A4_5 As the crow flies or as the mole digs

Abstract

It is a well-known fact the shortest path to follow is that of a straight line. This paper takes that concept to the extreme and considers the possibility that we could construct a straight tunnel from one place on the earth to another and looks at the reduction in transport time we could expect from such a transportation system. It is calculated that the travel time to connect any two points on the earth via a straight tunnel through the earth is only dependant on the density of the earth and this travel time is calculated to be 42.2minutes.