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Neat, but do you think it may ever be possible to build these kind super tunnels somehow? How wide?
by xwdv 5y ago
Neat, but do you think it may ever be possible to build these kind super tunnels somehow? How wide?
- amelius 5y agoIs there even a material that can withstand the temperature of Earth's core?
- TeMPOraL 5y agoSure, with enough active cooling :). The tunnel could easily double as an extremely powerful geothermal plant.
- amelius 5y agoI think it may be easier to build a "lava submarine" ...
- pc86 5y agoNot only that but wouldn't you basically need a rocket in order to get from the core to the surface?
- amelius 5y agoI guess you just "fall" into the tunnel, and then your journey ends with speed=0 at the other end because of energy conservation.
- dotancohen 5y agoFriction will likely mean that you don't come up to the same height as you left.
- amelius 5y agoYou'll just grab the rope that's hanging in the tunnel at the other end, and climb out :)
- peanut_worm 5y agowe have barely even made a dent in the crust, I don’t think that would happen in our lifetime.
- bluGill 5y agoDepends, if you are going right through the earth's core it will probably be forever impossible (though maybe someone in materials science knows more than me?). However if you are trying to go closer to the surface it is possible today, it isn't the most direct route, but on the other hand you probably want to pop up every once in while anyway. New York to eastern LA is only a question of economics, we have the technology, and you would want to have a station several cities along the way as long as you are digging so the tunnel wouldn't go deep. Note that I said eastern LA, you can't get too far west without crossing a major fault line and that is not something I think we can handle. (I'm not aware of any fault lines on the rest of the path, but they would stop this tunnel - I wouldn't be surprised if someone pointed one out)
- MiddleEndian 5y agoEventually, but given that we have yet to even build a submerged floating tunnel[0] it will be awhile. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submerged_floating_tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submerged_floating_tunnel https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Bridge_types.svg/2880px-Bridge_types.svg.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Br... (tunnel #2 in this image)
- lttlrck 5y agothere would be a lot of "dirt" to get rid of! Maybe it could be used to reclaim some land from the sea or build new islands.