What would happen to gravity as the intrepid explorers in this surely fine film neared the center of the earth?
Would they be able to, for example, jump higher in order to escape from the (really? were those just dinosaurs?) dinosaurs?
Yes, yes, I know suspension of disbelief and all that. Perhaps this should be in GQ.
In theory, there is no gravity in the center of the Earth.
Also, in the book, they didn’t go to the center of the Earth – just a series of deep caves. Verne’s title was not literal.
This is what I was going to add… is there a movie or something?
Also, there IS gravity at the center of the earth. At the surface you have the whole earth pulling in unison, but at the center, you have the same amount of pull in each direction… The amount of earth above you is the same as the amount of earth below you and they pull on you equally. If you were to dig a big ol’ hole, the farthur you go down the higher you would be able to jump. Until you got to the middle where the forces would be equal from all sides.
There is gravity pulling on satelites in orbit too, but the fact that they are moving around the earth and essentially falling off the side of it constantly means that the forces cancel out and they are in a perpetual state of freefall.
There is a movie coming out soon. When I saw the trailer I thought it was another “Mummy” movie. It stars Brendan Frasier in his swashbuckling, archaeologist mode.
But back to the gravity question. If you could make a spherical chamber at the CotE would you float in it, since the mass on all sides of you would be the same?
Why is the song, “My Heart’s in the Highlands” running through my head? 
Yes.
Yes. Of course, this chamber would also melt very quickly and would take you with it.
Nuh-uhh, not if you turned the air conditioner on.
Full blast.
At Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, there is a popular attraction based on the book.
Are they really trying to make a movie out of it? I like the book, but the narrator (Harry, or whatever the hell his name is) is quite possibly the whiniest character I’ve ever met. Every little obstacle they came across, he’s all, “Oh! We’re all going to die! Hope is lost! Alas and woe, Uncle has killed us all!”
I kept hoping Hans the eiderdown hunter would push him down a chasm.
The new movie, which is 3D, and comes out in July, is a sort of modern retelling of the Verne story.
Fraser plays the brother of an archaeologist who is lost while researching “clues” in Verne’s book. While searching for him, Fraser discovers that the book was not fiction, but true.
I’ve seen the film*. It’s light action fun, in the spirit of The Mummy, and about as scientifically accurate.
I loved this film as a child. I thought the hand-generated lights that they carried underground were really impressive.
I saw the movie the other day too (in 3D) and Brendan Fraser and the director Eric Brevig were there. I was in the front row center, about 3 feet away from Brendan. What a dreamboat, and a really nice guy. Did I mention he’s really cute? Good looking too. Mmmmm.
What were we talking about? Oh, the movie. Right. What commasense said, light action fun, nothing more or less. Plus, some great scenery of Iceland, a couple of “boo, gotcha!” moments, a couple of moving “got something in my eye” moments, a gorgeous and fun leading lady (Iceland’s Anita Briem, who I hope to see in many many more movies), and did I mention Brendan Fraser is really really cute? I’m not so big on 3D because I wear glasses and it’s awkward to wear the extra set of glasses (and even in the front row, I needed to have my own glasses on) but it was cool-looking. If they start doing 3D movies in a big way, I wonder if I can get prescription 3D glasses made?
Anyway, the movie isn’t a filmed version of the book, it’s about people who are/were obsessed by the book and tried to prove it was based on reality. Fraser’s character isn’t one of them, but his missing brother was, and that’s how he gets involved.
Nice! In 3D?
Probably not, since there are at least four different and mutually incompatible 3D systems out there. IMAX 3D uses standard linear polarizers (this would be the easiest to fit to regular glasses), Real D and Disney Digital 3D use circular polarizers, Dolby Digital 3D uses color bandpass filters (not red/blue anaglyph), and Nuvision uses active LCD glasses.
Of course! Brendan, Anita Briem, and Eric Brevic were at my screening too, but just waved to the audience of theater owners at the beginning of the show and left.