If you dug a hole through the center of the earth...?

Question

...and jumped in, would you stay at the center because of gravity? ?

Just a Crazy thought. Not that it could ever happen or anything.

Answer 1

As you fell down your speed would increase and so would the force of gravity on your body. When you got to the center, the strong gravity and high air density (ignoring the temperature and liquid metal etc) would kill you, but the momentum of your fall would carry your mass on.

If the hole went through to the other side, this kinetic energy be sufficient to cause the body to continue through almost to the other side. The difference would be due to air resistance, which at the earths center would be more dense and therefore have more effect in slowing you down. So your motion would be a series of oscillations finishing up (dead) at the center of the earth.

Answer 2

okay.

you would burn up...

and you are an idiot so maybe you should try that...

yea.

its totally gonna happen you are gonna float.

go

now.

Answer 3

Yeah, like a couple guys have answered, you would fall, then hit center, continue falling but slow down, then fall back to center, and oscilate until you settled in the center.

Some people think gravity is caused by the earth's rotation, but the earth's rotation is caused by the various forces of gravity that have acted upon it throughout the billions of years of its existence.

So, you are absolutely right because gravity is caused by mass warping the fabric of space-time as theorized by Einstein. At the center of gravity you would settle in the center. Think of gravity like this: Space and time is a fabric, which acts much like a trampoline. And when something is in the trampoline it causes it to warp, or dip.

So, see space-time as the trampoline, a bowling ball as earth, and this makes things fall to the center. In the center, a thing would set still. Basically the same concept.

And it does get infuriating to ask a question and have people who "know it all" insult you because they think your question is stupid. NOT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT GRAVITY'S TRUE NATURE PEOPLE! It isn't an easy concept to grasp, anyways. The first time I learned about it my jaw dropped. The universe a fabric of space-time? Seems unreal, but the equations work.

Take care, and if you have anymore questions, feel free to contact me and ask. I wont insult you, unlike SOME people.

:)

Answer 4

ive always wondered, i guess you would.

Answer 5

Discarding all the laws of science, except for gravity.  You would fall to the center and pass it to fall to almost the other side and then fall towards the center again to do the same thing.  You would become a gravitational pendulum going back and forth until you eventually settle in the center. It would a very long time if in a vacuum, much shorter time if "normal" air was present.

Answer 6

You would actually oscillate around the center for awhile first, but due to losses like wind resistance, yes you would slowly settle at the center.

Answer 7

I think yes, you would.

Answer 8

no dummy, you would boil.  you would reach the hot magma even before you reached the actual center.

Answer 9

An interesting, and frequently asked question.

Actually, what would happen is this:

(Assuming that you were able to drill a hole through the earth, and evacuate it so that there was no air resistance, and could ignore the tremendous temperature and pressure)

At first, you would hurtle downwards; but strangely, as you approached the center, the force of gravity would decrease rather than increase.  This is because the mass of the earth is pulling you in all directions; not just towards the center.  As you reach the center, you would feel no gravity at all.  This is because the mass of the earth is pulling you in all directions, and the force in one direction is canceled out by an equal force in the opposite direction. There is NO force of gravity at the center of the earth!

But of course, at the center, you would have accumulated tremendous velocity, and would now be hurtling towards the opposite side; with the increasing gravity tugging you backwards towards the center again.

When you reached the other side; providing there was no air resistance; the gravitational attraction back towards the center would bring you to a halt; only to fall back towards the center again.  You would keep going back and forth, like a perfect harmonic oscillator.

Interestingly; the whole journey from one side to the other would take only about forty five minutes, with no expense of energy. Cheap and fast transport to the other side of the world, eh?

Of course, it would be impossible to dig a tunnel through the center of the earth; but what about a tangential tunnel, from say, Los Angeles to London?  If that were possible (to dig a tunnel along a chord through the earth, rather than along the diameter), then surprisingly, a journey along a chord tunnel would also only take forty five minutes!

A good idea for the trans-global-chordal railway Co.  The stuff of science fiction.

Answer 10

  Ok, let's say that humans made such a suit or something that you could withstand that sort of pressure and heat. You would jump into the hole and you would reach a terminal (maximum) velocity of around 200 mph because there would be an air current simply because there's a hole on the other side. It's just like a cave with two openings you'll feel cold air upon nearing the entrance. As you approach the center of the earth you will probably feel a greater tug until you reach the center then you will pass through the center of the core where the maximum gravity is located. Then you will start feeling a pull in the opposite direction. You won't make it much further beyond that point you will just keep yo-yoing until you become stationary in the center of the earths core. But as you probably already know this is very far fetched and relys that humans built a suit to protect you and made a heat and pressure resistant tube. However lets say that some how you make this tube air resistant then you would go all the way to the other end and if you act fast you will land on the surface. Make sure not to make any friction along the tube either or this will also permit you to end up at the center of the earth. Hope that helps=)

Answer 11

IF possible - you probably drop to the center, yo-yo back and forth for a little while, then settle in the center.

Reality - you never make it.  The same pressure that is in the ocean would be in your hole and you would implode.