India to America in half an hour! At that time, the earth was dug up to 7 KM, what will happen if it is dug across?
- byManasavi
- 05 Jun, 2025

Tunnel is Dug Across the Earth: If America can be reached from India in just a few minutes, then how small will the world become. When we dig a tunnel to reach the other end of the world, we have to cover the diameter of the earth, which is about 12,742 km long. Whereas the maximum depth of the tunnel dug by the Russians in Kola Well is 7 km (23,000 feet).
The idea of digging a tunnel in the earth has always been very interesting for humans. Imagine, if America can be reached from India in just a few minutes, then how small will the world become. Much faster than air travel, this journey can be possible with the help of gravity. But is it really possible to do this? What will happen if a tunnel is dug across the earth and what will be its effect?
Well, when a tunnel is dug across the earth, it becomes very easy to travel from one country to another. For example, you can reach America from India in just a few minutes. But can it be done? In short, we do not have the engineering capability to do this. However, there was once such an attempt, which lasted for about 19 years. Meanwhile, now many researchers have tried to dig tunnels and check how far they can reach inside the earth. So let's know whether it is possible or not.
Can you dig to reach the other end of the world?
When we dig a tunnel to reach the other end of the world, we have to cover the diameter of the earth, which is about 12,742 km long. While the maximum depth of the tunnel dug by the Russians in Kola Well is 7 km (23,000 feet). This project was started in 1970 and this depth was achieved within five years. Then in 1989 it was cancelled because the drilling got stuck in a hard rock bed about 12km below the earth's surface.
Why is digging so deep difficult?
The temperature at depth is very high (more than 500°C). The rocks are extremely hard and hard. The pressure is so high that machines fail. For all these reasons, building a tunnel through the earth is impossible even with today's technology. This is why the engineering challenges in digging the tunnel will be huge. Even if digging is done from both sides, it will not be possible, because in both attempts a distance of more than 6000 km will have to be covered. But still people must be wondering what will happen if digging a tunnel anywhere in the world is successful?
What will happen if we succeed in digging a tunnel around the world?
We have always imagined that by digging a tunnel so far, we can reach the other end of the world. This means that if we decide the distance according to the diameter, then we will reach from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere.
What will happen if a tunnel crosses the center of the Earth?
If we jump into that tunnel, we will move at the rate of 9.8 m/s2 and reach the center due to the force of gravity. It will take about 21 minutes to reach the center. During this time the speed of the human will be 28,000 km/hour.
According to physics, when humans reach the center of the Earth, their behavior changes and they become weightless. Whereas after reaching the center while falling in the tunnel, the inertia moment of the human will go against the Gravitational Force and take the human to the other end. It will take him another 21 minutes to reach the other end of the tunnel. When he reaches his place, his speed will decrease from 28,000 km/hour to zero. The opposite point of that tunnel is called the antipode.
What is an antipode?
There is no need to dig a tunnel to find the antipode. It is the point exactly opposite to the start of the tunnel. Another example of this is that if you dig a tunnel in China, you will reach the antipode in Argentina in the Southern Hemisphere.
How to calculate the antipode?
It is clear that the antipode will always exist on the other side of the other hemisphere on Earth. For example, if a human considers a place in Memphis at 35° north latitude, its antipode will be somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere at 35° south latitude.
Is it possible to dig a tunnel across the Earth?
It is impossible to reach the antipode by digging a tunnel from one place on Earth. To go that far, one would have to cross a hot lava core. Despite the advancement of engineering, humans cannot do this in the present era.
However, in the future it may be possible that humans master the technology of traveling through the earth through tunnels. You will be surprised to know here that traveling through these tunnels will not only consume less energy but also less time. Because the entire work will be done by gravity. This means that you will not have to spend any force to reach the other end of the world. Whereas it will take only 42 minutes to cover the diameter of the earth.