Imagine for a moment that you managed to make an incredible tunnel through the entire Earth. If you jump directly into it, then at the speed of free fall you will see the very center of our planet in some 18 minutes. What will open to your eyes? Even scientists cannot say for sure. Today, with the incredible development of technology, we have managed to break only 12 kilometers into the depths of the Earth - but this is what, in theory, will open to a brave traveler who has made the most incredible tunnel in history through the entire planet.
Earth's crust
The crust, the outer shell of the Earth, is only 1% of its mass. The crust is 35 kilometers thick - in free fall, the flight through it will take about a minute. The crust is composed of light rocks that form the continents. It is interesting that absolutely all objects created by man are made of metals and minerals from the earth's crust. Perhaps diamonds are an exception to this rule, since they rise from a much deeper depth.
Mantle
85% of the volume and 65% of the mass of the Earth is occupied by the mantle. It is composed of four elements, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, and iron. Under high pressure, their atoms form dense lattice structures. Scientists used to think that the mantle was a homogeneous mass of rock going straight to the outside of the core. Today, with the emergence of new information, it became clear that the mantle moves with the rising and falling rock. There is even a bold hypothesis that the so-called mantle plumes rise to the very surface of the Earth every three to four hundred million years. Together with them, an incredible amount of lava rises, destroying all life on the planet.
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Underground continents
Below Africa and the Pacific Ocean are two of the strangest underground formations. They were named after geologists Jason Morgan and Tuzo Wilson and scientists believe that these are the most real underground continents. They formed about 4 billion years ago and may well rise upward with the mantle. True, even if this happens, it will be very long ago, in billions in 7-8 years.
An ocean of molten metal
At a depth of 2890 kilometers, there is a colossal lake of molten metal, the temperature of which exceeds 5000 degrees Celsius. This lake is the outer part of the core. Here storms and whirlwinds rage, forming electric and magnetic fields of incredible strength. The movement of streams of molten metal leads to the formation of the general magnetic field of the Earth, without which life on the planet would be simply impossible.
Inner core
Surprisingly, the inner core of the planet was formed only about 100 million years ago from a microscopic crystal of iron. Today, this core makes up 0.5% of the mass of the Earth - it is an incredibly dense ball of nickel and iron, the surface of which is as hot as the Sun. Scientists will never be able to penetrate to such incredible depth, the conditions here are so harsh that even theoretical ideas for creating a tunneling apparatus are not put forward. Judge for yourself: what can even withstand 6000 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 3.5 million atmospheres.