Quote:
Originally Posted by h5n1
yeah, it's only 9.8m/s squared. HOWEVER, do you realize how far it is from the surface of the earth to the core? 6384 km at the equator. in meters, that's 6.384 million meters. you'll hit terminal velocity at a certain point, and assuming you don't have a parachute (which wouldn't work in a vacuum anyway), you would most assuredly die of acceleration alone
(note: I could easily be wrong on this. I'm relying on physics I a few years ago in my undergrad; there's a reason I went into genetics rather than physics--pretty sure my reasoning here is sound, don't feel like digging out a textbook, pen and paper)
|
The acceleration would start at 9.81 m/(s^2) but the mass of the earth above your falling head would also create a gravitational pull above your head trying to pull you back up. This oppositional gravitational force would be less than the earths but would be sufficient to slow you down. Once at the center the force due to gravity would be the same on all sides (almost, the earth isn't truly spherical but a prolate spheroid) but the conversion of all that gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy would push you past the center where the exact same effects would occur in the opposite direction resulting in a gentle stop at the other side