# The centre of the Earth

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-centre-of-the-earth/180353>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 7, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-centre-of-the-earth/180353 "2003-06-07T22:49:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-centre-of-the-earth/180353/21 "2003-06-09T18:03:24Z")

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Yes, it’s important to note that matter outside of the sphere is still attracted to the centre of the planet, it’s only matter inside that is ‘weightless’.

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**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-centre-of-the-earth/180353/22 "2003-06-09T18:11:06Z")

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Sorry- I wasn’t making a point at all-  
just being humourous-

the truth is, of course, that you don’t get hollow planets because there is always a force towards the centre, and even gaseous objects like stars have a gravitational pull right to the middle…

although you might well find that all stars formed around a solid rocky kernel, before fusion commenced. This rocky material vapourises and becomes the star’s metallicity.

You could never get a situation where there was an empty space in the centre of a planet or star, even if it were made of gaseous shells.

like I said, a pointless nitpick.

* * *

SF worldbuilding at  
[http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html)

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