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Entry 06 · Trilogy 2 · Planetary geometry

The 42-Minute Earth: The Planet’s Heartbeat

In 1966 Paul Cooper asked a simple question. If one could drill a tunnel through Earth, how long would the fall take?

The answer, in the simple gravity-tunnel problem, is about 42 minutes, the same as a low-orbit half-period in the same toy model.

It is a calculation, not a pulse you can auscultate. The Book keeps the toy model honest and still lets the heartbeat image stand as living language.