• Question: Hello, okay, question: Hypothetically, if I made a hole through the centre of the earth, running from the north pole to the south pole and then I jumped/fell through it (hypothetically of course), what would happen at the core?

    Asked by katie155 to Cat, Daz on 24 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Cat O'Connor

      Cat O'Connor answered on 24 Jun 2011:

      Hi Katie155,

      I think you would die, so please don’t do it, for real or even hypothetically! 😀

      I looked this up, and someone did a calculation based on how fast you would travel through the hole and it would only take you 42mins….that’s not even enough time to read a magazine and get a nap in!

      And do you know, when you reach the geometric centre of the earth, you would become weightless?? I’ve always wanted to know what that feels like!

      So yup, that all sounds cool but I think you’ll be dead. I think the deepest we’ve ever dug is about 12km down and at that deep, the rock was 180deg Celsius. That’s a lot more than a little toasty!

      You still want to try? 😉

      Cat

    • Photo: Darren Braddick

      Darren Braddick answered on 24 Jun 2011:

      Hi katie155!

      Hello.. Crazy question, I love it! I always thought about this myself, because we know so little for sure about the centre of our planet!

      A lot has been assumed I think, and we cannot measure much for certain.

      One thing we do know though, is that the centre is extremely hot. If you think of volcanoes and lava, that is a release of stuff from the inside of the earth. Of course, that stuff isn’t even coming from that deep, so the stuff further down must be even hotter!! So, in theory I don’t think any material humans have can survive that heat, and even if you did manage this huge hole through the earth.. I think if you went in, you’d die very quickly from the temperature!

      Then again, if you could survive I wonder if you wouldn’t actually come out the other end.. You might just stay and spin the middle, because of gravity… So you’d probably end up roasted in the centre of the earth!

      I hope this helps answer your question. If you *do* find a massive hole through the planet, please be careful and don’t fall in…

      😀

      Daz

Comments