Have you ever wondered what would happen if you dug a hole straight through the planet? In this episode, Andy explores this wild thought experiment and dives deep (literally!) into Earth science.

What You'll Learn

• The different layers that make up our planet
• Why digging through the Earth is impossible with current technology
• Where you would actually end up if you dug straight down (hint: probably not China!)
• How long it would take to fall through a tunnel in the Earth
• What happens to gravity at the Earth's center
• The extreme conditions inside our planet

Fun Facts from the Episode

• The Earth's core is hotter than the surface of the Sun
• If you could dig through the Earth, a trip from one side to the other would take about 84 minutes
• At the exact center of the Earth, you would float weightlessly
• If you dug from New York, you'd come out in the Indian Ocean near Australia
• The deepest hole humans have ever dug is only about 7.5 miles deep
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Episode Quiz

Question 1: If you dug a tunnel from New York City straight through the Earth, where would you come out?

Question 2: How long would it take to fall all the way through the Earth in a frictionless tunnel?

Question 3: What would happen to you if you could somehow stop exactly at the center of the Earth?

Vocabulary Words

• Antipode - The point on the exact opposite side of the Earth
• Crust - The outermost layer of the Earth
• Mantle - The thick layer between the crust and the core
• Core - The center part of the Earth, made of iron and nickel
• Harmonic oscillation - A back-and-forth motion, like a pendulum
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Try This at Home

Use a globe or online map to find the antipode of where you live. What's on the exact opposite side of the Earth from your house? Is it land or water?

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