The Deepest Hole in the World, And What We've Learned From It

SciShow takes you down the deepest hole in the world -- Russia's Kola Superdeep Borehole -- explaining who dug it and why, and what we learned about Earth in the process. Don't fall!
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Written by Dave Loos
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Sources:
www.atlasobscura.com/places/ko...
www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForu...
www.damninteresting.com/the-de...
www.wirelinedrilling.com/sites...
www.csmonitor.com/1985/0822/dr...
www.nytimes.com/1981/09/29/sci...

[@CsykKrit]

Russians: *Drill for 24 years* The Earth: "Is it in yet?"

[@DJL0455]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Excellent!!!

[@hullion]

Far from it:))

[@Richard94597]

MORE LUBE! reaches for more mud.

[@ramtrucks721]

Ur not a comedian.. get back to the basement

[@sohomchatterjee]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@techtronicman1]

Still proud of the hole I dug out on my grandparents farm when I was 7. I thought I could dig deep enough to penetrate the crust and create a man-made volcano (again, I was 7) Over the course of a summer I got about 8 feet down before my grandpa took the shovel away because I didn't know jack about bracing the walls to prevent collapse. Not bad for a 7 year old. Still have a rock I dug up from that hole.

[@Btt8]

Can I have the rock?

[@SamBrickell]

So you just heard how hard this guy worked for something, and how proud he is of it.......... and you just expect him to give you it...... you've got to be a democrat.

[@Btt8]

+SAM BRICKELL I'm not interested in politics, I just wanted the rock 😁

[@chillhill1980]

Lol😂

[@ExtremeDeathman]

LOLWUT?! Only Americans seem not to understand what Democracy really is when they come up with such nonsense...

[@GlitterPoolParty]

Russia certainly has some incredible scientists and a amazing spirit of adventure. My hat's off to everyone involved in exploring our earth's depths.... thanks for sharing the knowledge with the world.

[@eldritchgoat1422]

*Had. Sadly when the Soviet union collapsed, Russia stopped pursuing science.

[@incongruous4]

You're welcome

[@BlackStar250874]

@@eldritchgoat1422 Hardly. Better take a good look at Mir or current ISS. USA is even buying rocket tech from Russia these days. And they have a different culture (read = old, compared to many upstarts), that explains lots of peculiar aspects about them. I respect them, in many ways.

[@michaelesposito2629]

@@BlackStar250874 we are buying rocket tech, because we aren’t bothering to make it ourselves. Their tech is still kinda garbage tho. The fact that we keep sending our astronauts up in their rockets, is a joke

[@alexanderwilisow3633]

This whole title is a that’s what she said joke

[@Jackal2991]

It's a deep shame we, as in humanity, didn't try to make other superdeep boreholes in other locations and comparing results.

[@hitechinc.7875]

It's probably gonna take a lot of cost.

[@peanutgallery4]

The Earth ain't going anywhere anytime soon

[@austinhorton6350]

If you’re a politician in a democratic country, it’s really difficult to run an election campaign on “Let’s use tax dollars to dig a hole for science”. The Soviet Union didn’t have to answer to their population so they were able to embark on much more ambitious scientific endeavors. I’m actually surprised that the project continued for 3 years after the Soviet Union collapsed.

[@antonstefanov2146]

There's one in China - 10 km deep, there are a few other very deep boreholes too

[@jamesrobertson3853]

I have The cola bore hole in Russia 12 klms down Push a tube down there Section in the middle Strongest steel Gravity feed water one way steam pushes multiple pistons generating steam power Tricky part would be getting it going before it was completed

[@terryf5131]

I tried to dig to China when I was about 4. I only had my dad's shovel though.

[@whoeverofhowevermany]

You're just dangling a joke about needing a good psychiatrist, but then, so am I.

[@rickrose5377]

And now, instead, -- all these years later -- China has dug through to the United States and owns all sorts of American debt.

[@blackalgorithmist000]

Did the same too With the help of my Tonka trucks though 😂😂

[@terryf5131]

@@blackalgorithmist000 gotta love Tonka!

[@kleptomatic8848]

I made my dogs dig it They didn't

[@yixnorb5971]

If a second hole like this were attempted then the first one could be known as the a-hole.

[@mrbruh7071]

Batumtiss!

[@yixnorb5971]

@markj6700 If the second hole was known as the b hole then the first one would be the a hole. 26 holes would be then needed to cover the alphabet.

[@yixnorb5971]

@Bobby Allen You didn't get my joke. Don't be so literal.

[@thewhitepriickmrmilwaukee2754]

Love that

[@glennquagmire9900]

why does this have likes, tried too hard here.

[@InTheNameOfGodIHaveCome]

The way he said how the rock really really deep down acted like plastic is crazy

[@ananya.a04]

The planet Earth never fails to surprise eager minds with the diversity and wonders it has to offer. There are so many different and beautiful plants and animals living on this planet, and I hope they continue to. ❤ Thank you SciShow for this video! 👍🏻

[@jamesrobertson3853]

I have The cola bore hole in Russia 12 klms down Push a tube down there Section in the middle Strongest steel Gravity feed water one way steam pushes multiple pistons generating steam power Tricky part would be getting it going before it was completed

[@hailervin]

Basically drilling that deep has only shown us how much we don’t actually know.

[@halomaster213]

Steven Mann the pinnacle of intelligence is how much you don’t know.

[@MarcelPolman]

This is such a metaphor for life.

[@johningle1]

Yep. That CGI picture of the mantle and the inner core is all a guess. Earth is supposedly 4,000 miles to the center. We've dug 8 miles.

[@williamchiafos9742]

@@halomaster213 wow. You are amazingly incompetent

[@williamchiafos9742]

@@johningle1 mathematicians have stated that the Earth and all other planets are hollow. Also, explain the astroid belt.

[@pickledparsleyparty]

Imagine if the hole were wider and you fell into it. You'd have over 3 minutes to regret the mistake until you were forced to stop thinking in pitch blackness. That's grim. I need an ice cream.

[@lukefrancois6173]

you would evaporate before you hit the bottom and the ice cream would melt

[@AbsoluteTrash_]

you mean like skydiving that thing where you reach terminal velocity very high above the ground, and dont die?

[@zradek]

no piece of the skydiving equipment helps you survive the free fall. it only helps you slow down so you can survive the landing. well.. there's goggles i suppose.. your eyes get a little teary without them in the wind, but that's about it.

[@pickledparsleyparty]

bob jimmy Forgive my ignorance of chemistry and physics, but why would I evaporate? You've made me super curious.

[@PinkFloydTheDarkSide]

@Trump: 180 degree Celsius.. Does that answer?

[@scottlivezey9479]

Based on my subtle experience in digging holes along the beach as a kid for sand castles or in a field as a teenage job for postholes, I’d like to hear how they concluded the unique source(s) of the water at the deepest depths since any underground spring or aquifer would be penetrated on the way down......and you know, the whole gravity thing? 😊

[@OatmealTheCrazy]

I'm assuming the sides of the borehole had to be reinforced to block anything from coming in...or else the hole would just collapse.

[@scottlivezey9479]

@@OatmealTheCrazy true…..having just revisited the video, it also mentioned the temperature reached well above water’s boiling point (-360°F) that caused them to stop. It’s just strange.

[@skrattzerat5831]

@@scottlivezey9479 If you pressurize any gas it becomes a liquid, the trapped water was subjected to extreme pressure unable to escape until the drill broke through that is how

[@yguy1232]

​@@scottlivezey9479 100°C*

[@michiman6757]

@@yguy1232 360°F =/= 100°C

[@nfc14g]

Nice quick and precise vid, love these

[@Workof]

I love how they just lost interest, went home and let everything crumble

[@pjbroke335]

Probably for the better. It’s pretty useless to drill a huge hole.

[@fivebooks8498]

Workof The story I heard is that they couldn’t get the drill to go any deeper. It was like they hit a hard bottom. Everything this guy said about the earths core is just somebody’s guess. They have no idea what’s down there beyond how far they drilled.

[@Workof]

@@fivebooks8498 Thats not true, by sending sonic waves through the earth and calculating their path scientists can easily see whats solid, whats liquid and what material it is

[@fivebooks8498]

Workof They can’t send sonic waves into the earth 100’s of miles let alone 1000’s of miles. I doubt they would even penetrate as far as that hole was drilled. Don’t believe the garbage they tell you.

[@ericw.9907]

@@fivebooks8498 yes they hit something they couldn't drill through

[@illdie314]

*Drops Nokia down the hole* ... *Hears echoes of it crashing to the bottom* ... *Hears ringtone when his friend calls*

[@catattack885]

*do you know de wae of da devil* DRILL THE DEEPEST HOLE ON EARTH

[@greenknight9000]

r/whoooosh I think?

[@itzmaddie9041]

That's the biggest slug I've ever seen

[@mariep7372]

You’d literally have better reception at the bottom of the ocean

[@don8799]

Evi1M4chine have you ever heard of a joke?

[@TheJosephoenix]

Amazing how much you've improved since this episode

[@jamesrobertson3853]

I have The cola bore hole in Russia 12 klms down Push a tube down there Section in the middle Strongest steel Gravity feed water one way steam pushes multiple pistons generating steam power Tricky part would be getting it going before it was completed

[@dieforyou8857]

I forget how big the earth is since I'm always looking at larger planets and stars. It's pretty cool

[@bumrocky]

So after nearly 20 years of dormancy, how much of the borehole is still in tact? Earthquakes and settling probably have collapsed a lot, but I'm curious to know if it's been looked at since?

[@THUNDERCAT37c]

That curious brain that wanted to know if the hole has been looked at is now five years older. 🧠 Nice and chewy

[@Kyleplaysgames567]

Some one should drop down a camera attached to a really long rope.

[@bumrocky]

@@THUNDERCAT37c and I still want to know!!!

[@asheep7797]

@@THUNDERCAT37c *squish*

[@samuel238]

@@bumrocky me too

[@Gojira_Wins]

KZbin: Here, watch this Me: but... this is 5 years old...? KZbin: Do you wanna watch it or not? Me: ......yeah......

[@mexicanboots0206]

Omg yes me too 🤣🤣🤣

[@tonyt5218]

I'm pretty sure it's part of some mind control script... seems everyone is getting recommended obscure videos from 5+ years ago... there is clearly a reason for this.

[@jek__]

I mean, one of the major advantages of the internet is that it acts as a compendium of information, age is pretty much irrelevant to information quality

[@rianqi]

Same

[@rianqi]

I also really wanna tell the dude to put his arms down...

[@milesd.8083]

My first thought was “what if I jumped into it?” and now I can’t focus on the video due to how terrified of that idea I am

[@Kartoffelkamm]

Not sure how wide it is, but based on what it looks like, you'd get one leg in and then get stuck.

[@mondiramaji791]

@@Kartoffelkamm exactly. It's just 9 inches thick.

[@maxandersen6532]

Lord of the Rings comes to mind.

[@important-disaster2334]

@@Kartoffelkamm you couldn't fit as its only 23cm wide, but you could drop your shoe down it or something

[@hdrevolution123]

This was a really interesting video!! Thanks

[@Daniel_V_]

Its so deep, you can literally see Adele rollin'

[@benmayor2076]

XD

[@ansonlevine4602]

Ben Mayor XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

[@DA-js7xz]

HAHAHAHAHA

[@vice.nor.virtue]

Scientists looking to the bottom of the hole with a telescope Scientist A: ....Is that what I think it is down there? Scientist B: Oh my god it's f***in Adel- Adele: WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALLLLLLLL ROLLIN' IN THE DEEEEEEEP

[@hrishik_]

Everything about this chain is of historical importance

[@AdolfSpitler]

pfft 12km? I had to walk 10 km in pokemon go so a fucking egg would hatch

[@TractorXD]

Right?! Just crazy!

[@dragontokill9460]

it was 2 years ago, theres probably some hole deeper, for example, my soul

[@callumhockey383]

Just drop ur phone down the hole on a rope and u will have a 10km egg hatched :)

[@pickles3128]

There's actually a Mewtwo at the bottom of the pit. Well, get going!

[@marcusallen6123]

lol

[@robbieguerrero2648]

Those organisms are critical to understanding evolution. great idea for discussion. thank you for your conciseness and eloquence.

[@SPLA-cd7cu]

Thank you🤝 for giving this information to us

[@kennymartin5976]

You know, it just occurred to me how absurdly deep 12km is. I'd love to see the tech they used to do so, It really must have been quite the process.

[@LedionZogaj]

Yea

[@harryhanly1609]

They used a big drill !

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

​@@harryhanly1609no way?!

[@aidangill4812]

And I used to think I could dig to China...

[@Gunnerskale777]

lool

[@LPnixXx]

well if you allready live in china...

[@Patrick-jt5ph]

+Skate&Car Dude then you wouldn't be watching this as KZbin is banned there

[@FerrariTeddy]

+Patrick Chen tor or a VPN

[@ashleyli924]

+Patrick Chen Hong Kong has YT and FB access

[@Articulate99]

Always interesting, thank you.

[@verifiedgentlemanbug]

Manhole drilled for 24 years: *DEEPEST HOLE IN THE WORLD* vOLcaNo: laUgHs iN LaVA

[@floorpuncher3280]

It’s weird to think that it started in the USSR and ended in Russia

[@cookedit]

@@awesomegaming1991 He was joking. 😐

[@totallynotbluu]

@@awesomegaming1991 r/woosh

[@Ryan-kb8ui]

SyedRayyan Ali what is your profile pic that suddenly overnight everyone and their mother has

[@Ryan-kb8ui]

Chris Marthini lol, yeah, I found out, as expected, it's a meme, like Uganda knuckles, only that one I actually found funny, this one however, idk, I might be too old to get it, and apparently you have to be apart of that crowd like KSI and those folks to get it, I just don't know anymore... Lol

[@gregorymckenzie7511]

I thought it ended 12,262 meters below Earth's surface.

[@SomeoneStoleMyHandle]

but... if you drop a Nokia down it, will the earth or the phone break?

[@kidneystone53]

I use my Nokia 3310 for knocking nails in, and it never breaks

[@zegamingcuber857]

I'm not sure the phone might break the rock since it's like plastic but it might plastify the phone and nothing will happen

[@daffaandira5695]

AidanTBM // TheBudderMinecart // Aidan Core. i think you are really fun at a party smh

[@fren3198]

AidanTBM // TheBudderMinecart // Aidan Core your name gives me cancer

[@eohstnurb1827]

kidneystone53 I use mine as a hammer itself.

[@firegames1001]

Really good that you make videos till this day.

[@jamesrobertson3853]

I have The cola bore hole in Russia 12 klms down Push a tube down there Section in the middle Strongest steel Gravity feed water one way steam pushes multiple pistons generating steam power Tricky part would be getting it going before it was completed

[@External_Bastion]

I had watched this before but had no idea this was hank green. NEAT! Thanks Hank!

[@paucarvalho7369]

Mother Earth is still virgin then

[@BastarSampler]

amen

[@xenon9257]

but she got wet though

[@spanky9067]

Same old story of rubbing a little on the outside worked again though!

[@ashieldgurlhosur4455]

why the fuck do you call it mother then

[@EliasWalkerfuzzy-wuzzy]

bro...

[@Blozox]

Wow, the russians hit an all time low... Ok i'll get my coat.

[@lockupcrookeddrumpf2226]

Actually their all time low was colluding with trump

[@MA-jn7rd]

Allow me to open the door.

[@pebblepod30]

BwaHaha!! 😄😄

[@ApollyonZKX]

You are going to need it when we send you to Gulag.

[@symplezorx8321]

Dante 666 likes o:

[@jek__]

Very cool, seems like we may be barking up the wrong tree with drill bits if we're trying to get a sneak peak of the earth deep down given how extremely difficult it has proven to be. Is there a long wavelength light we could use to see through the crust? We'd surely need a giant lens pointed at the earth, but maybe we could use the gravity of a celestial body for that

[@Eheth1958]

There is too much in between to use light. I was thinking maybe a bigger drill

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Isn't that the thing "The Who" pissed on on the cover of Who's Next?

[@vibe3475]

Crazy prayingmantis yea

[@xd_guy894]

Was looking for this in the comments! It's probably it

[@iamthew0lf]

I remember as a kid we rallied everyone in the neighborhood to start digging a hole in a forest over the summer. We got about 12ft deep and 10ft wide. Started taking ladders from our parents, tarps and old school crates. We turned it into a secret fort that we would cover up with planks and bushes.

[@jonathanbreedlove4286]

Did y'all see a dead body?

[@iamthew0lf]

@@jonathanbreedlove4286 🤣 My wife always mocks me about my Stand By Me/Sandlot childhood.

[@willgund779]

That's actually really dope

[@georgeb.wolffsohn30]

Your parents didn't wonder what happened to their ladders ?

[@TheFunnyDictator]

​@@jonathanbreedlove4286Hey, what's in your profile picture? Please reply to me!

[@anotherchavez]

...well... so much for my attempt at digging a hole to china...

[@danielduncan6806]

If you live here in the U.S. and you dig a hole straight through the world you will come out anywhere between several hundred miles to several thousands miles off the western coast of Australia, depending on where you live in the U.S., the further west you live in the U.S. the further west you will be into the ocean from Australia. I swear the guy who once thought about digging a hole through the world here and how it would end up in China is one of the most idiotic people on the face of this planet. And everyone who says anything about it is either equally idiotic or worse than the originator was.

[@xcxcxcxc]

I did that as a child too

[@007batman8]

You can dig a hole in china that's close enough right

[@johnkevin5446]

Just asking, how did they know the measurements and the inside of earth if this is the only deepest hole or depth that they have reach?

[@mayra_energy]

Exactly what I was wondering

[@d4b]

We've known the size of the earth for over two millennia. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_radius#History

[@theprowitzproject9403]

What about the “Well to Hell” in Yemen? I’d love to see a video on this!

[@1sleepingdragon]

I just saw this video and as always I love SciShow especially your presentation style Hank!! One small thing, very small really, and maybe one of the other 8223 comments deal with this, but your calculation at the end indicated that the hole was 0.002% of the way from crust to central core. I'm afraid that's incorrect. If we take hole depth over Earth radius we end up with 12 km/ 3761 km ≈ 0.002 which would make it ≈0.2% of the distance to the core (more precisely 0.188% if we go to three sig figs). Still minuscule, but at least a little more impressive than the 0.002%, and I would hate to cheat them out of their hard work. :)

[@davidmariomendiola2229]

I was wondering if anyone addressed this. Just for fun: the Sun's radius is about 100 times the Earth's, so if the .002% were accurate for that hole, Earth would be as big as the Sun.

[@Cyba_IT]

I thought .002% was a little small. The earth is big, sure but not that big.

[@Cyba_IT]

@justame smith yeah, earthquakes and volcanoes are made by the government to fool us. Smh

[@Cyba_IT]

@justame smith every earthquake and volcano is my proof. What's yours?

[@Cyba_IT]

@justame smith Do some actual research and find out what causes earthquakes and volcanoes

[@Arkantos117]

Deepest hole on earth? Perfect place to hide a body.

[@coolestbeans]

Crazy ass sloth!

[@LordAmerican]

"Siri, I need to hide a body." "Okay, here are some suggestions:" -Graveyard -Dumpster -County Landfill -Kola Superdeep Borehole "Siri, how do I get to that last suggestion?" "Here are your directions" * Proceeds to give directions to a sealed up hole in the ground. *

[@Waltham1892]

A friend will help you move. A real friend will help you move a body.

[@poeticsilence047]

That is a great use of a hole, shovels not needed

[@BorgMuffinMan]

Sinkholes are also really good. No one is going down there

[@Hannah_The_Heretic]

If we were grading holes this one would be an A+, really impressive. There's just nothing in this world I love more than a good A hole.

[@javierantoniosilva8477]

1:13 this part always cracks me up.

[@alexroast]

In the middle of the earth, we will find Middle Earth.

[@ehodovic]

Yes

[@Argoon1981]

Nice ahahah :D

[@pmooney1881]

Best Tolkien related joke I have read in a while, you sir win the Internet today....or last month I guess when you posted said Tolkien related joke.

[@dirkhoekstra727]

Only place you'll find there is Mordor.

[@Anomyos]

They're taking the hobbits to the isengard.

[@nawwk79]

Best place to put a toilet bowl on top of

[@ilikemusic2773]

Nawwk ballistic poop xD

[@garystinten9339]

And a microphone at the bottom..

[@shabina8527]

Gary Stinten they did

[@Phobos_Anomaly]

Zecora No, they didn't. That's an urban myth, and a stupid one at that.

[@shabina8527]

Phobos Anomaly Oh okay well I though it was real, guess its not.

[@kenw.1112]

Excellent !!!!

[@brandonlykins2419]

They have been to the center of the earth and back. I just got done watching a documentary called "the core". Excellent film.

[@parker5338]

So... The farthest mankind has drilled is just over 12 km, and yet we have a diagram of the earth's layers. Logic at its finest.

[@joemanuel6426]

LOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL YOUR SO FUCKING RIGHT! XD

[@willpearson]

No you're right. The government has actually dug to the earths core, the 6,000°C molten metal bohemoth was actually not hard to dig up with our tools that melt at 1500°C. But still they hide this from us and try keep us happy with just one picture of the layers of the world. It's over now Obama, Parker out-smarted you.

[@willpearson]

Or they just compared seismic waves...

[@DA-js7xz]

Willdabe4st~ HAHAHA. You rock (pun!)

[@parker5338]

Isn't all science "science"?

[@AlltimeConspiracies]

Pretty insane stuff!

[@The_Reductionist]

***** how about stfu!

[@NoahTopper]

***** Overreaction much?

[@AlltimeConspiracies]

***** Drilling for 24 years, drilling over 12,000 metres, new never before seen drilling tools had to be made, the scientific discovery that water existed that deep underground, rocks acting like plastic. Pretty insane stuff sums it up. Thumbs up from us.

[@BluoenixInstitute]

dude clam down

[@LumpySpoon]

Bluoenix Institute Nananananananananananana DudeClam!

[@basilunderworld]

nah its crazy seeing hank like this. he looks so different now. why was this video recommended to me?? lol. 9 yrs ago wow..

[@Mike-ml1ik]

I love when I look up a subject on YT and it ends up being a Hank Green video!

0:07 - 0:12 That statement applies to most of Russia. I should know, I've been there.

[@pieluver1234]

***** interesting story.

[@DA-js7xz]

LOL awesome.

[@TheRussian1]

Wow, this guy has been to Russia once, he is an expert! Go home Karlsoon.

[@DA-js7xz]

TheRussian1 Butthurt!

[@jedaaa]

if you've been there.. you should know better!

[@IceMetalPunk]

To all the people who keep saying, "How do we know what's at the lower layers of the Earth if we can't get there?" I ask you: how do we know what's in the Andromeda galaxy when we can't get there? The answer is that we don't have to literally be somewhere to figure out what's there; all we need is a little physics. In the case of astronomy, we use the physics of light, gravity, and fusion. In the case of geology, we use the physics of sound and tectonic plate activity.

[@BrighamTalks]

I think people get that, they're just curious about what specifically happens in the process of figuring that out (i.e. what kind of evidence do we look at and what do we do with it to figure out what's there).

[@IceMetalPunk]

BrighamTalks Sadly, I can't assume that. Also sadly, I'm not a geologist, so my explanation can't go much further than "sonar and tectonic studies" >_

[@River_Katerina]

Science teacher: for E learning takes off pressure by assigning us videos to respond to and not long essays

[@believeinpeace]

Excellent!

[@uzimachi1]

I've always wondered if they actually could go all the way to the end of the thin layer of the surface and suddenly erupt lava and accidentally create an explosion that later turns into a permanent volcano.

[@chiar0scur0]

The pressure differential isn't enough for that to happen. If it were, a meter wide borehole wouldn't be the first thing set off an explosion: every time an earthquake happened, the magma would explode .

[@Klb818]

Uzi the science guy

[@josephcaskey4811]

That and only a tiny percent of magma exists. The earth, with the exception of pockets of melt where we DO have our volcanoes and spreading centers, most of the earth is solid. Even considering the pressure regimes they heat at certain depths should still make the rock liquid, but its not and still not fully understood. Seismic data measures waves through rock and once it hits liquid it can't travel in the same way, hence how we know its solid.

[@ProfezorSnayp]

The crust and most of the mantle isn't molten but rather plastic and solid at the same time. The Kola borehole got twisted and deformed with depth. Magma was never an issue, high pressure closing up the borehole was.

[@darksilver2000]

Joseph Caskey The earth is not mostly solid. Watch the Cosmos episode from last Sunday.

[@ApertureApex]

How do we know how thick the Earth's mantle is if the deepest hole on Earth is only 12 km deep ?

[@natanoj16]

Sensors and Vibrations ^^

[@espen4330]

we know cuz we are humen we are intelligent beings

[@FreedomParadox]

We don't.

[@LittleBigGeneral]

Maths and masses and calculations

[@FreedomParadox]

Tyler Smith Right. Concrete (imagined) things...

[@LEDewey_MD]

Awesome!

[@ChristinaRicks144]

Being a geologist that has logged many core holes in carbonate rock, this video is great!

[@PDaleyProductions]

is it weird i want to break into it, just to take a poop down that hole?

[@tkdcow9911]

+ABAGAIL LOVISCEK same

[@ArisztidZ]

It would be weird not to.

[@boglenight1551]

That's some pretty deep shit.

[@MiguelMartinez-ou5wk]

+Cang Fu Yung I'm pretty sure he knew that and really wants to feel the burn so that's why he asked if it's wierd

[@RoadCaptainEntertain]

The "Petroleum Drill" @ 0:49 isn't a drill at all, it is a Pump jack.

[@freefall0483]

And a drill was used to make the hole it is pumping from... Dipshit.

[@jonslg240]

Glad someone else caught that, Captain of the Road =p Sorry Daniel, but you're an ass and an idiot.

[@robna1168]

Love this show

[@FergusonDooflefloops]

Remember those tubes that went across the playground that you could tell into and your friend would hear you on the other end? I spent so much time screaming down a well in my grandmas back yard trying to talk to Australians 😂

[@bobbyhalick]

How do they make a drill that's 12 km long? That's impressive to me.

[@happycline]

it's not a single piece. they keep attaching additional segments to it as it goes down deeper.

[@bobbyhalick]

I mean, ya, I get that. I'm talking about like transference of energy. Wouldn't it require a collosal amount of torque? And wouldn't that torque end up bending and twisting the drill? Energy transfer stuff right. Sort of similar to the concept of pushing a hyper long stick, or like dropping a slinky. Awesome HD Slinky Slow-Mo

[@sinephase]

***** He said they devised a way to have only the bit at the end spinning

[@MattMcConaha]

sinephase It would be interesting to hear what "that way" is.

[@rubiconnn]

Matt McConaha They said in the video they pump mud down and it forces the bit to spin.

[@joelsmega123]

And icelandic company is drilling in an active volcano to power the city of Reykjavik. Worth a video perhaps?

[@andrewzheng4038]

yeyeye wowowowo imagine if they accidentally cause an eruption rofl

[@hershtheonly4799]

Absolutely

[@skbartistry2473]

As a Dane, I can say this without any hard feelings: Icelanders are absolutely insane, but hella awesome at the same time. Gotta pay a visit to one of my oldest cultural brethren at some point..

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

@@skbartistry2473 "as a Dane" why do you write like an American?

[@stevencooper787]

@@madMARTYNmarsh1981 because we are taught English from a very young age. BTW, how are you on foreign languages?

[@NityaKrishnaDas926]

Thank you so much ❤️

[@springobrien1713]

Love that’s you talk in metric...for a change

[@l.p.2500]

If we have just discovered what lies 12km under ground, how do we know that mantle begins 35km and continues for 2900km under the ground? Not even talking about sizes of outer and inner core.

[@vrtar99]

+hurricane zuppor seismic* not being a grammar nazi or anything but try to be accurate when explaining something for the other person might misunderstand what you're trying to say :P

[@canichangemynamenowawyeah4621]

+Leon Vrtar anyone who went to school and isnt 10 years old and under would figure out what he was trying to imply

[@vrtar99]

you would be surprised how many people dont know what seismic waves are...

[@optimalxrecovery3308]

+Leon Vrtar ^ the disrespect on this man......

[@vrtar99]

lol

[@TheyCallMeGawd]

I thought the deepest hole on earth was... wait for it... Yo mamma.... Hangs head in shame.

[@danwaltz315]

this is a very interesting subject.

[@nayooshsa8373]

Hi my brp watches you every day so I am new subscriber when I saw him watch I watched a video with him and it was awesome so yeah

[@pedrosueta8863]

The deepest hole in the world is the student loan

[@tanishqsuryawanshi1276]

Facts

[@lujixcjml]

Truth 😔

[@and6669]

Am not sure I met a women called Donna and she would be right up there pretty deep.

[@MrBerserkinTime]

[hellish screams]

[@ernestsmith3581]

Before the welfare state (LBJ-ocine), there were no student loans; we paid our own way through college. Since 90 + percent of the jobs created by giving out student loans like candy are data entry office jobs and not physical labor jobs, has the program really benefited our country when we must open our borders to actually build anything now? Yes, I'm off topic, but I didn't start the thread.

[@SardiPax]

If there was water at the bottom, and a temperature of 180'C, does that mean the water would turn to steam once the pressure was released by the borehole? Would/could this steam be used as an energy source or would the 12km journey make that impossible?

[@domcarter2327]

I'd imagine the water would condense again before it got anywhere near the top and be in a state of reflux..

[@andrius0592]

It sounds like you're just describing geysers and geothermal power plants.

[@tretronthedragon]

due to pressure so far down the water keeps being water and drilling so far down for a energy source is to expensive

[@EliTripps]

The boiling point of water raises underpressure. If i remember right its like 600F at 1200psi. This is why our radiators run under pressure, at 15psi the water boils at 240F . last thing you want is steam running through your engine.

[@protecon]

KyleGG I'm sorry but you have no idea about formation geology, or pressure gradients or actually anything to do with drilling.

[@irreleverent]

I found out about the borehole from the song "The Destruction of the Kola Superdeep Borehole Tower" by the Mountain Goats, who I in turn discovered through John Green. How things come full circle.

[@johnjohnson5814]

There’s a mistake in your math at 3:24. The earth’s radius is 6371 km, so the drill would’ve actually drilled 12km/6371km => 0.0018 (the figure you have) but in decimal. But you gave that figure in a percent. In percent it’s 0.18% or 0.2%.

[@dant10299]

The way he talks is so annoying.

[@scramorama]

to the point of complete distraction

[@johnlennon8327]

Shut up. The way he talks is the shit. ;)

[@jessemurray9260]

The enunciation and inflection of many words are reminiscent of Carl Sagan. This chap is most likely impersonating a science icon.

[@Kumachanchan]

John Lennon your mom said that already

[@quithanielkaolin3388]

I completely-fucking-AGREE!

[@jmecrg]

bullshit.....not one mention of my exwife

[@MrJenck818]

😎😎

[@moonrunner8791]

bazinga!

[@rapture7551]

Don't lie. my ex wife hole is deeper.

[@rantallion5032]

all too easy , lol,

[@rockwilder0]

how deep is the average vagina? deep enough for a man to lose half of everything he has ever built in life.

[@michaelhenderson643]

Great vid, very holesome

[@vectorexpanse]

It's actually impressive they didn't strike oil or natural gas that they couldn't cap off permanently. If they had struck anything like that the lid would not be able to stay on for so long. I also wonder what would happen if they reached 35km down, would lava shoot out uncontrollably?

[@animax2422]

I feel like once you hit the mantle, you just created a volcano. An artificial volcano.

[@gopibc8056]

What intrigues me is - if 12 kms is as far what we have physically gone, how can we say so sure that the earth's mantle begins only at 35 kms

[@gopibc8056]

Aren't we fooling ourselves if we are just calculating based on some theories and not by observations. Wouldn't such assumptions defy the very essence of science.

[@knexpert1700]

No assumptions were made in finding the thicknesses, types, and compositions of the layers of the Earth. Khanacademy gives a good explanation to finding these.

[@gopibc8056]

Well, indirect measurements, especially when we don't have the first hand access to the subject, is only the resultant measurement of what the subject is made of... and the same resultant outcome can be achieved by varying the composite of the subject itself in many combinations... What we know about the layers may be just one of the several possibilities and fact is still waiting to be discovered...

[@loser-nobody]

Well, that is mainly why he said "we know less about what's under our feet than what's across the galaxy". but it sounds like you believe it's a complete mystery and we may as well be taking shots in the dark. We're a little more accurate than that...

[@stevenp8237]

way to be a condescending ahole, almost covers up the fact you can't answer his question.

[@Guywithcrazyideas]

Content was interesting, but the presenter is an overcooked ham.

[@potenvandebizon]

Just like you!

[@Guywithcrazyideas]

Mistermaarten150 Yes, it takes one to know one.

[@PatrickStaal]

Oh thank you. I thought I was the only one. I saw the subject matter and got really excited, until I saw the presenter. I can only stomach about 30 seconds of the guy.

[@RumorHasItTV]

He's trying to talk like the MentalFloss guy, Johns Green.

[@johnmackelvey]

RumorHasItTV I'm pretty sure John Green is his brother, so it's not altogether improbable that growing up together they developed similar speech patterns.

[@lookatmeeee]

You understand how long you'd be falling if you jumped in? It would be literally like spy kids

[@mechanicuslupus893]

If you assume it's free fall, no drag, about 50 seconds.

[@paulgoodman4545]

@@mechanicuslupus893 wait, 50 seconds to fall 12,000 kilometers? How'd you figure??

[@The_CIA]

*_What about the giant bat-like creature they released?_* What really unnerved the Soviets, apart from the voice recordings, was the appearance that same night of a fountainhead of luminous gas shooting up from the drill site, and out of the midst of this incandescent cloud pillar a brilliant being with bat wings revealed itself with the words (in Russian): ‘I have conquered,’ emblazoned against the dark Siberian sky. ‘The incident was absolutely unreal; the Soviets cried out in terror,’ says Mr Nummedal. Later that night, he saw ambulance crews circulating in the community. A driver he knew told him that they had been told to sedate everybody with a medication known to erase short term memory. The Soviets use this drug in the treatment of shock victims.

[@Keithustus]

CIA posts some of the funniest comments. Keep at it!

[@godofgaming7]

am I the only one that wants to cut the top off it and then drop a camera with a flash light on it and a transmitter on it down that hole and see what's down there?

[@loueelouuu]

*camera melts 2/3rds down*

[@greenmumm]

transmitter probably won't go 12 km or if it does the camera would probably melt.

[@zefrorsgaming881]

No

[@lyricalmajesty2821]

I'm guessing you will probably see lots of rock down there.

[@davidburke2007]

Wow, credit to Russia. Legendary effort and surprising results.

[@shidapu145]

Actually it was USSR at the time..

[@georgeb.wolffsohn30]

So when the USSR folded this experiment ended ?

[@davidburke2007]

@@georgeb.wolffsohn30 Hi, from this video and some other sources of information it seems they hit a pocket of pressurised gas and it destroyed a lot of the equipment so they gave up. I imagine it simply became too dangerous and expensive to continue.

[@brightideas5782]

This was a hole lot of fun 😂

[@n8mail76]

A lot more facts and lot less assumptions. Nice!

[@Avabees]

It would be interesting to see if we could drill to the core of a small rocky planet or planetoid like Mercury to learn more about the cores of rocky planets with less resistance

[@Ryasis12345]

"A wasteland of jagged metal and crumbling concrete" - Doesn't that describe over half of Russia???

[@bennymarshall1320]

Or all of Detroit

[@trafficjon400]

the hole is filled in by now. they need to start over.

[@catscratchfever7540]

I have been to Russia, so I can tell you, it certainly does not describe half of Russia.

[@vbgvbg1133]

Cathy So, it’s actually the entire Russia?

[@catscratchfever7540]

@@vbgvbg1133 Hilarious! Maybe you should go there and find out for yourself, if you can manage to get your ass off your couch.........

[@jimhenry1262]

I work for an industrial coatings company, developing coatings for insulating drilling pipe from deep earth thermal temperatures. Typically 400 F is the hottest we deal with at say 15,000 ft depths. We deal with deep sea pressures of 4400 psi maxed up to worst case 6000 psi. Hats off to the Russians to have embarked on this exploration.

[@shoco2]

Damn I was thinking what it would be earlier today and this popped up in recommended lmao

[@accessfm]

Great explaination compared to other KZbin channels. Facts and figures presented crystal clear. Well done. Great video!

[@alexandercanella4479]

Except they are wrong about it being the deepest.

[@Xeros1313]

How do we know whats on the inside of the earth if we can't even break the crust?

[@Jeanjellybean13]

I'm thinking about that too!

[@Xeros1313]

Exactly. So i'm not the only person who thinks it's weird how we "know" something that we really can't prove

[@Xeros1313]

yeah it is

[@itabiritomg]

XerosOfficial hi there, we know about inner earth studing minerals that formed there and we also know a lot by using geophysics survey technics. very interesting stuff there, worth seeing.

[@landonconner5694]

Christiaan Baron umad

[@willdriskill9530]

You guys should remake this video because of new research and new core maps

[@Kartoffelkamm]

Question: What if you filled it with water? Like, if you took the cap off and began pumping water into it, what would happen? Not how long it'd take or how much water you'd need, but what would happen if the water reached the bottom.

[@riley9464]

it would probably just boil off and evaporate before it ever hit the bottom. i looked it up and the boiling point of water that low would be about 134C compared to the normal 100C. that's an interesting idea though someone should try it

[@DavidStapley0982]

Vsauce Michael: holes aren't real.

[@user-yr8fr4fd3c]

Or is it ? Vsauce theme begins

[@rikzel]

That isn't the hole story

[@AnonYmous-ob7py]

Exactly why I don't like vsauce

[@mrchordstriker]

Well, I'm watching an apartment building go up...they found a hole so they could build the foundation. Yeah. And I can see why they were paid big bucks to find that hole too...every time I build a hole, its always round, no use to an apartment!!

[@noodleboop6093]

Would that hole exist if the earth wasn’t around it, to figure this out I have borrowed some powers from god.

[@Kurachii17]

Damn a whole video dedicated to the science of my ex

[@grocerygrip]

it's amazing how we talk about how deep the earth is as principle and NOT as it should be in theory. Barely 1/3 into the crust, THE CRUST, temperatures can bake cookies/french fries/etc. It's possible that the layers could be MUCH closer than we think

[@unicorngj]

Love the casual shaggy side of you! Gotta love scooby...