h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What would happen if I dug a hole that passed through the center of the earth and a bit beyond, and some hapless passer-by fell into it? Would the person fall to the center and float there (ignoring the effects of tidal forces, of course)? Would s/he fall to the end of the hole? Would s/he fall back up? I've always wondered about that. Or, take a different tack. What if the earth were hollow? Would the passer-by fall to the center of gravity? Tell me what you think.

Neutrino

That is something i have also thought about for along time, and evertime i try i ever tried to ask anybody they always dismissed it as stupid, so i dont know. but my best idea would be that if the whole was through the whole earth from one end to the other, if somebody fell through they would fall past the center of the earth (burn up) and fall for a while until the gravity was strong enough to pull them back, because if im correct then the closer you are to the center of the earth the weaker the gravity will be, so as you pass through the center there wont be enough gravity to stop you and will only slow you down. on the other hand as you fall, you will keep on decreasing in mass (or weight the one that does not mean how much you are, but how much you way in the environment) so it wouldnt need to be as strong gravity because you would be so much lighter, but you would keep going through the center, slowing down and going down the other way. when you stopped at the center there would probably be so little gravity it would affect you and it would be like being in space. or the gravity would be coming from all directions from the surface, and would be like getting each limb pulled in a differnt direction.

thats what i think any way, go and ask on "ask h2g2" there would probably somebody to give you answer, i dont know how accurate my answer is but i hope it helps you

I know the answer. I've looked it up. You would burn, of course, but supposing you could protect yourself accordingly, you would fall through the hole and at the centre you would keep going because of inertia. However, once you reach a certain specific point very close to the other end of the hole (or tunnel), you would suddenly turn around and fall back the way you came. This process would repeat itself like a pendulum.

yay i was right in a way and didnt even need to look it up

Thanks, that helps a lot. One of those things I've always wondered. I guess if I was that hapless passer-by, I would be screwed if I couldn't find a way to stop myself from falling continuously.

without even seing it, i can conclude that the movie "the core" is not going to make a lot of sence