The knight in the big world of American TV series

Chapter 2363

"After all, if you hadn't stopped me, Nar might have succeeded."

Sif habitually made excuses for Thor... As always, Thor's flaws and strengths were equally pronounced; he always managed to do unexpected things, both good and bad. But generally, he did more foolish things, after all, he used to be pretty much like a spoiled child.

Sif had become accustomed to cleaning up Thor's messes and making excuses for him after he did something stupid. It had become instinctive.

The same is true now.

Whether Thor intervenes or not, Gnar and Gale will eventually fight. It's just that Gale will have a slight advantage then, since he won't have to take as much damage and can face Gnar in a more complete state. In other words, Thor's role is the opposite!

But Sif instinctively didn't want Thor to know about this, let alone anyone else.

So she chose to lie!

Of course, Sif wasn't certain. After all, if the power of the Black Death Sword hadn't been worn down, there was a chance it could turn the tables and kill Gale, but that was a low-probability event.

"Is that so...that's good." Thor believed it.

He wouldn't doubt Sif, just like Thor always fell for Loki's tricks. He wasn't inherently unintelligent; it was actually quite difficult for an ordinary person to fool Thor. In some ways, he was like a beast—his intuition was incredibly accurate, but he was helpless against those close to him. Loki had tricked Thor countless times, and Thor always fell for it because he trusted those around him implicitly!

Sif was a little embarrassed, but she didn't say anything.

Some things are really hard to change.

While a group of people were debating about Geer...

It's on the other side of the world.

The whole world is in turmoil because of the aftermath of what Gel caused.

The most important thing is that giant hand in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

This thing is worth a lot of money!
When long-distance travel is required, we have a variety of transportation options, such as boats, cars, or airplanes. The invention of these modes of transport stems from humanity's continuous exploration of the sea, land, and air. With the continuous progress of human civilization, our exploration of the unknown world has become increasingly profound. We understand the birth history of the universe and the Earth, possess a wealth of information about terrestrial life, and have even explored the living habits of deep-sea animals. However, there is one place that still baffles humanity: the Earth's interior. Although humans began attempting to access it more than a century ago, they have yet to successfully penetrate its depths. This raises many questions: Can the Earth be dug through? What is it like 1 meters underground? What would we find if we dug all the way down from the surface to the deepest point? What is the structure of the Earth? It is a terrestrial planet with a diameter, mass, and density that ranks among the highest in the solar system. The Earth rotates on its axis with a cycle of approximately 24 hours, allowing us to enjoy the beauty of sunrise and sunset. Simultaneously, it revolves around the sun, bringing about the changing seasons. Furthermore, the moon revolves around the Earth in a cycle of 27.3 days, demonstrating its phases. So, what is the Earth's internal structure like? It resembles an egg, composed of three parts: the shell, the albumen (white part), and the yolk. The outermost shell is the crust, which, although only 40 kilometers thick, marks the boundary between the Earth's surface and its interior. The middle albumen is called the mantle, which is an astonishing 2900 kilometers thick. And the very center, the yolk, is the core, the Earth's innermost structure that controls its gravity and magnetic field.

So, have we already explored the Earth's core? In fact, although we haven't directly reached the Earth's core, scientists have already obtained a wealth of information about its depths through natural phenomena such as earthquakes. This data has revealed the mysteries of the Earth's depths and provided valuable clues for our future explorations.

In 1910, seismologist Mohorovičić first measured the thickness of the Earth's crust. His observations revealed that seismic waves refracted at a depth of 50 kilometers, indicating a significant change in the geological structure beyond 40 kilometers, preventing further propagation of the waves. To commemorate this important discovery, this boundary between the "eggshell" and the "egg white" was named the "Mohorovičić discontinuity" (Mohorovičić discontinuity). Then, in 1914, another seismologist, Gutenberg, made a new discovery. He found another boundary at a depth of 2900 kilometers. This location precisely marks the boundary between the "egg white" mantle and the "yolk" core, hence the name "Gutenberg discontinuity." From then on, the Earth was divided into three layers. But what mysteries lie hidden deep within the Earth? The crust, mantle, and core are merely a rough division of the Earth's structure. In reality, the Earth's internal structure is far more complex than an egg, with layers encasing the core like an onion. From the outside in, these layers are: crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, transition layer, and inner core. The solid land beneath our feet, as well as the seabed, are composed of fragments of varying sizes with extreme elevation changes. For example, the Tibetan Plateau is over 65 kilometers thick, while the seabed is only about 5 to 10 kilometers thick and is extremely unevenly distributed.

These fragments piece together to form the Earth's crust. The average thickness of the Earth's crust globally is approximately 20 kilometers. The crust contains more than ninety elements, with oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium being the most abundant. When these elements accumulate in large quantities in a certain area, they form mineral deposits. However, these elements mostly exist in the form of compounds, such as the various rocks we are familiar with. According to geologists, the age of rocks on Earth reveals that the Earth's crust did not exist from the very beginning of the Earth's formation.

Compared to Earth's 46 billion-year history, the oldest crust is only 39 billion years old. Based on this, scientists speculate that the current 20-kilometer-thick crust was primarily shaped by volcanic activity and orogenic processes. The mantle is divided into the upper and lower mantle. An asthenosphere, likely the primary source of volcanic magma, may exist between the upper mantle and the crust. The temperature between the lower mantle and the core exceeds 3500°C.

Delving deeper into the Earth's core, it is divided into three layers: the outer core, the transition layer, and the inner core. The outer core is composed of a high-temperature fluid and is 2080 kilometers thick. The transition layer is 140 kilometers thick, and the temperature at its boundary with the inner core is approximately 6300°C. The inner core has a diameter of about 2500 kilometers and a temperature as high as 6600°C. As we delve deeper into the Earth's center, the temperature and pressure continuously increase, making human exploration of the Earth's core extremely difficult. All the data mentioned above regarding the Earth's interior were obtained by scientists through precise instrument detection and rigorous calculations. To date, the deepest point humans have reached is only 12262 meters. What unknown mysteries are hidden within this limited exploration range?

Hidden on the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Circle lies an unassuming cave. Surrounded by rusted bolts and metal ruins, resembling a forgotten abandoned factory, this cave has attracted countless explorers and scientists. This is because it is the Kola Superdeep Borehole, the deepest man-made well on Earth, reaching an astonishing depth of 12262 meters. During the Soviet era, scientists discovered single-celled fossils, gold deposits, and precious water sources within this well. These discoveries provided invaluable data for research in multiple fields, including geology, history, and biology. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the drilling of this deep well was forced to stop, leaving behind endless possibilities for exploration. But more than 20 years later, due to financial constraints, the Soviet Union decided to terminate the project, and the land was abandoned, rarely visited. Although it is now desolate, during that period, new discoveries were made daily. When the drilling depth reached 6700 meters, scientists were thrilled to discover fossils of extinct single-celled organisms. The discovery of these fossils filled a gap in the collection of prehistoric single-celled fossils, providing valuable material for the study of biological evolution and plate tectonics. The discovery of gold deposits at a depth of 9000 meters was even more exciting. Scientists speculate that these gold deposits may be the result of gold-bearing meteorites that fell in ancient times and were buried deep underground after geological plate movements. Unfortunately, subsequent data does not provide details on whether these gold deposits were mined. Drilling to a depth of 12000 meters, the only remaining traces were gneiss. Scientists had originally expected to reach basalt layers at around 7000 meters, but this was not the case. As the depth increased, the rock density gradually decreased, undoubtedly posing a greater challenge to the drilling work. At the same time, mineral water continuously gushed out during drilling, increasing the complexity of the work. At a depth of 122262 meters, the temperature had soared to approximately 180°C, and the rock there was exceptionally hard, making excavation extremely difficult. Ultimately, due to funding shortages caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the project had to be suspended. What miracles will unfold if this project continues?

What secrets will be revealed when drilling deep underground? For example, at around 12 meters, the deepest point that animals other than humans can dig, lies a hidden world of many unknown creatures. Further underground, at around 35 meters, the famous Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor awaits discovery, while at around 150 meters, an underground arms factory in Ukraine is hidden, showcasing the unfathomable depths of human industrial progress. At similar depths, the Lhasa Silver Mine Hotel in Sweden is also noteworthy.

As the depth increases, at depths exceeding 700 meters, numerous mines are scattered, including China's neutrino laboratory, exploring the mysteries of the universe. At over 2000 meters, the Kurubeyara Natural Cave in Georgia appears as an entrance to another world. Further underground, at over 2400 meters, China's Dark Matter Detection Laboratory is diligently searching for mysterious substances in the universe. Of course, the depths also hold many valuable mineral resources. For example, at over 3900 meters, gold mines in South Africa gleam alluringly. At over 2800 meters, magma composed of liquid metals and minerals flows, and it is the rotation of these metallic oceans that gives the Earth's magnetic field and direction. Moreover, it is thanks to the Earth's crust that we are spared most of the radiation from the sun. However, when we descend to over 4800 meters, the pressure becomes extremely high, making it difficult for even organisms accustomed to the high-pressure environments of the deep sea to survive.

Our exploration of the Earth's deep layers remains largely uncharted. Although scientists have proposed various hypotheses about the Earth's core, there is still no direct evidence to reveal its true nature. Some suggest that the Earth's core is extremely hot, melting anything, and therefore must be a liquid mineral; others believe that the Earth's core is rich in iron, and that iron from the mantle continuously migrates to the core, making it solid. There are even hypotheses suggesting that the core is composed of two distinct substances, or that the Earth's core is a crystal.

Can the Earth be dug through?
In conclusion: with the current level of human science and technology, drilling through the Earth remains a distant dream. In the process of deep underground excavation, we face five major challenges that are difficult to overcome:
The first problem is the continuous seepage of water. The Earth's depths contain abundant water resources, and during excavation, groundwater constantly seeps into the mine shaft. This not only affects the excavation progress but can also cause the mine to collapse. Therefore, this is the first challenge that humans must address in the process of deep-hole excavation.

Gases that could explode at any moment; the complex composition of deep underground deposits may contain flammable and explosive materials such as coal, oil, or natural gas that have been stored for hundreds of millions of years. Therefore, when excavating deep underground, specialized equipment capable of breaking rocks must be used without generating high temperatures or posing a risk of impact.

The underground magma reaches temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius and is thousands of meters thick, capable of melting anything. During drilling, the magma could erupt at any time, and currently, no human-made heat-resistant equipment can withstand such extreme natural temperatures.

Even if the aforementioned challenges are overcome, the deepest reaches of the Earth's core still require protection against radiation damage from radioactive metal ores. The Earth's core may be riddled with such ores, posing a serious threat to excavators.

The unbearable high pressure becomes increasingly apparent as the excavation depth increases. Boreholes may deform under high pressure, necessitating measures to ensure borehole stability. This includes designing boreholes capable of withstanding pressures exceeding 400 times their rated capacity, manufacturing high-pressure resistant equipment, or implementing other measures to mitigate the high pressure.

If we could overcome all the challenges, would we be able to drill a hole in the Earth and build a tunnel through it? Currently, it takes about a day to fly from one end of the Earth to the other. If a tunnel to the Earth's core truly existed, would it mean we could travel directly from one side of the Earth to the other in less than an hour? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Besides overcoming the arduous challenges of drilling, we also need to construct cooling equipment and tunnels capable of withstanding extreme environments. More importantly, the temperature and pressure near the Earth's core are extremely high, and in such harsh conditions, humans would likely face fatal threats even before reaching the Earth's core.

Even so, countries have not stopped exploring the earth's interior.

There's no other way... until there's a breakthrough in aviation technology, digging underground is the best way to obtain resources.

A colossal sculpture containing rare underground metal elements has now appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, making countries around the world extremely envious.