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The Pole to Pole Mole Hole-

If there were to somehow be a cylinder going from the North to South Poles, all the way through Earth, then what would happen halfway down (The Core). If something fell down this hole then as it nears what used to be the core, how would it be effected by gravity (This would be free fall)? Nearing the core you would be under more gravity so would you slow to a stop? Or would you get flung out the other side at hundreds of miles an hour? Or maybe you would just have just enough force to be on you feet on the other sides like in some movie. And please do not just comment to yell at me that you would die under pressure, heat or that the hole is impossible.

Liam Mclaughlin
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  • Possible duplicates: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/18446/2451 and links therein. – Qmechanic Nov 22 '17 at 16:56
  • Newtons Shell Theorem is related reading for your statement Nearing the core you would be under more gravity so would you slow to a stop?. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_theorem –  Nov 22 '17 at 17:01
  • No this is different. I want to know how gravity drags and changes as you FREE FALL through this hole from one side to the other. Especially the behavior nearing the core and end. – Liam Mclaughlin Nov 22 '17 at 17:01

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You would fall down with an increasing speed while gravity becomes weaker. At the center of the Earth the gravity is zero and your speed is maximal. You continue flying on inertia to the other side while gravity increases to slow you down. If you remove the air from the tnnel, then you would stop when you reach the surface on the other side, assuming the Earth is spherical, but it's not. With the air you'd never reach the other side, but keep bouncing back and forth slowing down due to the air resistance until you stop at the center.

According to the Newton's shell theorem and assuming the uniform density, gravity would be proportional to the distance to the center with the maximum at the surface and zero at the center. The Earth density is not uniform with the heavier uranium core, lighter silicon dioxide etc. crust and iron in the middle. This would make the gravity change slightly non-linear, but still with the maximum at the surface and zero in the center.

The air pressure would be maximal at the center and much higher than at the surface with a much denser air.

Unrelated to gravity, there would be a strong radiation in the core due to the uranium decay and other processes.

safesphere
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