You know that kind of drifty dreamy state you get sometimes in the middle of the night? Anyway, I do, and last night I had a drifty dreamy thought that now that I'm awake, I'm not sure of the answer to.
So:
Ignore reality here, it's a thought experiment. Also assume the earth doesn't have a molten core and all that stuff.
I'm in my back garden. Assume that on the direct opposite side of the globe is the sea, and it's a thousand feet deep.
If I were to dig a hole straight down, all the way through the earth, and finally breach the bottom of that sea, would my house flood?
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Unlikely. Water would fall the centre of the earth but not rise up the other side. Gravity and pressure would take over - wouldn't they??
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Better check the house insurance just in case eh!! :-)
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Ask Manatee, he is digging a hole for a ground source heat pump I think,
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As you dig your weight would be come steadily less until you reached the centre of the earth where you would become weightless.
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Surely he would use a drill bit, not dig by hand? In that case the drill would cut through, weightless or not. He might need to use hammer action.
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Might get a shark in your garden pond though. Depending on the size of drill bit.
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I think water would flow down the hole and after it had passed the centre the back pressure would gradually build up until when it reached the other side the pressure would be equal and it would just stay there.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sun 31 Jan 21 at 16:08
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If your house is above sea level I don't think it would flood, unless there was an overshoot before the levels adjusted.
I've never seen this question before. The "hole in the earth" question itself is an old one.
www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/hole-through-the-Earth_problem.html
If you message David Darling he'll probably give you his thoughts on the watery version.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sun 31 Jan 21 at 16:23
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>>If I were to dig a hole straight down, all the way through the earth, and finally breach the bottom of that sea, would my house flood?
Yes. Assuming that there was more water in the sea than the hole could hold and considering your height above sea level. The two sides would equalise their levels (distance from the core).
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The exact opposite of your house is New Zealand, the question should be "will I be flooded with Kiwis and Sheep"?
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Funny that, I had a dream last night that I bought an Easy Rider style chopped Harley and it wouldn't steer round corners.
Quite realistic, I thought.
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That has me well into the sea, nearest city is Portobello NZ
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>> That has me well into the sea, nearest city is Portobello NZ
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Is there mush room there...?
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Huh, that has me at Yungaisi, 400 miles from Wuhan
I'm not going to dig that hole. It might not be salt water that I would have to deal with.
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Mine is Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Never heard of Chatham Islands before.
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>> Mine is Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Never heard of Chatham Islands before.
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I wouldn't bank on the accuracy, I leave near Salzburg in Austria and it gave me the same answer!
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The accuracy does seem a bit off!.
I live in West Sussex....only 1300 kms apart.
Last edited by: helicopter on Mon 1 Feb 21 at 10:14
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There is no land East of the Chatham Islands until you reach Tierra del Fuego
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I think it works OK but when it gives you the nearest named place it can be quite a long way off.
Here's an alternative. It seems to agree but doesn't do the nearest land thing.
www.antipodesmap.com/
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Well, thanks all. Glad to have had a very firm no, a very authoritative yes, and a host of inbetweens. So that cheers me up. Always good to resolve these things.
I'm afraid I have another but I'm not sure the patience of the forum will last.
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>> Well, thanks all. Glad to have had a very firm no, a very authoritative yes,
>> and a host of inbetweens. So that cheers me up. Always good to resolve these
>> things.
>>
...that's the problem with lack of empirical proof. I suggest you give it a go, and get back to us.
(The next one can wait till then)
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