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A wondering mind is a wonderful thing(Gravity)?????

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LoadedGhost
 
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 10:23 am
theoretically speaking if you bore a hole through the center of the earth so there was a direct path from one side to the other and then droped a marble in the hole what would happen? Would it stop directly in the center ?
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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 1,278 • Replies: 6
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BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 01:32 pm
@LoadedGhost,
If there was no air or other factors causing friction it would just oscillate backs and forth between the two sides of the earth forever.

Second note that is with a pole to pole hole as the rotation of the earth at other locations would interfere with it dropping straight down the hole.

With friction it would settle sooner or later at the earth center after a numbers of oscillations, the numbers depending on the degree of friction.
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cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 02:24 pm
Actually, it'll melt and disappear.
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fresco
 
  1  
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 03:31 pm
@LoadedGhost,
Discounting rotation of the earth and friction, you don't need a hole through the centre to obtain oscillatory motion. Any straight or arced tunnel drilled between two points on the earth's surface would theoretically give a positive gravitational vector for the first half of the motion and an opposite (negative) one for the second half. This lead to speculation on another thread (several years ago) about "minimal energy input travel" through such a conduit, ignoring of course the energy needed to construct it !
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 03:40 pm
@fresco,
Quote:
Discounting rotation of the earth and friction, you don't need a hole through the centre to obtain oscillatory motion. Any straight or arced tunnel drilled between two points on the earth's surface would theoretically give a positive gravitational vector for the first half of the motion and an opposite (negative) one for the second half. This lead to speculation on another thread (several years ago) about "minimal energy input travel" through such a conduit, ignoring of course the energy needed to construct it !


I would think that you would have a gravity compound in such a situation that would result in the object coming into contact with the walls of the tunnel.

Are you assuming no friction walls?
fresco
 
  1  
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 03:48 pm
@BillRM,
Yes...I did say "discounting friction...." but we might settle for technology which gives "minimal friction".
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Mon 13 Sep, 2010 03:51 pm
@fresco,
Quote:
Yes...I did say "discounting friction...." but we might settle for technology which gives "minimal friction".


I guess I just hate the idea of the object bounding off the walls of the tunnel.
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