Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by jafo 1754 days ago
Undersea by rail. Ninety minutes from New York to Paris: 5600 km
3 comments

According to "How long would it take to fall through the center of the Earth?" [1], it would take 2 * 42 min = 84 min, ignoring air resistance, and, (probably) survival of the passengers.

[1] https://www.physicscentral.com/explore/poster-earth.cfm

This approximation accounts for this fact: "As you fall there is less and less mass between you and the center so there is less and less to pull you down"

More (interesting!) flaws of the 42 minute calculation are shown here: https://www.livescience.com/50312-how-long-to-fall-through-e...

This approximation accounts for non-uniform density of the earth:

> Klotz based his calculations on the internal structure of the planet as determined from seismic data. While the Earth's crust has a density less than about 187 lbs. per cubic foot (3 grams per cubic centimeter), Earth's center has a density of about 811 lbs. per cubic foot (13 grams per cubic centimeter). The density of the planet does not rise in a straightforward manner the farther down one goes — there is a sharp 50 percent increase in density at the boundary of the planet's mantle and its outer core about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) below Earth's surface.

> Now, using a more realistic model of the Earth, Klotz finds the fall would take only about 38 minutes and 11 seconds, about 4 minutes faster than thought.

Why wouldn't the passengers survive? Even though they will reach terrifying speeds, at no point will their acceleration exceed a relatively gentle 9.8ms^-2
it gets quite warm down there.
Too bad we can't pull it off with current technology.
Guess we will just fantasize about it in song then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueivjr3f8xg

The future is bright: wheels in space, underwater trains, and everyone gets a spandex jacket.

Enters The Ever Given.