[giggyhack]

This video walks through the tech in a very explainable way, and the interviewer asks a lot of pointed questions.

https://youtu.be/b_EoZzE7KJ0

To your questions

> 1) keep the hole from collapsing

They are vaporizing the rock which turns everythingeft into an obsidian like substance.

> 2) remove the volume of rock required to continue going down

As the rock is vaporized, they push nitrogen gas down the hole to cycle the vapor back to the surface

The video goes through the main challenges they have, like rate of penetration, power output and other small issues.

Will they be successful? Who knows, but the concept seems sound and the tech is proven. Can they do it at scale and consistently enough to change drilling worldwide? Who knows.

[Valgrim]

I think the parent comment exposes the obvious flaw of using plasma to drill: Drilling with diamond bits uses fluid, which is uncompressible. Drilling with plasma uses gas, which is compressible. No matter how thick the obsidian layer get, there is a critical pressure differential between outside and inside and it will crack and collapse.