digging a hole to the other side of the Earth

[T.Baggins]

Let's suppose, just for sake of argument that you had a drill capable of plowing below where you are standing right now and grinding its way straight through the middle of the planet to the other side.....

would happen once you got to the middle of the earth? would you just keep digging and fall out feet first on the other side... or would you have to flip over and start to dig up?

Scientifically speaking it would be impossible to dig a tunnel through to the other side of the world, but it’s fun to pretend!

If you attempted to dig a hole to the other side of the Earth, you would be digging through:
More than 12 000 kilometres of solid rock and molten magma
Rock reaching temperatures up to 6000 ºC and
Extreme pressures up to 300 million times greater than the pressures we experience on the surface of the Earth!

 

[Pseudo]

i would say once you reach the center you would reach zero gravity and could float around and any further digging would be up, but the problem would be any debris that fell from digging up would settle near the center and clog the hole, i think you would be better off getting a sailboat and sailing to china

 

[VolcanoVape420]

i would say once you reach the center you would reach zero gravity and could float around and any further digging would be up, but the problem would be any debris that fell from digging up would settle near the center and clog the hole, i think you would be better off getting a sailboat and sailing to china

 

[exploziv]

That seems like a great way to use your spare time...

 

[Tony Danza]

Once you hit the middle, it's all uphill from there. Although if you didn't want to re-use the hole, the dig out would be pretty easy as the dirt would evacuate itself from your path, if you didn't mind eating a bunch of it.

Now if you just had the complete hole made and jumped into it, you would start to decelerate once you past the center and in the absense of friction, reach zero velocity exactly at the surface on the other side, where you could step out of the hole in china (or wherever). Or you could allow yourself to fall back down and bounce like a yo-yo for millennia between the two surfaces (actually only one surface). You would then be effectively orbiting the center of the planet on a strait line (think totally flat oval).

Of course if you had friction you would yo-yo your way down to the center until you stopped and began the long climb out.

I'm not sure how the gravity would work down there, you might get stuck to the wall of the hole, there could be a Coriolis effect, who knows. It's a long ass way to fall though, way way longer that falling out of an air plane.

 

[808kahumai]

Interesting indeed. I will now prepare a geography lesson for my three and five year old children. I'll get back with you about what they say. They will come up with some amazing stuff, I am sure! tbc...

 

[Big D]

How far can you dig in the earth?
Answer, half way.
The other half would be digging out.

 

[dongle69]

I have done it.
It is not that hard.

 

[ttown]

Idk what would happen, but it's fun to imagine. What if you drilled it in the ocean, but only went halfway, so the ocean started draining into the center of the earth...lol

 

[iGro4Me]

Shovels and Picks - 300.00

3-Dimensional GPS - 1400.00

Airfare to China...

Priceless

 

[Kit]

Pretending that it's possible, once you reach the core you'd be stuck there...going in u'd have gravity helping you, but to get out gravity would be against you lmao

idk if u get me lol