Fascinating video explains what would happen if you fell into the deepest hole on Earth
If the rush of skydiving doesn't fill your craving for adrenaline, and the thought of plunging into a black hole is a bit too daunting, perhaps falling into the Earth's largest hole might - if you survived it!
One particular YouTube video takes us on a journey to explore the deepest hole ever dug by mankind.
Over the course of 20 years, Russian scientists have been digging an enormous hole in northwest Russia, dubbing it 'The Well to Hell'.
The hole, more formally known as the Kola Superdeep Borehole, originally started in 1971.
Advert
Luckily, the gap is too narrow for anyone to accidentally - or intentionally - drop into.
But the question remains: what would happen if someone fell into the largest hole on Earth?
Should you take the plunge, the video explained that your initial fall rate would be 10 m/s (33 ft/sec).
However, as the descent continues, that speed would rapidly increase. For instance, if you weighed around 80kg, you might eventually plummet at a rate of 490 m/s (1,608 ft/sec).
So, what would happen to your body? Surely, this can only end badly.
Well, in short, the effects of the rapid fall on your body would be grim.
Your heart rate would increase, panic would set in, and your lungs would start to collapse under the intense air pressure - making it extremely difficult to breathe.
Your body would also be dealing with air pressure equal to 54 elephants perched on your head which might be enough to feel like your head's exploding.
And it gets worse.
About 3 km (2 miles) down the hole, your skin would start to burn as you plummet towards the gravitational centre of the Earth's core.
This holds a temperature of around 80 degrees Celsius which would be enough to 'severely burn a person's skin in less than a second,' according to the What If channel.
By this point, however, the video reassures viewers that they've 'probably already passed out.'
Finally, after three long minutes, your fall would be over.
The video then assumes that you miraculously land safely with the aid of an atmospheric suit and a net to catch you, you'd now be tasked with the challenge of trying to climb your way out.
On the bright side, on your gruelling climb back up, you'd be able to 'appreciate the 2.7 billion year old rocks down there.'
One viewer expressed shock at the eery scenario: 'I've always wondered how scientists knew that Earth has a core in the center when no one has ever dug a hole deep enough to actually see it.'
Whilst one YouTube comment read: 'No one:
My anxiety at 3:00am: What if you fell into the deepest hole on earth?'
Another summarised: 'Short answer: You’d die Long answer: You’d die from fall damage.'