OT breakthrough drilling

[kathy]

Okay, somebody tell me that if they do this we won't
go whizzing around the solar system like a balloon with
the air let out??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

Hole Drilled to Bottom of Earth's Crust, Breakthrough to Mantle Looms
By Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Senior Writer
posted: 07 April 2005
08:51 am ET

Scientist said this week they had drilled into the lower section of
Earth's crust for the first time and were poised to break through to
the mantle in coming years.

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) seeks the elusive "Moho,"
a boundary formally known as the Mohorovicic discontinuity. It marks
the division between Earth's brittle outer crust and the hotter, softer
mantle.


http://ihmp.net/@/re
or
http://www.livescience.com/technology/050407_earth_drill.html

[Reel McKoi]

"kathy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Okay, somebody tell me that if they do this we won't
> go whizzing around the solar system like a balloon with
> the air let out??
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
Worse yet all that liquid will ooze out and the mantle will collapse....
get your hot-suit ready.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[George]

"kathy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Okay, somebody tell me that if they do this we won't
> go whizzing around the solar system like a balloon with
> the air let out??
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
>
> Hole Drilled to Bottom of Earth's Crust, Breakthrough to Mantle Looms
> By Robert Roy Britt
> LiveScience Senior Writer
> posted: 07 April 2005
> 08:51 am ET
>
> Scientist said this week they had drilled into the lower section of
> Earth's crust for the first time and were poised to break through to
> the mantle in coming years.
>
> The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) seeks the elusive "Moho,"
> a boundary formally known as the Mohorovicic discontinuity. It marks
> the division between Earth's brittle outer crust and the hotter, softer
> mantle.
>
>
> http://ihmp.net/@/re
> or
> http://www.livescience.com/technology/050407_earth_drill.html

As a geologist, I can tell you with no uncertainty that this will not cause the
earth to whiz around the solar system. You can sleep soundly and night.

[Graham]

kathy wrote:
> Hole Drilled to Bottom of Earth's Crust, Breakthrough to Mantle Looms
> By Robert Roy Britt
> LiveScience Senior Writer
> posted: 07 April 2005

I think the Russians got further than anyone else last time they tried.
They've been trying to find the molten mantle for years now, getting
good sonics and then failing to find it time after time.
They drill deeper and deeper always expecting to find the molten mantle.
If you notice they say 'about to find', or 'nearly'.

I expect it's not actually there as advertised, that 'rock' just behaves
differently under immense pressure, causing a different sonic behaviour.
Non local volcanoes and plate tetonics are easily explained by a molten
mantle (as it the wandering magnetic field) but no one has ever found it!

As for the pressure, it's pressure created by it's own weight - so like
a bucket can leak from the bottom.... it can't leak frm the top. Until
water starts jumping out of buckets and ponds you'll be quite safe!!

[Derek Broughton]

kathy wrote:

> Okay, somebody tell me that if they do this we won't
> go whizzing around the solar system like a balloon with
> the air let out??
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

Oh, I could tell you that, but I'd be lieing. Just hang on tight :-)
--
derek

[George]

"Graham" > wrote in message
...
>
> kathy wrote:
>> Hole Drilled to Bottom of Earth's Crust, Breakthrough to Mantle Looms
>> By Robert Roy Britt
>> LiveScience Senior Writer
>> posted: 07 April 2005
>
> I think the Russians got further than anyone else last time they tried.
> They've been trying to find the molten mantle for years now, getting good
> sonics and then failing to find it time after time.
> They drill deeper and deeper always expecting to find the molten mantle. If
> you notice they say 'about to find', or 'nearly'.
>
> I expect it's not actually there as advertised, that 'rock' just behaves
> differently under immense pressure, causing a different sonic behaviour. Non
> local volcanoes and plate tetonics are easily explained by a molten mantle (as
> it the wandering magnetic field) but no one has ever found it!
>
> As for the pressure, it's pressure created by it's own weight - so like a
> bucket can leak from the bottom.... it can't leak frm the top. Until water
> starts jumping out of buckets and ponds you'll be quite safe!!
>
>

The mantle is not molten. That is a mistake many people apparently make. The
mantle is a visco-elastic solid that acts as a solid over a short period of time
but acts as a fluid over much longer time periods.

[Snooze]

"George" > wrote in message
news:Knr5e.30522$NW5.24855@attbi_s02...
>
> "kathy" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> Okay, somebody tell me that if they do this we won't
>> go whizzing around the solar system like a balloon with
>> the air let out??
>
> As a geologist, I can tell you with no uncertainty that this will not
> cause the earth to whiz around the solar system. You can sleep soundly
> and night.

How do you know? It's never been done before. We could become the first
planet to leave orbit and travel in some chaotic path, the whole time while
being propelled by a lava rocket. :)

-S

[George]

"Snooze" > wrote in message
om...
>
> "George" > wrote in message
> news:Knr5e.30522$NW5.24855@attbi_s02...
>>
>> "kathy" > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>>> Okay, somebody tell me that if they do this we won't
>>> go whizzing around the solar system like a balloon with
>>> the air let out??
>>
>> As a geologist, I can tell you with no uncertainty that this will not cause
>> the earth to whiz around the solar system. You can sleep soundly and night.
>
> How do you know? It's never been done before. We could become the first planet
> to leave orbit and travel in some chaotic path, the whole time while being
> propelled by a lava rocket. :)
>
> -S

Because 1) The mantle is not molten, though it is hot and under pressure, and 2)
the area where they are drilling has a very thin crust. If there was any risk
of some kind of release of pressure from the mantle, it would have blown it's
top already, 3) the hole drilled is not substantial when compared to a volcanic
fracture zone (which is a completely different beast altogether), or when
compared to the diameter of the Earth, 4) the Earth is not a balloon that will
pop when you punch a hole in it, nor will it go flying off in every direction
imaginable. It isn't that simple, nor even comparable, and finally, 5) the
mantle along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is so tightly squeezed that there is almost
no pore space in the rocks, hence almost no water or gas to cause a blowout.
How do we know? Because mantle rocks have been found as xenoliths in volcanic
rocks,and at several obduction zones, and have been analyzed many times by many
researchers. We know what to expect. Having said that, having real mantle
samples in hand that are unaltered will tell us volumes about the composition of
the mantle that we can use to verify or refute our models about the Earth's
interior. The difficulty in drilling at this depth is not from vertical release
of pressure (because the rock is a viscous solid, not a brittle solid), but
horizontal release of pressure. The deeper one drills, the hotter the rocks
become, the more pressure they are under, the more viscous they become, and the
more likely your hole is to squeeze shut horizontally or (as a result) the drill
to become lodged in it. It takes a very strong and special drill indeed, to
overcome the pressures and temperatures at these depths. The huge expense is
why it hasn't been done before. The samples have to be collected rapidly, and
handled in a way that doesn't introduce lithic contamination.