Name: Rasmus Sorensen
Date: 11th Dec. 09
Class: Science 6th
The epic adventure of layers
It was a cold morning on the 23rd November, 2032. A young man at the age of 34.
His name was Rasmus Sorensen. He was enjoying a nice day of hover boarding. He
was hovering his usual route around the block, across the old farm. Then, as his
least favorite place, back to his house following the foul stench of the dump yard.
Today Rasmus had a hollow feeling inside him. He thought about his truly desired
job: To be a scientist. The following week scientists were going to launch the
project of digging a hole to the center of the earth and back. Rasmus had read in a
science magazine that they would start the project by sending their vehicle off
from the shores of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The vehicle would then dive down,
under water to one of the places on earth where the crust is thinnest and start
digging through the 15 km crust. When penetrating the crust, the vehicle would
automatically turn on a sensor which can detect if there is an object in front of it.
If there is, the machine would destroy the object with a powerful laser beam
developed in 2030. This vehicle is also able to withstand incredible heat. With a
titanium shield it is both heatproof and immune to damage by rocks. When entering
the outer core the vehicle will develop a propeller that can rocket the vehicle
forward, ready to bash into and dent the inner core of the earth. At this moment
the vehicle would also have evolved a pointy front which would stab into the inner
core and loosen it up so the vehicle can come through. The goal of this mission is to
collect samples of the heat and energy inside earth which could possibly power the
earth for centuries to come.
When coming back home, Rasmus felt like talking to someone. He called his old
class mate and fellow Harvard graduate Steven Oh on the phone. After talking for
ten minutes, Steven finally confessed that he had an invitation to the big event in
Cape Canaveral. After a moment of silence Steven broke it, and proudly remarked
that he had received 2 tickets to the big event and that he would rather than
happily take Rasmus. When Rasmus heard this he jumped with glee. Steven Oh
smiling on the other end. Rasmus said a grateful “thank you!” to Steven and hung up.
Then, still smiling, Rasmus got his traveling clothes on and drove, with his lowcarbon car, to the airport ready to have the time of his life.
In Cape Canaveral, after a 5 hour flight, he was greeted by a friendly smile. It was
his old friend Steven Oh whom he had not seen for almost 2 years. With a smile on
his face and a packed suitcase in his hand, he said a whole-hearted “hello.” The two
chatted for a while inside the airport before going outside and calling for a taxi.
When inside the taxi, Steven announced: “C.C.S.C, (Cape Canaveral Science Center)
and make it quick. Steven explained to Rasmus that he could stay in an apartment
reserved for scientists and their friends. Rasmus was grateful for this, since he
had not much money to spare after his expensive plane ride. When Rasmus was
showed to his room by a young employee who worked in the science center, he
threw his jacket off, jumped onto his bed, and fell asleep.
After sleeping for a few hours, Rasmus got up and started exploring the center. He
went up and down the halls, looking at every exhibit there was, until he came to the
room he desired to be in the most. It was the room where they held the incredible
vehicle which would take the stunning trip to the core of the earth. Steven was
there too, he was taking notes on a notepad with a peculiar pen. When Rasmus
approached him, Steven jumped back and greeted him. The two talked for a while
about how an incredible journey it would be to penetrate the crust of the earth
and travel the 12,750 km to the core of the earth and back. Steven Oh explained
how the scientists had planted a dummy inside. This dummy had cameras for eyes
and heat sensors around it. If the dummy could survive, the scientists could then
try sending the first human inside earth. This, Rasmus thought was quite
interesting. He hoped he would be the first one to endure this feat for humans,
but then he cast the thought away and said to himself that he would never have
the chance. He thought he could maybe steal a little look inside the extraordinary
vehicle. This was what he did. He walked away, and then suddenly, he jumped
behind a bush without anyone seeing him. Then Rasmus crept over, past the guard,
and into the room with the incredible vehicle.
On one side, in blazing letters, stood: ‘Atomic Driller 3000’. Then, really fascinated
by this extraordinary vehicle, he snuck into the Driller. Inside the Atomic Driller,
he found uncountable knobs and switches, levers and pulls, accelerators and brakes,
everything to steer the Atomic Driller right up to the inner core. When he heard
footsteps approaching him outside, he sprang behind a control set. The two men
outside stopped, then the motors of the vehicle started churning, the door was
closing, before Rasmus could react, the sound proof door was closed, and all fell
silent. Rasmus was now pacing around and panicking. He should never have gone
inside the vehicle.
Rasmus found a few plants growing in the back of the vehicle; they were probably
the experiment to see if plants could grow inside the earth to bring food to the
man inside. Rasmus was crying for help, banging his fists upon the door in rage, but
no one could hear him. He tried to find a way out, but then the vehicle started
churning with life again. Maybe they had heard him and were opening the door. The
door did not seem to move, this was worrying him. The vehicle turned, and stopped.
Then the vehicle started moving again, now forward. He then felt like the Driller
stopped, not totally, but it was floating, trying to keep above… Water. The motor
stopped churning for a moment, and then, with even stronger power, it was
rocketed forward through the water.
Back in the center, all the scientists were smiling at each other, laughing and
cheering in their successfully started mission, everybody, except one. Steven knew
that Rasmus had known that the launch would be then, but he had not shown up. He
also remembered that Rasmus, so suddenly, had just disappeared. Steven knew
something was wrong, so he called Rasmus. He suddenly heard a phone ringing, he
hurried over to it hoping to find Rasmus, but the phone was on the floor where the
entrance to the Atomic Driller 3000 had been right before. He suddenly knew,
Rasmus was in the Driller plummeting to his own death.
Rasmus was sick with fear, he was in a frenzy of frustration and anger at his dying
curiosity. He was walking in circles, pulling his hair, but then, suddenly, a red light
started flashing. The voice of a woman surrounded the little vehicle, it was saying:
“Penetration of crust in 10,9,8,7,6…” Rasmus rocketed to the seat. “…5,4,3…” He
was fumbling with the seat belt. “…2,1…” Exactly at that moment the seatbelt was
tightened and the Driller plummeted into something, rocketing Rasmus off his seat.
The speaker then announced: “Crust Drilling initialized.” There was a map in front
of Rasmus, it showed that where he was the crust was 15 km thick. It said he was
on the oceanic crust. It also said that the reason he was drilling through the
oceanic crust was because on the continental crust the thickness could be between
35 and 75 km. The inbuilt computer informed that the temperature on the crust
could change a lot, compared to where you are, and when you are there. The
material of the crust is mostly rock, there are tectonic plates made of rocks
including granite that can move using the asthenosphere beneath as a floating bed.
The crust is the uppermost layer of the earth.
The vehicle was silent for a moment except for the churning of the motor drilling
through the crust. Then suddenly, the computer started up again, it announced
that the vehicle was approaching the lithosphere. It explained that the lithosphere
was part of both the crust and the upper mantle. It has a temperature of 100
degrees Celsius, and a thickness of 100 km. The top 50 km of the lithosphere is
made of stone like the crust, but then softens going further into the earth. While
Rasmus was shooting through the lithosphere he was exploring the vehicle. He went
all the way to the back of the vehicle to the plants, which he had in haste
forgotten about. He took one, put it into his mouth, and took a bite, and then let
out a long sigh, it sounded like a wail coming out of his watering mouth.
Next, Rasmus arrived at the asthenosphere. The astenosphere has a temperature
of 1400 degrees Celsius. It is 350 km thick and is made of mostly soft magma and
loose rocks. The vehicle could accelerate fairly fast, so in only a few hours Rasmus
was approaching the outer mantle.
At the outer mantle the vehicle hit a stop. This was because of the materials in the
outer mantle which are 90% silicon, oxygen, and magnesium had become stiffer
because of its lower temperature than the inner mantle which consists of the same
materials. Some materials from the mantle go onto the crust as basalt to make the
crust. The upper mantle has a thickness of 300 km, and a temperature of 3000
degrees Celsius.
Underneath the outer mantle is the inner mantle. The inner mantle has a thickness
of 2,600 km and a temperature of 3000 degrees Celsius. Its materials include the
same materials as the outer mantle, so it is made up of silicon, magnesium, and
oxygen. The inner mantle is very soft, like clay.
The voice inside the vehicle came back. It told Rasmus that the vehicle would start
going at a turbo speed. This was because now the vehicle came out of the inner
mantle and into the outer core. The outer core is liquid. It is made of the materials
iron and nickel, but they are both molten and liquid. The outer core is 2,260 km
thick. The temperature ranges between 4400 and 6100 degrees Celsius. Without
the outer core, the earth would not have a magnetic field. Without this field the
solar wind could blast away earth’s atmosphere and kill all life.
“We are now approaching the inner core, prepare for collision!” Rasmus reacted to
this very quickly; he jumped onto his seat, threw his seatbelt on, put his head back,
and closed his eyes. Then suddenly Rasmus was rocketed forward, but luckily his
seatbelt was there to stop him. The remote voice was turned on and told Rasmus
the facts about the inner core: The inner core has a radius of 1,220 km, its
temperature ranges between 5000 and 6000 degrees Celsius. The inner core has a
very high pressure and mainly contains of iron and nickel but also has some lighter
elements.
This was the end of the journey, now the vehicle turned around and headed for the
crust again. The day the vehicle had arrived back to Cape Canaveral people were
crowding around, hoping to see the vehicle safe, they did not know that there had
been a man in it too while it was inside the earth. When the vehicle was hoisted
from the water and back to Cape Canaveral, scientists were already taking notes on
it. The head of the mission came forth with the remote to open the door. When
the door was opened, Rasmus sprang out, happy to be alive. Everyone at the Cape
Canaveral Science Center were in total awe. Their mouths were wide open and their
eyes were full of disbelief. After Rasmus apologized for his foolishness he was
crowned the first man inside earth. Rasmus’ lifelong dream had been fulfilled.