.. But once I reach the center, wouldn't i then have to be digging "up" in order to come out of the other side of the earth?  How does that happen?  (yes i know i'd melt first, but assuming it was possible...)
129309
All things are attracted to the center of the earth regardless of their orientation to it.So you could dig "down" into the earth but once you passed through the center you would start digging "up" because gravity would be pulling you back to the center which is behind and "below" you
35489
Yeah, if you think about it, there is really no way to "add" weight to the earth unless it comes from another planet or moon.  Everything on earth at some point was derived from existing matter.  This is a rule of nature.  Matter cannot be created nor destroyed!
59602
gravity is highest at the centre of the earth. so you will be accelerating towards the centre.since there is no resistence (assume so that there is no air), you would not stop at the centre due to inertia of motion and continue to go beyond the centre to teh other side. but due to increasing pull on you, you will turn back and continue to oscillate about the center of the earth.\n\nits good for theory but humanly imposible
574434
that would depend on the velocity of the craft, the velocity the at you were pushed out with respect to the velocity of the craft, and what near by celestial or terrestrial bodies were near, to influence your movement with their gravitational pull...  if you wre set outside a ship, with zero velocity, and left, out in deep space... you would remain essentially motionless... if the same were done to you near the earth, you wold fall to the earth.. if you were pushed out the side door of the space shuttle while it orbited... you would most likely orbit several time before your orbit decayed and you would have a incredibly painful reentry... as short as the pain might be...
178362
No, that is not even possible. Even if an explosion big enough to do the job were set off on the Moon, if it were set off at the Moon's south pole it would push the Moon away from the Earth, not toward it. And nobody on Earth, not the US government, not anybody, has the ability to make an explosion that big anyway.
7633
This could not be done on earth because of its liquid core, but perhaps it could be done on the solid moon.\n\nAt the surface of the earth, a ball (let's say of lead) would have a potential energy (PE - energy of position) relative to the center of gravity at the center of the earth.  As the ball is released into the theoretical hole, it would accelerate (like dropping it into a well) and some of the PE would be converted to kinetic energy (KE - energy of motion).  Because energy can neither be created nor destroyed, as the ball drops its speed increases and it has more KE but less PE.  The ball will continue to accelerate until it reaches the center of the earth but with less attraction from the earth's gravitational field because more and more of the earth's mass is now above (or behind) it.  At the very center of the earth the ball would have maximum KE but minimum PE.  Passing the center the process is reversed and the ball slows as it reaches the other side of the earth's surface, all the while reconverting KE to PE.  At the opposite surface the ball would have maximum PE (equal to the original PE but of opposite sign (say - instead of +).\n\nThe process could repeat forever if there is no wind resistance (perfect vacuum - like on the moon) and the hole was perfectly smooth exerting no friction as the earth spins on its axis constantly touching the ball to the sides of the hole.\n\nOf course this must be a mental exercise; but it is an interesting demonstration of physics and energy conversion in particular.  Good luck.
528163
Yes in the center the gravitational pull would be equal from all sides, freefall!
567651
You are quite right (and others quite wrong) - centrifugal force is not real.\n\nCircular motion requires an inward (centripetal) force towards the centre of motion. Take that inward force away and object just carry on in a straight line with the velocity they had when the force was removed.\n\nNow for the spinning Earth think about where that force comes from. Its main source is gravity (think about it, it does not take a lot of force to pull bits of soil apart). And the force due to gravity at the surface of the Earth is more or less constant.\n\nBut at the equator, the force needed to keep the surface rotating and not flying into space is higher than it is at the poles, because the radius from the axis is larger. But the force or gravity is the same. So gravity can't hold things in quite as close. So the Earth tends to bulge in its middle.
654756
It's widely believed in the scientific community that the earth has a liquid mantle (that's where magma/lava comes from) and a solid super-hot iron core.  Good luck digging through that.
623858
What sort of time frame did you have in mind?  I'd like to know because I'd better be moving to higher ground.  \n\nUsually I don't bother with this sort of thing, but the recent hurricane season has got me thinking that something is up.  \n\nThanks for the warning! \n\nCheers!
449578
You have uncovered one of the secrets of the universe. Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM) surrounds us in every aspect of the universe. It is the lowest common denominator. Even Newton got it slightly wrong in his First Law where he said that a body will continue in uniform motion until an external force acts upon it. There is nowhere in the known universe that gravity does not exist.\n\nConsider an air table which is flat and which extends in all directions by a million miles, and it rests on the earth. place a puck on it and give it a gentle nudge. It will move off in the direction you push it at an apparently constant velocity, however it will eventually stop and return to the point where it started because of the earth's gravitational field. It will shoot past and head off in the opposite direction until it stops again, being pulled back by the earth's gravitational field. It will continue this way forever (ignoring all friction), oscillating in simple harmonic motion. \n\nNewton's problem was that he was restricted to observing a very small portion of the SHM path, so it seemed linear.\n\nAnyway, congratulations, you are on the path to unlocking the secrets of the universe.
349881
Don't forget that large bodies like the earth itself, and the sun, are themselves held together with gravity.\n\nProbably the first thing that we would notice is that the earth would immediately lose its atmosphere as it went flying off the planet into space, as would the oceans.  Everything on the surface of the planet would go flying off due to the centrifugal force of its spinning ... buildings would just rip off their foundations like cheese shaking off a cheese-puff.  Without an atmosphere, it's doubtful you and I would live more than 15 or 30 seconds.\n\nThe earth  would immediately break apart in a big cloud of hot liquid iron (the core of the earth) and all the stuff on the surface.\n\nThe moon would also disolve into a huge cloud of hot rocks and sand.\n\nThe sun would explode rather violently, as the pressure from the burning of the inner core would suddenly have no force counteracting it.  The same would be happening to every star and planet in the universe.  And galaxies themselves would fly apart (as they too are held together with gravity).\n\nAnd yes, what is left of the earth would fly away from what is left of the sun ... although it would be quickly overtaken by the exploding sun.\n\nBut, of course, it ain't gonna happen.  I'll bet everything I own on it.  :-)  \n\nThink of this as a great way to get back in with your girlfriend ... "Hey baby, if gravity were suddenly to disappear, we need to be holdin' each other really tight!"  (You take it from there).
388392
The center of the Earth does not lie in any country's waters.  It's so hot at the center of the Earth that no-one wants to live there.........Every time a country tries to plant a flag at the center of the Earth, the flag burns up, so no country has ever been able to claim it.
352381
Yes, alas, all things must eventually come to an end, especially the good things. Earth will indeed be destroyed eventually by some asteroid with our name on it. One such asteroid has been found: 99942 Apophis, which we still dont know if it will indeed strike the Earth in 2036. But, it isnt the proverbial dinosaur killer, its only 820 feet across, a peanut compared to others that have hit. But, yes, we could terraform Mars and turn it into another Earth, the way it was so many thousands of years ago. I mean, we can grow food hydroponically, create our own little magnetosphere, and create the feeling or effect of gravity. The problem with terraformation is that we have no idea how long it would take, estimates have ranged from half a decade to an amount that is not realistic. Yes, we would go there by spaceship unless the Gov. reveals its Stargate program or some other means of transport. I would assume that a large majority of people would go, but there are always gonna be the fanatics and those who would rather die where they were born. And, you cant realistically transport EVERY human off the planet unless we had many, many, many decades of warning, which we may not have. Sorry to be pessmistic about it, but the numbers just dont really work out in our favor unless we have the benefit of time. But, I would imagine that a majority of the people would make it off, because I would assume that in that realisation, costs would be waived. And imagine the chaos that would grip the globe! But its all very possible to do, we could go right now if we wanted to. And for those who didnt go... It would not look pretty. We're talking about water being flashboiled, tons and tons of rock and ash being thrown into the atmo. if the initial blast doesnt kill you the ensuing volcanic nuclear winter would. Crops would be destroyed and we've learned that nothing with a body weight of over 60 lbs made it through the last ice age. Those who stay behind... Their future would be very grim.
673764
wait for the final moment and then jump as high as i could, objective being to launch myself in one piece into outer space, where, depending on the speed of travel, objects in proximity and chances of entering a wormhole, i might land, alive, on an alien life-supporting planet. they would probably just be like what the hell and kill me anyways, and the death might be more painful. so i guess just make up my mind for the rest of my life.
163967
i was always under the impression that you will move fast enough in a black hole to actually move backwards in time, but because the gravity is so massive, you would never be able to escape, no matter how far back you were to go.  that is, if you were able to live, and your body isn't torn apart.  parts of your body closer to the core of a black hole supposedly would be pulled at a greater rate than parts of your body that are farther from the core.  personally, i don't believe that would happen, i believe the whole body would be pulled towards the center, and move backwards in time until it died of thirst.
374203
I would say that the most impossible part is when they enter the giant geode. If they were heading towards the center of the earth than when they entered the geode they would enter at the top and fall probably for hundreds of miles and die on impact. Also Giant Geode though a cool thought yeah right.