silly hypothetical Q
Discussion
Hypothetically if I went to B&Q, bought a decent spade, went to my local park and proceeded to dig a hole, and kept on digging til I reached the opposite side of the Earth, would I fall out said hole or climb out?
I have googled, to no avail. Silly I know but something I have wondered ever since watching journey to the centre of the Earth..
(obviously the core and any other obstacle are hypothetically dealt with..)
Thank you ✌
I have googled, to no avail. Silly I know but something I have wondered ever since watching journey to the centre of the Earth..
(obviously the core and any other obstacle are hypothetically dealt with..)
Thank you ✌
Pacman1978 said:
Hypothetically if I went to B&Q, bought a decent spade, went to my local park and proceeded to dig a hole, and kept on digging til I reached the opposite side of the Earth, would I fall out said hole or climb out?
Well, if you fell out, what's holding the Ozzies on? It's not hard...As per the link above, you'd die of the heat, plus of course the hole would probably collapse and you'd be bound to start ricocheting off the sides of the hole. However, here's an answer probably more aligned to what the OP was asking:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mechani...
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mechani...
If you hit seabed at the other end then the ocean would rush down the hole and eventually boil (depending on temp & pressure)so you'd get a spectacular superheated steam geyser in the park your end.
I wonder - would all the oceans boil away before the earth's core was quenched? I guess there would be a lot of rain as the steam condensed, so probably not.
I wonder - would all the oceans boil away before the earth's core was quenched? I guess there would be a lot of rain as the steam condensed, so probably not.
Forgetting the inconsequential practicality of digging a hole through the earth ... as if that really needs saying ... gravity pulls you towards the centre of the Earth. And when you're at the very centre itself, the Earth isn't exerting a net gravitational force on you at all. If you stopped at the centre, you'd float around weightless. If you assume the Earth's density is constant, then the gravitational force on you is greatest when you're at the surface and tails off the closer you get to the centre.
Gravity acts via an inverse square law, but inside a sphere of uniform density it simplifies to a linear relationship with zero at the centre and the standard F = Gm1m2/r^2 at the surface, where r is the radius of the sphere. Ergo, jumping down the hole would be like being attached to a giant bungee cord or spring mounted at the centre (i.e. F = kx): you'd gain enough speed to fly right through and pop up briefly at the other side before going back again. You would then oscillate back and forth being slowed by air resistance until you finally came to rest in the centre.
Edited by RobM77 on Monday 7th March 21:14
My vote for what would happen. You'd get arrested. And probably interviewed on local news. In about 30 years a low budget independent British film would be made about it. Likely with funding from Film4 and Canal+. Benedict Cumberbatch will play your grand dad. It will have only a limited box office release.
RobM77 said:
Gravity acts via an inverse square law, but inside a sphere of uniform density it simplifies to a linear relationship with zero at the centre and the standard F = Gm1m2/r^2 at the surface, where r is the radius of the sphere. Ergo, jumping down the whole would be like being attached to a giant bungee cord or spring mounted at the centre (i.e. F = kx): you'd gain enough speed to fly right through and pop up briefly at the other side before going back again. You would then oscillate back and forth being slowed by air resistance until you finally came to rest in the centre.
The air resistance alone would stop reaching the far end, don't forget air pressure will increase by one bar every 80Km or so.Edited by RobM77 on Monday 7th March 14:31
Then you have the minor issue of the Earth's rotation...
Toltec said:
RobM77 said:
Gravity acts via an inverse square law, but inside a sphere of uniform density it simplifies to a linear relationship with zero at the centre and the standard F = Gm1m2/r^2 at the surface, where r is the radius of the sphere. Ergo, jumping down the whole would be like being attached to a giant bungee cord or spring mounted at the centre (i.e. F = kx): you'd gain enough speed to fly right through and pop up briefly at the other side before going back again. You would then oscillate back and forth being slowed by air resistance until you finally came to rest in the centre.
The air resistance alone would stop reaching the far end, don't forget air pressure will increase by one bar every 80Km or so.Edited by RobM77 on Monday 7th March 14:31
Then you have the minor issue of the Earth's rotation...
Derek Smith said:
Pacman1978 said:
Thankyou for answering my question ??
You'd have a lifetime of ease once you told B&Q about their wonderful spade. He'd need one of those little digging things Tom Hanks has in Shawshank. They're awesome.
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