If it were possible to dig a hole right through the earth...?

Question

Would you fall up on the other side or get stuck in the middle?

Answer 1

what would happen is that you would oscillate like a pendulum, passing through the center at maximum speed, until friction stopped you at the center. You would fall down the starting hole an up the opposite hole. Then you would stop, and fall down the opposite hole and the up the entrance hole. This cycle would continue until you stop. What an awesome ride!

Some debunking here. The is no gravity at the center of the Earth. All forces balance. So you wont get stuck at the center on the first pass. You may reach a terminal velocity if in air, but your position will have a lot to do with your final ride if in air. So tuck yourself into a ball and enjoy the ride!

An interesting topic was brought up about what would happen in the hole were not dug along the Earth's rotational axis. In this case , you have a net angular momentum given to you by the Earth's rotation. As you approach the center this radius approaches zero so you spin pretty fast, in two aixs in most cases. Its the case of the ice skater that folds her hands in while doing a spin. If the hole is very far from the rotational axis, you wind up as a red stain on the tube as you approach the center because your angular speed tares you apart

This assumes of course that you could build the tube. While there are materials that could withstand and insulate you from the heat, the rotational liquid flow would tear anything known apart.

Answer 2

There are several factors involved here:
Friction
Gravity
Air resistance (basically friction)

I'm not 100% sure how to answer your question, but drawing off of what I was going to say and then reading other answers here goes:
Say we had a perfect glass case in your hole and that the earth was rather cylindrical (like a straw). Gravity in the center would cause you to speed up until you hit the center (unless there was air inside and then you'd hit a max speed, known as terminal velocity). At that point gravity would start to work against you but you wouldn't stop because of your momentum. If you made it back out again, I'm not quite sure. I'm pretty sure you would, but if there was air inside, then it would slow your going back to the other side and I know you'd end up in the middle.

Now, the earth obviously isn't a big straw so it gets more complicated. Another answer mentioned something about gravity pulling you multiple ways, and that makes some sense. So when you get to the middle, not only are you pulled there in your up/down direction, you also want to stay there in multiple directions, kinda like getting increased gravity. I believe you'd get stuck there again, air resistance or not!

So, the only way it seems you'd end up on the other side is if the earth were not quite so round (more precisely spherical) and you had no friction/air resistance.

Oh, can't forget the heat either can we?

Very interesting and thought provoking question, though innocent looking!

Answer 3

It depends on what happens to friction. obviously there is something happening with heat and pressure that lets the hole exist. If friction exists then the free fall to the other side is not going to be completed. you will stop short of the far side of the world and fall back toward the middle of the earth. after some number of trips past the center of the earth you will settle in near the center of the earth. On the other hand if there were some way to eliminate the air in the hole and keep from touching the sides of the hole only a small thrust would be needed to reach the other side of the world in about 90 minutes.

Answer 4

If there were air in the hole, drag would cause you to come to a stop in the middle. If there were a vacuum in the hole, and you never touched the sides, you would fall back and forth, from one side of the world to the other and back again, passing the center at thousands of miles per hour, forever.

Answer 5

If I recall a passage that I read some time ago, you would:
1. fall ~3/4 of the way down the hole
2. reverse direction and rise up to ~1/4 the way down the hole
3. repeat 1 and 2 at decreasing intervals until you stopped at the earth's core.

This would occur as gravity is pushing in on the earth from all directions, roughly focusing at the core. In other words, gravity would be pushing you an equal amount from all directions, trapping you in the earth's core.

(of course this is all assuming that you aren't incinerated in your descent)

Answer 6

If you dug it from north pole to south, along the Earth's axis, sealed it and pumped out the air, you'd fall right through and come out the other end 42 minutes later. If you left the air in, it would slow you down and you'd only get part of the way from the centre to the other side. If you dug it between any other pair of opposite points, you'd hit the side as the Earth rotated.

Answer 7

IF you were to dig a tunnel right through the earth, the followign would happen:
1) You would first accelerate towards the center
2) as you approach the center, your Acceleration would be lesser and lesser.
3)At the center, your acceleration would be zero, but you will have enough momentum to go past.
4) As you get farther from the center, acceleration will be negative, you will begin to slow down. Towards the surface, you will stop. If the friction is negligible, you will stop exactly at tyhe surface.

Answer 8

You'd theoretically fall through the hole, reach maximum speed a the center, and then slow down to a stop at the other end of the hole.

Answer 9

Since, falling requires an unbalanced pull of gravity on an object. Gravitational pull on an object is based on the size of the object doing the pulling and distance from the object being pulled.

We have gravity pulling on us from everything in the universe. Because, we are closer to the Earth. The pull from the Earth is very strong on us. That's why we don't get pulled off.

Somewhere in the middle of the planet the gravitational pull on you would become equal and balanced. Because, the amount of mass creating the gravitational pull would become equal. I.E. you would wind up having the same gravitational pull from all sides. Therefore, you would reach a point in which you would no longer be pulled in one direction.

So, you would end up in the middle of the planet.

Answer 10

If you jumped in a hole that went straight though the Earth, you would oscillate up and down due to the gravity pulling you in wherever you are. And you'd melt from the heat.