So I just heard about kola superdeep bore hole which reached 12000 feet approx and their equipment started melting. The bottom of the hole was still roughly 28 km from the mantle but the ocean is only about 8 km from the mantle. (Not sure if my numbers are completely accurate I used random google sources). Anyways I need to know why… I’m losing sleep!
In: Physics
Is the ground you are standing on hot? No, it isn’t. Likewise, the ocean floor is not hot either aside from specific places like volcanic hot spots or plate boundaries. First, it’s important to understand that the Earth’s crust is not uniformly thick, it varies greatly by location. Second is that different layers of the Earth have different thermal properties and conduct heat differently. Think about it like this: If you are cooking something in the oven, it’s hot inside, right? So why isn’t the handle on the oven door hot? Because there’s all the material of the door between the heat inside and the handle, and that material does not conduct the heat to the handle.
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