Penetrating through the sky… it’s normal. Since ancient times, humans have managed to fly through the layers of clouds many times. But…can we dig a hole through the earth?
Unfortunately, the answer is… you can’t 🙁 The deeper you go, the hotter the earth’s temperature! It is estimated that the Earth’s core can reach 6000 degrees Celsius or the equivalent of the sun’s surface temperature. The furthest excavations that humans have ever tried can only reach 12 kilometers, or… a tiny fraction of the earth’s total diameter. But IF you could dig a hole through the earth, would crossing through this tunnel make traveling easier?
Hmm, no! Even if we manage to make a hole through the earth, going in there won’t be a fun activity. That’s because of the super high air pressure that makes our bodies explode. Not to mention having to face a force called the Coriolis force!
Okay, what’s that weird thing?
In short, because the earth rotates super-super-fast to the east, then objects that fall into the hole will be pulled towards the west. That is, if we dare to jump there, then we will crash into the earth’s layer of walls. How scary! Okay, but, IF there weren’t such advanced effects, the density of the earth was the same, the shape was perfectly round, and we could punch a hole through the vacuum of the earth, how long would it take us to get through?
The answer: less than an hour! Yes, through the force of gravity, we can accelerate from zero speed, and continue to speed up to 28,000 kilometers per hour, until slowly slowing down when we reach our destination. To make it easy, imagine this is like riding a roller coaster that runs on U-shaped rails. So, if in the future we can create gravity-powered transportation, traveling around the world will be faster. It’s really fun!
Although it looks cool, in fact penetrating the earth is very difficult. But, if for example in the future we can create the appropriate technology, where should this hole be made? Please comment and thank you.
