How long would the shovel have to be [assuming the boys are where you are, or if you are in China that the hole would be to the United States]? Or, more realistically, what is the distance through the Earth from you to China?
What other practical difficulties would there be to digging a hole straight through to China?
Assuming such a hole could be dug, what advantages would it have?
If a hole could be dug, from where you live, straight through the center
of the Earth and to the other side, where would it come out exactly?
If the diameter of the hole were 1 meter, and the material dug out were
piled up to form a cone with 90º angle at its summit, how high above
the base of the cone would that summit be?
If a hole (with a diameter of 1 meter) through the center of the earth
came out, on the other side, within an ocean, what would happen at the
moment it pierced through the floor of that ocean? By how much would
the sea level around the world be lowered? If you cannot give exact answers,
make a guess.
Click
here if you can answer any of these questions, or if you want to ask
us what we know, or if you would like to write a fictional (obviously!)
story about two kids who dig a secret hole to China and what they do after
that.