if you dug a hole straight through the earth and jumped into it,what would happen when you got to the middle?

Answer 1

The answers describing the damped oscillations about the exact centre of mass of the planet are correct. The answer about terminal velocity meaning you don't go much beyond the centre is completely correct. You rock rock back and forth about the centre for a while, each time not getting as far away as the last. The distance would decrease proportionally to e^(at) where a is dependent on friction.

Believe me, I wish I didn't know this, been studying mechanics, including harmonic motion, for three days now for an exam!

Answer 2

I remember discussing this with friends after hearing a science fiction writer suggesting a method of travelling to the other side of the world without the use of fuel. The idea went something like :- A tunnel is dug from the surface in a straight line through the centre of the earth to the surface at the other side of the world. If a vehicle starts at one end, gravity will pull it down from a standing start gradually increasing velocity till it reaches the mid-point
of the journey after which gravity will act in a reversed force and gradually slow it down. If the tunnel could be sealed at the ends and the air extracted there would be no friction (electro-magnetic force may be required to keep the vehicle away from the sides of the tunnel) The theory allows for the ends both being at the same height above sea level. Some drawbacks to all this :- The huge initial cost
of construction of the tunnel. The extremely high temperature of the earth's core.(the tunnel would not neccessarily have to pass through the exact centre but that was your question) And why would anyone want to go anyway?!

Answer 3

People have already posted a lot of wrong answers and lame answers.

Assuming you created a perfect tunnel through the earth, what would happen is you'd pretty much stop when you got to the center.

Why? Air resistance. The terminal velocity for a human through the air is between 150-200 mph.

So you'd fall. As you got closer to the middle, less gravity would be pulling you in. Your air resistance would begin acting like a brake. By the time you reached the middle, you'd have almost no velocity.

So the idea of making a tunnel and then using it for easy travel to the other side of the planet easily just doesn't work.

Without air in the tunnel, you would act like a pendulum, as there would be nothing to slow you down.

~X~

Answer 4

Assuming that the earth is a near perfect sphere (it is not). You could fall through the center of the earth and decellerate once you past the core and stop with no motion at the exact opposite point.
However, Since an object will reach terminal velocity on it's acceleration to the center of the earth (you will cap out at a certain speed). You will in fact pass the center of the earth and then depending on what your terminal velocity was decelerate until that velocity was zero. My guess is you would fall to the center of the earth then stop somewhere in the outer core area.

Answer 5

Assuming you are able to go through the Earths molten core without vaporising, you would simply come out the other end of the tunnel no real mystery.The fact the Earth is spinning would not effect the out come any more than it does when you drive a tunnel under the Earth. though as you get closer to the Earths core the magnetic pull may effect your ability to tell what direction your going and you will have to make allowances for that or you may go the wrong way.

Answer 6

Gravity is due to the attraction of the center of masses of two objects. So if you are at the center of mass of another object then there would be no attraction. So if you were to jump into the center of the earth, the closer you approached the center the more weightless your body becomes. And say somehow you were able to stop at the center without any complication, you would just float there weightless because there is no wehere else to go after you have reached what your body has been pulled towards.

Answer 7

My physics teacher used an example of this the other day. Assuming you would not be killed by the heat supposedly you would go straight down through the core and to the other side and then bounce back and would do this repeatedly. This sounds resonable but I had a question that I didn't ask my teacher: would you stay upright of would you flip upside down (which would be right side up) when you reached the core.

Answer 8

You would jump though a boiling layer of molten rock, and than go though a solid iron core out he other side though the boiling layer of rock againa and out though the earth's other side and end up in China. You would have ot be well protected to survive the hot molten rock (liquid rock) and the gravitation force of the solid iron core would tear you all apart unless you also invented something to handle that.
The earth's center is a solid iron core (which is responsible for our gravitional force which holds us to the earth)surounded by an outer layer of molten or liquid rock.
Drilling a hole though it without filling it as you go would release trillions of tons of molten lava, and gasses which oculd kill everyone on earth.
Your trip would be about 10,000 miles from start to finish.

Answer 9

Assuming all perfect conditions (no molten stuff, you can travel with speed given etc. )... You will follow a Simple Harmonic Motion about the center of the earth.

Do you want to feel it ??

Very simple, Go to a nearby amusement park and take a ride on hanging ship (also sometimes referred as Columbus ride or Titanic ride or Carrabian ride) where ship shaped ride is hinged from the top and is moving around the hinge to and fro ... and sometimes it makes a full circle...
like as shown at

http://images.eyp.ph/a_betterbuyer/2003/0414_park.gif

When you will be near the top it will be like around the surface of earth and as you will reach bottom, feeling will be same as u will have around the center of the earth.

Answer 10

IF you dug a hole, after about 10ft deep, you wouldn't be able to get out of it, so in reality, there wouldn't be a hole in the first place, because where would you put the dirt that you dig up?, it would be too far to throw it out of the hole, so, you would have to put it underneath you, so what would be the point in the first place ?