Family Discussion

[Samurai]

Hey all,

I'm currently having a heated argument with family members over this question:

If I was to travel to centre of the Earth, would you die from heat or cold first?

My answer would be cold, as anyone would realise if they have been caving before, the temperature decreases significantly hence stalagmites & stalagtites. the reason people keep wine in their cellar is because it is cool/cold. When you go deeper you see caves with icicles from the ceiling. I believe it gets progressivly colder the further down you go. I do believe at some stage it will heat up when nearing the molten lava that is in our earth but I remain positive that I am right.

Any help or links to prove my theories are most welcome.

Samurai

[Cheese]

Going Deep
As the shallower and more accessible gold deposits were mined out, mining companies were forced to dig deeper and deeper. Some of the deepest mines in the world are found in South Africa, where gold is mined at depths up to four kilometers (2.4 miles). This presents a host of operational problems, such as ambient underground temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius or more, occasional rock bursts, groundwater seepage and ever present danger of flooding.

The logistics of mining at ultra-deep levels necessitated development of a raft of new technologies. These include sturdier cables, mammoth air refrigeration systems capable of cooling hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels, and devices to detect seismic activity, allowing miners to be evacuated before a rock burst.

At the Beatrix Gold Mine in South AfricaOs Free State province, owned by Gencor, South Africa's second largest mining house, thousands of miners must be conveyed each day to working areas as deep as one kilometer beneath the surface. From there, they proceed along tunnels and Ûstopes,Ó exposing new gold-bearing rock seams for blasting and clearing. The blasted rock is conveyed to the central shaft by locomotive-driven hoppers, where it is hoisted to the surface for processing into raw gold.

A massive underground infrastructure is required to keep this mine functioning safely 24 hours a day. Huge surface fans blow refrigerated air through the latticework of tunnels below, keeping temperatures to a workable range between 17 and 29.5 Celsius. The mine comprises two shafts at depths of 960 meters and 912.5 meters, while a third shaft currently under construction will descend to nearly 1.5 kilometers (almost 1 mile). Tunnels radiate from the shafts at various depths. Scores of ÛdrivesÓ and stopes branch out from these tunnels, providing access to the gold-bearing seam, often just a few feet thick. As the gold is mined out, the tunnels and stopes stray farther from the shaft. The shaft is the lifeline of the mine, delivering men and materials to the working areas below - and gold-bearing ore to the surface, all by way of large lifts.

Source (http://www.drilleronline.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,3643,17948,00.html)

I think you'd die from heat first, but it all depends on how you're travelling there I guess.

[Wizard_Mon1]

the Earth's outer crust is only a few miles thick--thinner, in proportion, than the shell of an egg. Between the crust and the molten core lies the mantle, nearly 3,000 kilometers of rock at temperatures and pressures so high that it behaves like a thick liquid. Carrying heat from the core to the surface, the mantle creeps like tar on a hot day. The mantle's movement reveals itself through such forces as volcanoes, earthquakes, and continental drift.

it is very hot the deeper down you get if you think about volcanoes the carry magma to above sea level that is what is down there.

as for cold it wouldn't last that long because the heat generated by the core is immence.

[vidcc]

if you didn't have proper clothing you might get hypethermia if you were to "pot hole" your way down and it took time...However you would die from heat if you were to take a more direct approach.
The deepest mine in the world is a gold mine i believe in south Africa and it gets pretty hot down there, so hot that the miners work naked or as near as !!!!

deep mines and problems..heat (http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/YefimCavalier.shtml)

[lynx]

Stalagmites and Stalactites are not made of ice, they are rock deposits left by dripping water. The evaporation of this water may lower the temperature slightly, but I don't think it will be significant.

The main reason it is initially cooler is because the sun has difficulty shining through rock. :rolleyes:

You have obviously never been down a deep cave, or a mine. It gets very hot down there. I believe the deepest mines (in South Africa?) have temps in excess of 50C.

[Samurai]

Thanks for everyone's comments. It seems I have been proved wrong...

Now I need to tell the family :ph34r:

[bigboab]

Originally posted by Samurai@29 January 2004 - 17:52
Thanks for everyone's comments. It seems I have been proved wrong...

Now I need to tell the family :ph34r:
If You go down any reasonably deep pit in Britain. Unless you are in the main ventilation air flow, you will find it warm.

[Spider_dude]

Originally posted by bigboab+29 January 2004 - 18:19--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (bigboab @ 29 January 2004 - 18:19)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Samurai@29 January 2004 - 17:52
Thanks for everyone&#39;s comments. It seems I have been proved wrong...

Now I need to tell the family&nbsp; :ph34r:
If You go down any reasonably deep pit in Britain. Unless you are in the main ventilation air flow, you will find it warm. [/b][/quote]
surely using anti-perspirant is the cure to this BB?