I have a mental problem

[Easy 10]

I consider myself of (arguably) average intelligence, but there is a recurring theoretical conundrum which keeps returning to my concious mind, where it wanders around poking fun at my brain and sniggering behind its hand at my complete inability to deal with it, before disappearing, only to resurface again when I am trying to get to sleep. Numerous semi-sober conversations in the pub have so far failed to resolve it to my satisfaction, so let me run this by the wise old sages of NSC, as well as the idiots, and perhaps I can then vanquish this irritating (but strangely engrossing) riddle once and for all, cos I'm buggered if I can get my head round it.

It is simply this. Imagine a hole drilled all the way down and past the Earths core. The hole goes in a straight line and emerges on the other side of the planet. Fixed to the side of this (enormously long) hole is a ladder. If someone was to climb all the way down this ladder and emerge from the hole on the other side of the Earth, at what point would they stop climbing down, and start climbing up ? If they continued climbing down then surely they could only emerge and come out of the hole on the other side feet-first, which clearly makes no sense. But if you are physically climbing DOWN all the way, then how does that, at some point, transfer to climbing UP ? When you begin your descent, your head would be facing England (if you're leaving from here), so how does it at some point turn around to face its destination of Australia (or China, or wherever the hole emerges) ? Is it your HEAD or your FEET that would emerge from the hole on the other side ? Neither make any sense to me.

God I'm clueless.

 

[Napper]

you wouldn't emerge out the bottom the right way round, you'd be upside down

 

[Easy 10]

I can't say thats helped much, Dougal.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

well it wouldnt be possible as the pressure in the earths core would destroy you.

but.....if this wasnt the case then surely the moment you pass halfway forces on your body would push you back towards the centre meaning you would have to turn yourself around and climb upwards towards the end unless you can climb up a ladder upside down

 

[H2O]

I would say feet but the chances of you making it alive are extremely unlikely!!!! You would get toasted when you reach the centre of the earth!!

 

[Gazwag]

As far as I can see, at the centre (as well as being bloody hot) you would have to turn around so your are climbing up instead of down.

This is based on the theory that if you reduce the scale to say a football.

However, this probably doesn't take into account a fundamental principal which could throw the above theroy completely out.

Gravity.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

you wouldn't emerge out the bottom the right way round, you'd be upside down

only if you can climb up ladders upside down

 

[The Great Cornholio]

Just think of an arrow drawn from one side of a circle to the other. It always goes in the same direction so you would keep going down and your feet would come out first. The difference would be that you would be the opposite way to gravity so, come the very centre, you would need to turn round and climb up. But, in theory, you would keep going down and feet would be out first - especially if gravity wasn't involved.

 

[zakthemack]

In my opinion you'd be climbing down the entire time. Correct me if I'm wrong but gravity would never transfer to the opposite direction. Therefore I must decree it's down 100% of the voyage.

 

[Scarface]

I would guess that theoretically once you reached the centre of the earth the gravity would change direction and it would be like trying to climb backwards up a ladder!

Thats a fantastic idea for a pub conversation though and far more interesting than how do you spell the 'ders' in the Adam Virgo chant!

 

[Easy 10]

Yes yes, I know know we'd get burnt to a crisp in molten MAGMA before we got anywhere near the other side, but this is one of those THEORETICAL things that we know are impossible and will never happen, but can't help thinking about anyway. You know, like playing Hammond in the middle.

 

[looney]

If you let your head point in the opposite direction of gravity then you will arrive at safeways colon. Dont ask me why, its fact thats all.

 

[Gazwag]

The wonders of Google..................


Although it would be impossible to do this on earth, you actually could do this on the moon. The moon has a cold core and it also doesn't have any oceans or groundwater to mess things up. In addition, the moon has no atmosphere, so the tunnel would have a nice vacuum in it that eliminates aerodynamic drag.
So, imagine that the tunnel through the moon is 20 feet (7 meters) in diameter. Down one side is a ladder. If you were to climb down the ladder, what you would find is that your weight decreases. Gravity is caused by objects attracting one another with their mass (see Question 232). As you descend into the tunnel, more and more of the moon's mass is above you, so it attracts you upward. Once you climbed down to the center of the moon you would be weightless. The mass of the moon is all around you and attracting you equally, so it all cancels out and you would feel weightless.

If you were to actually leap into the tunnel and allow yourself to fall, you would accelerate toward the center to a very high speed. Then you would zoom through the center and start decelerating. You would eventually stop when you reached the tunnel's lip on the other side of the moon, and then you would start falling back down the tunnel in the other direction. You would oscillate back and forth like this forever.

If you could do this on earth, one amazing effect would be the ease of travel. The diameter of the earth is about 12,700 kilometers (7,800 miles). If you drilled the tunnel straight through the center and could create a vacuum inside, anything you dropped into the tunnel would reach the other side of the planet in just 42 minutes! See the links for details.

 

[Easy 10]

In my opinion you'd be climbing down the entire time. Correct me if I'm wrong but gravity would never transfer to the opposite direction. Therefore I must decree it's down 100% of the voyage.

But if you're climbing down for the entire journey, then you'd emerge feet-first on the other side of the world. And that just doesn't work.

 

[Scarface]

If you were to actually leap into the tunnel and allow yourself to fall, you would accelerate toward the center to a very high speed. Then you would zoom through the center and start decelerating. You would eventually stop when you reached the tunnel's lip on the other side of the moon, and then you would start falling back down the tunnel in the other direction. You would oscillate back and forth like this forever.

That sounds like fun!

 

[The Large One]

What are you trying to achieve? Making the planet into one huge spit roast?

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

That sounds like fun!

all we need is a SHOVEL

 

[The Large One]

But if you're climbing down for the entire journey, then you'd emerge feet-first on the other side of the world. And that just doesn't work.

The gravity at the centre of the planet (or the lack of it) would certainly mess with your mind. But once you are beyond the centre, your orientation would change.

 

[Napper]

only if you can climb up ladders upside down

wouldn't happen as the gravity would make it so you are always climbing "down the ladder" , you'd just come out feet first

 

[looney]

The wonders of Google..................


You would oscillate back and forth like this forever.

Nope, his swings would deminish. Unless your suggesting a perpetual motion machine.