The discussion revolves around the feasibility of tunneling directly to the center of the Earth, considering various physical forces such as gravity and centrifugal effects, as well as the geological challenges posed by the Earth's structure. Participants explore theoretical scenarios, technological capabilities, and the implications of Earth's rotation on tunneling.
The discussion remains unresolved, with multiple competing views on the effects of centrifugal force, the nature of gravitational forces inside the Earth, and the practical challenges of tunneling to the center.
Participants express various assumptions about the Earth's composition and the effects of rotation, leading to differing conclusions about gravitational and centrifugal forces. The discussion also highlights the complexities of geological conditions at depth.
The mantle is, for the most part, solid. You have to go down about 1800 miles to get to something that is truly liquid.hamster143 said:It's not possible to tunnel to the center of the Earth, but for a different reason. Once you get past 20 to 50 miles of crust, Earth is liquid...
Why would you think that? We can drill straight down on the surface, and that is where centrifugal force (which isn't quite real) is strongest.ernestpworrel said:But it is a rotating body, therefore wouldn't there be a centrifugal effect which prevents one from tunneling through to the center?
When you used the phrase "currently available means" I assumed that meant you were asking a question about reality... ok, then...ernestpworrel said:Whoa there people. I'm aware of the reality of the situation. :)
No. Centrifugal force acts directly outward. You're probably thinking of the coriolis force. But I can't see why it would be a problem: drill bits can be steered.Let's just assume that the Earth is made of the same, solid material all the way through. But it is a rotating body, therefore wouldn't there be a centrifugal effect which prevents one from tunneling through to the center?
russ_watters said:drill bits can be steered.
Phrak said:Those who have had the interesting job of tunneling deep into the kimberly pipes in search of diamonds in Africa. They've experienced rocks under pressure--or releasing pressure, as the case may be.
At times, the rocks explode out of the bottom of the cut.
I don't understand what you mean. Why would there be any problems with that?ernestpworrel said:Thanks, but I'm actually talking about a tunneling-machine rather than a horrendously long drill.
If the Earth had a uniform density the gravitational force inside the Earth would decrease linearly with depth, hitting zero at the center of the Earth. The Earth does not have a uniform density. The Earth's core represents only 16.3% of the Earth's volume but 32.5% of its mass. Rather than falling linearly with depth, gravity inside the Earth falls slightly and then starts rising, reaching a maximum at the mantle/core boundary. Only then does it start dropping precipitously toward zero at the center of the Earth.ernestpworrel said:So the gravitational force is not reduced to a constant inside the Earth but actually decreases with depth?
D H said:If the Earth had a uniform density the gravitational force inside the Earth would decrease linearly with depth, hitting zero at the center of the Earth. The Earth does not have a uniform density. The Earth's core represents only 16.3% of the Earth's volume but 32.5% of its mass. Rather than falling linearly with depth, gravity inside the Earth falls slightly and then starts rising, reaching a maximum at the mantle/core boundary. Only then does it start dropping precipitously toward zero at the center of the Earth.