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Author Topic: One for the egg heads  (Read 6895 times)

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Offline GROWLER

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One for the egg heads
« on: April 13, 2008, 12:00:10 PM »
God only knows how a subject on the Parry and Hicks debacle got so off topic on the LFC footie board, but here's a damned good question that was posted on the thread to ponder over:



If you bored a hole completely through the Earth from here to the antipodean side, and then dropped a lead ball down it; where would the ball stop falling?

I reckon it would float at the core of the earth. Well it wouldn't actually, cus it would melt and dissapear.

« Last Edit: April 13, 2008, 12:05:54 PM by GROWLER »
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Offline Just One More

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2008, 12:34:15 PM »
That's some thread-drift. Once it gets past the centre, does it cease to fall, then begins to ascend?
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Offline Snoopy

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2008, 12:39:46 PM »
 tunble:  Must be Sunday  ::)
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Offline The Moan Ranger

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2008, 01:22:00 PM »
I shall reply shortly with an answer.
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Offline The Moan Ranger

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2008, 01:31:40 PM »
Making assumptions that:-

The ball wouldn't melt and

Negligble air fritction

Then the ball would pass through the core and out the other side about 530 feet before gravity stopped it and started pulling it back towards the core.
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Offline Snoopy

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2008, 01:33:16 PM »
Are we assumming that the lead would not melt? If so then surely gravitational pull equally applied from all directions should make the ball "hover" at the halfway point .............. but that assumes that the hole bored had actually gone through the middle.

Personally I doubt that B&Q sell a drill bit long enough to find out.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2008, 01:39:27 PM by Snoopy »
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Offline The Moan Ranger

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2008, 01:37:23 PM »
It would EVENTUALLY hover, after a bit of ping-ponging about the core.
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Offline Snoopy

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2008, 01:40:19 PM »
F*ckin' hate Sundays ~ don't you?  tunble:
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Offline Barman

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2008, 01:42:29 PM »
Quote from: Snoopy on April 13, 2008, 01:40:19 PM
F*ckin' hate Sundays ~ don't you?  tunble:
We've been skinny dipping...  redface:
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Offline GROWLER

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2008, 01:43:42 PM »
Quote from: The Moan Ranger on April 13, 2008, 01:37:23 PM
It would EVENTUALLY hover, after a bit of ping-ponging about the core.
If the hole was bored in two directions thus creating a 4 way junction at the center, it would surely spin and hover in the middle, thus perpetual motion would be created? rubschin:
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Offline Snoopy

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2008, 01:44:18 PM »
Quote from: Barman on April 13, 2008, 01:42:29 PM
Quote from: Snoopy on April 13, 2008, 01:40:19 PM
F*ckin' hate Sundays ~ don't you?  tunble:
We've been skinny dipping...  redface:

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Offline GROWLER

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2008, 01:46:15 PM »
Quote from: Just One More on April 13, 2008, 12:34:15 PM
That's some thread-drift. Once it gets past the centre, does it cease to fall, then begins to ascend?

How? Gravity from the 'other side' would surely force it back down to the center?

Ey MR, what's all this 530ft nonsense about then?
I'd have thought more like 297 tbh.
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Offline The Moan Ranger

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2008, 01:50:39 PM »
Show your workings! Mine assume gravity at 9.8 m/s/s and a terminal velocity due to gravity of 125mph.
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Offline Snoopy

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2008, 01:53:34 PM »
I understand that John Moores University, Liverpool have called all their greatest academics to a meeting to resolve this issue once and for all.
























The meeting will be held in the faculty telephone kiosk at 12 noon tomorrow. Dress Optional
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Offline Darwins Selection

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Re: One for the egg heads
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2008, 01:57:07 PM »
Quote from: The Moan Ranger on April 13, 2008, 01:50:39 PM
Show your workings! Mine assume gravity at 9.8 m/s/s and a terminal velocity due to gravity of 125mph.

And your allowance for higher air density and friction?

Not to mention eddy current forces as lead (a conductor) passes through the centre where the magnetic field will effectively reverse (from the lead ball's perspective).
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