Stlgph: the force of the convectional current that already exists beneath the earth's surface. the earth's mantle and core are in motion.
64 Klaus: At the center of the earth - provided that your tunnel would actually hold and be cooled sufficiently - you'd remain suspended in mid air but the air
65 WhiteHatter: if you were in a chamber at the exact centre of the earth you would experience something like weightlessness as gravity would be pulling at you equal
66 Ilikeyyc: The prevalent belief is that the inner core is entirely Iron- which is the source of the planet's magnetic field. Ok, so my simplification shows how
67 WhiteHatter: gravity is related to mass, so the all-directions force at the core would still only equal the one-direction force at the surface.
68 Klaus: My own practical experience with gravity is still limited to using feet or wheels to work against it... Good thought, but no. Every air molecule
69 Ilikeyyc: Thanks for the info. One more question: when you quoted me three times, how come my user name got changed to "ilinkeyyc" all three times? Something y
70 Klaus: Crap. My fault. My current browser beta doesn't handle the quoting function properly, so right now I do it manually. No offense intended!
72 SATL382G: Only if you're drilling a straight thru tunnel..... Gravity remains constant, the weight of the mass around you will crush you pretty effectively tho
74 Theredbaron: See my point...crazy shit as always... You guys never dissapoint me! And yes I stand corrected the radiation belt has nothing to do with the core, It
75 Klaus: No, it does not. All the gravitational force vectors acting on your body will change both in direction and in value while you're moving towards the c
76 Superfly: Is the Devil down in the earth's core? Well it sounds like the earth's core is impossible or very difficult for humans which means............ just ki
77 SATL382G: The sum total of gravitational forces at the center of the earth will be very nearly the same as at the surface. Well it depends which rules you're g
78 Sovietjet: No we wouldn't need a flower like tunnel. Think about it, when someone jumps off a high building(theoretically) does he move at 2000mph to the side?
79 Superfly: Sovietjet: Great observation. Terminal velocity for a skydiver is appox. 115mph. Would terminal velocity increase falling beneath the surface down to
80 Sovietjet: It would decrease. If a skydiver jumps out at 35000 ft. he would go faster than at 4000ft because the air is thicker at 4000. So if he goes "into" the
81 Klaus: No. Forces are summed as vectors (force value, direction), which means that the resultant force value will be smaller than the sum of the individual
82 Garri767: when i was young i always thought that would be interesting , note i was young, but i thought at the time that you could drop a golfball through the
83 Sovietjet: I believe I didn't explain myself correctly. The terminal velocity aka the maximum velocity attainable due to air drag would start increasing again si
84 Klaus: Which halfway point were you thinking of? I can't think of one where that would happen...
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Also their parents are probably going to be unhappy with you due to the damage done to their offspring from the sudden stop....
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