- #1
sepa0202
- 3
- 0
Hi guys,
(Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if you drill a hole into the Earth's surface that reaches to the other end of the planet and then jump in?)
It's a question that many pupils have asked me already. I bet you've thought about it at least once in your life...
I asked them that question, and there were silly but ingenious answers such as "once you've reached the other side of the Earth's crust, you go into space, like a rocket..." or "you get trapped in the middle of the earth".
The second one is not so silly though, but it's still not like that.
I am going to explain, for those who don't know, what would happen in the hypothetical case if you drill or dig a hole which reaches to the other end of the planet.
Okay, it seems quite stupid, because you get burned for sure... But let's imagine that we are wearing special and fireproof suits and it's possible to do it.
So, okay, we've drilled the hole. Now it's the time to jump in, and start to accelerate.
You would accelerate at 9.8 m/s to a velocity of around 38.000 km/h, or 22.000 miles per hour. That's a hell of a lot.
Anyway, once you've reached the centre of the earth, you will start decelerating, because gravity will act on you on the oppposite direction. And just when you reach the Earth's surface, your velocity would be 0. So there should be someone to pick you. If nobody grabs you, you will fall again...
By the way, it takes you 42 minutes exactly to reach the other side of the earth.
Eventually, and it might take you ages, you will end up trapped on the centre of the earth, yes, as there are air molecules which slowly slow you down because of friction, so theoretically, if you keep on traveling from side to side, you will end up trapped on the centre of the earth.
So, i hope I've helped those of you who didn't know it and were interested to find out the answer.
(Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if you drill a hole into the Earth's surface that reaches to the other end of the planet and then jump in?)
It's a question that many pupils have asked me already. I bet you've thought about it at least once in your life...
I asked them that question, and there were silly but ingenious answers such as "once you've reached the other side of the Earth's crust, you go into space, like a rocket..." or "you get trapped in the middle of the earth".
The second one is not so silly though, but it's still not like that.
I am going to explain, for those who don't know, what would happen in the hypothetical case if you drill or dig a hole which reaches to the other end of the planet.
Okay, it seems quite stupid, because you get burned for sure... But let's imagine that we are wearing special and fireproof suits and it's possible to do it.
So, okay, we've drilled the hole. Now it's the time to jump in, and start to accelerate.
You would accelerate at 9.8 m/s to a velocity of around 38.000 km/h, or 22.000 miles per hour. That's a hell of a lot.
Anyway, once you've reached the centre of the earth, you will start decelerating, because gravity will act on you on the oppposite direction. And just when you reach the Earth's surface, your velocity would be 0. So there should be someone to pick you. If nobody grabs you, you will fall again...
By the way, it takes you 42 minutes exactly to reach the other side of the earth.
Eventually, and it might take you ages, you will end up trapped on the centre of the earth, yes, as there are air molecules which slowly slow you down because of friction, so theoretically, if you keep on traveling from side to side, you will end up trapped on the centre of the earth.
So, i hope I've helped those of you who didn't know it and were interested to find out the answer.