Dig to the other side of the earth

[misslideaway]

Now,. ignore the fact that the earth has a core..If it was possible to dig down to the other side of the earth, at which point would gravity 'flip you around' so you were facing up? Would it be the very centre of would this be an eventual thing?

[zgma]

I would guess that gravity would get stronger and stronger as you reached the center, and (putting aside the fact that you'd burn up in the molten rock) you'd have a hard time digging out of the center - gravity would be so strong that you couldn't escape it.

[supergeek]

There would be no gravity at the centre of the earth because you would be pulled pretty much equally in every direction.

[Mattk]

this question has been asked before. you would simply hover at the core as there is no up or down at that point

[bernardo]

Gravity actually gets weaker as you get closer to the centre of the Earth, because you gradually have more and more mass outside you pulling out, as well as the central bit pulling in.

[tomd]

Could you dig to the middle, turn 10 degrees and then dig back up again?

[Mattk]

i wouldve thought gravity would get stronger the closer you got to the middle as there is less resistance

[BillyBB]

Gravity decreases exponentially with distance as you move away from an object. However, it's the mass that creates gravity so if you tunnel into the centre of the earth there is equal mass above you as below. You would be pulled in all directions and could theoretically float in the centre.

[bernardo]

Mattk The force of gravity exerted by a mass increases if you get closer. But if you get closer to the centre of the Earth, the mass which is exerting the force also diminishes, so the force from the Earth gets lower. When you have dug down to, for example, 10 feet above the centre of the Earth, the gravity will only be as much as it would be if you were standing on a planet with a radius of 10 feet. All the rest of the Earth's mass beyond 10 feet doesn't count because the mass on one side cancels out with the mass from the other side.