Suppose you could drill a hole through the Earth and then drop into it. How long would it take you to pop up on the other side of the Earth? The calculations are not simple, but the answer is 42 (minutes). Link -via Reddit
How would you get out of the vacuum-sealed tube, then?
As for compression, I was thinking more of the forces involved than the physical solid core of the earth, thus imagining that two things could occupy the same space at the same time - why not?
If there were a tube, presumably we would have the ability to negate any dangerous effects, but probably not the smarts to ensure that people don't jump in from opposite ends at the same time, or the ability to protect it from terrorists.
c-dub - I realize that, but the commenters seemed to be taking this a bit too seriously. Although I guess if we had the technology to drill thousands of miles through the earth (vs. our current record of a few miles), we'd also have the technology to vacuum seal the tube and ensure the traveler wouldn't burn up.
Anita, they state right off the bat, "For our hypothetical journey we will assume the Earth to be of uniform density and neglect air friction and the high temperature of this trip."
As for compression, I was thinking more of the forces involved than the physical solid core of the earth, thus imagining that two things could occupy the same space at the same time - why not?
If there were a tube, presumably we would have the ability to negate any dangerous effects, but probably not the smarts to ensure that people don't jump in from opposite ends at the same time, or the ability to protect it from terrorists.