Slashdot Mirror
Falling to Earth's Core in a Big Blob of Iron
Colin Douglas Howell writes "Um...wow. I found this idea via the BBC, (see also the Nature article), but it's really worth reading the annotated paper on the subject. (Gotta love the title.) Basically, you drill a hole in the crust, blast a big crack in it, inject a huge mass of molten iron with a little probe floating inside (made out of material which won't melt or dissolve in the iron), and let the iron mass sink to the core by gravity, carrying the probe with it. (The initial crack grows downward as the iron sinks.) As the probe falls, it sends data back using seismic signals that can be picked up with a gravitational wave observatory like LIGO, but coupled to the ground. Of course, there are enormous problems with the whole thing, but it's still cool to read about. To me, the idea is even neater because it was dreamed up by Dave Stevenson, one of my old professors (and one of the best professors I've ever had). I hope he doesn't mind being Slashdotted. :-)"
And everyone on the planet was killed. So, children, remember, don't try to drill to the center of your planet without the proper tools.
Alien 4th Grade Class on "History of Stupid Mistakes"
Then after this they might come up with a "la-ser" and a "tractor beam"
"To me, the idea is even neater because it was dreamed up by Dave Stevenson, one of my old professors (and one of the best professors I've ever had). I hope he doesn't mind being Slashdotted. :-)""
That's easy for you to say. You already have your degree.
made out of material which won't melt or dissolve in the iron
Well...thats easy then
Guess they won't need to find a blob of iron.
...
The slashdotting the server will receive ought to help melt it and the floor beneath it.
Off goes the server, down, down, down
They've found a way to get a wireless probe to connect from the middle of a molten ball of iron deep in the center of the earth, but I still can't get my cellphone to work in the subway.
$8.95/mo web hosting
What if you went from both sides?
Won't that disturb the people who live inside the earth? They may be aliens, but they have rights, too.
We already have tons of data concerning the nature of the Earth's core. Duh. There was a documentary shot on this very subject sometime in the sixties; it showed the center of the Earth to be a rather tropical, oceanic/tropical place, where dinosaurs still roamed free on land. Big, sail-backed dinosaurs: that's all there is at the center of the Earth. This iron-ball thing sounds like a waste of time.
Won't making a crack this big in the Earths surface let all the gravity out ?
"Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne
they still shouldn't go fishing for research topics at the movie theater!! :)
More 4th Grade Alien Papers
"A Space Elevator Fell On My Mommy."
"It Turns Out We Need A Magnetic Field."
"My Sister Smells."
Very popular slashdot journal for adul
Well of course the hole would close back up. The upper mantle is plastic (it oozes), the lower mantle is liquid rock, and the outer core is liquid metal. Saying that the hole would close up is about as interesting as saying a hole in water closes up. I'm sure he already thought of that, and mentioned seismic communication as a solution.
Incidentally, the idea of using something like LIGOS to detect the vibrations is pretty stupid, IMO. LIGOS is for detecting gravity waves, which have almost nothing in common with seismic waves, except for the fact that they're both waves. Seismic waves are just sound waves traveling through rock, while gravity waves are stranger, being induced by the motion of mass like electromagnetic waves are induced by the motion of charge. Seismic waves are much easier to detect.
As for electronics, I could conceive that the probe might be able to operate if it were either (1) large enough or (2) operated mechanically. I don't think too much thought has been given to making high temperature electronics, but you could certainly build a mechanical device out of the mythical material you're building the probe out of.
Crack in the World (1965)
Plot Summary for
Crack in the World (1965)
PageFlicker
IMDb home PreviousMain DetailsNext Help
Page 9 of 16
Dr. Steven Sorenson (Andrews) plans to tap the geothermal energy of the Earth's interior by means of a thermonuclear device detonated deep within the Earth. Despite dire warnings by fellow scientist Ted Rampian (Moore), Dr Sorenson proceeds with the experiment after secretly learning that he is terminally ill. This experiment causes a crack to form and grow within the earth's crust, which threatens to split the earth in two if it is not stopped in time.
Immortal Dialogue
Layperson: What if the crack keeps going - right around the world? What happens then?
Scientist: Where the land masses split the oceans will be sucked in, and the colossal pressure generated by the steam will rip the earth apart - and destroy it.
Layperson: You mean - the world will come to an end!?
Scientist: The world as we know it, yes. As a cloud of astral dust, it will continue to move within the solar system.
[That's what's known as "scientific consolation"....]
Please to meet you. I'm the pope.
This will never work.
Gee. Do you think? Funnily enough most people here know that this idea is just a cartoon sketch of an idea; a bit of brainstorming, but apparently you don't.
Its pure pop science, and the CalTech should revoke this guys tenure, if he has any.
You obviously want his job. Anyway enough wasting time with you, I've got eclesiastical matters to deal with.
-WolfWithoutAClause
"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"... the opening scenes of a Jerry Bruckheimer film.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
It's like claiming that cows are more buoyant than air, and they're only held down by the force of the sun's rays bombarding them. So does that mean they float at night?
Volcanoes form when magma forces its way up through a crack in the crust.
You want to send a probe down.
See the problem?
Scientist,"Ok, now we'll just head on up to the vent over there and toss the probe in.."
*Rumblings from volcano*
Scientist, "I can't help feeling that I've missed something crucial in my calculations... oh well."
*scientist continues to the edge of the vent, tosses probe in*
Scientist (excitedly),"Right! Now all we do is wait for some data! (Taps laptop) Hmm, there must be a sensor problem, the probe seems to be going upwards.... What's that rumbling noise?"
*volcano proceeds to erupt*
Scientist,"Ahh! it burns! it burns!!"
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
Brave, brave statement there.
so what you're saying is.. and stop me if I'm wrong here, is that if we can amass a very VERY big exposition, we might blow a hole into the corona, dropping an improved version of these probes onto the surface of the sun, and create a beowolf cluster.. where we can cause siesmic dusiturbances which will (previosuly worked out) distribute photons in a pattern out of the corona (sun spots, flare distribution) which we will be able to reduce back into a readable data stream for data collection of the suns various environmental variables, and anonymously share not proman nudies.
is that what you ewre suggesting?
pm
** "It's not my job to stand between the people talking to me, and the ones listening to me." -- Pego the Jerk
Also, I thought that the core of the earth was populated by materials much denser than iron. Uranium, plutonium, people who watched the Bachelorette... Wouldn't the iron not actually get down all that far?
Oh boy, you sure asked for it...
A little cartoon entitled "Yes"...
Offtopic? Maybe. Graphically humorous? Hell yeah.
--Fesh
Kill -9 'em all, let root@localhost sort 'em out.