Doorway to Hell

[LadyLockeout]

Remember that UL about the scientists of whatever country drilling for oil or whatever and breaking through to hell?

Someone on Deviant Art linked to this site with video and made the statement they thought that this might be the basis.

All my googling has turned up just this site, really, as the most comprehensive.

http://www.englishrussia.com/?p=1830

Anyone have any input? Reminds me of Centralia, PA

[Floater]

I think the hole you're thinking of is this project that took place on the Kola peninsula. There is a link the the Well to Hell UL in the article.

[Brad from Georgia]

Then there's this report:

Super Deep Hole in Kola opens Way into Hell

Scientific workers boring opening deeply deeply into the crust of Earth report they revealed tunnel into hell. "It astonishes," says Professor Flexi Dzerkov, leader of project. "From the sounds emanating from the opening, which we through a powerful microphone selected and magnified there is no doubt we have penetrated infernal regions." The artificially loudened sounds resemble the moans of terror, of torture, and agony. But what makes it sure that hell is the source of sounds is that also audible is an infinitely repeated Muzak version of "Girl from Ipanema."

[franjava]

But what makes it sure that hell is the source of sounds is that also audible is an infinitely repeated Muzak version of "Girl from Ipanema."

Yup. That's hell.

[Melissa]

I'm sure I read about drilling and accidentally finding/hearing Hell. But I'm also sure I read it in the Weekly World News. http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/headl...ole-into-hell/

[barbrainey]

I first heard this UL more than 15 years ago. The drilling in Siberia supposedly took place in the late 1970s or early 1980s. It was said that the scientists doing the drilling lowered microphones into the deep hole once they hit a levels of 20,000 feet with temperatures exceeding 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.

First of all, why would they lower any microphones into the hole? What sounds did they hope to pick up? If these Russian scientists were atheists, and therefore did not believe in "hell," then they certainly did not anticipate hearing the wailing of the tormented souls of dead unrepentant sinners.

Nevertheless, this story was circulated by fundamentalist Christians--beginning with Paul Crouch on his TBN television show--for years before it was finally debunked.

B. A. Rainey

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Originally Posted by barbrainey

. . . First of all, why would they lower any microphones into the hole? What sounds did they hope to pick up? . . .

As a w.a.g., might it be a variant of seismic echolocation in a search for oil? As I understand it, they'll detonate explosives, or otherwise induce vibrations into the earth, and spread out listening devices, to get a 3-D image of the geology of an area. Having a series of mikes at varying depth might enhance the accuracy or resolution of the image.

Or, y'know, it was renegade revanchist religionists hoping to topple the evil empire and return the land to the former rulership of the Tsar/Nobles/Priests in service to Christ, returning the masses to serfdom. Cool, huh?

Silas

[LadyLockeout]

Ok, so that answers that question from the OP.

Now to the other one.

Does anyone know what that big hole of fire in the ground is? Because all I can find about it is in the link I gave, and that's pretty darn vague...

[Floater]

Originally Posted by Silas Sparkhammer

As a w.a.g., might it be a variant of seismic echolocation in a search for oil? As I understand it, they'll detonate explosives, or otherwise induce vibrations into the earth, and spread out listening devices, to get a 3-D image of the geology of an area. Having a series of mikes at varying depth might enhance the accuracy or resolution of the image.

But this was not about drilling for oil or anything else. They just wanted to see how deep they could get.

[Le Chevalier Blanc]

Seems similar to the coal mine fire in Pennsylvania that's been burning for over 45 years.

Most interesting quote (to me) is this one:

The underground fire is still burning and will continue to do so for the indefinite future. There are no current plans to extinguish the fire, which is consuming an eight-mile seam containing enough coal to fuel it for 250 years.

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Originally Posted by Floater

But this was not about drilling for oil or anything else. They just wanted to see how deep they could get.

Here, too, I'm not completely sure of the technology, but I think it isn't *possible* to put microphones down into the very deepest of drill-holes. It's near miraculous that they can get the *drill* down that far; actually threading a mike and wire down that hole would be far more difficult.

Maybe it is possible; I dunno. But, wow... And, also, you're right: at that depth, there wouldn't likely be anything to hear!

Silas

[Troberg]

But this was not about drilling for oil or anything else. They just wanted to see how deep they could get.

Which in turn seems suspicions. Science is about knowledge, not about getting into the Guiness book of world records.

Seems similar to the coal mine fire in Pennsylvania that's been burning for over 45 years.

Which, in turn, is one of the greatest CO2-emission sources on earth that can be stopped, yet, for some idiotic reason, they insist on harassing the car owners that keep the economy going:

http://depletedcranium.com/?p=166

[Joostik]

Originally Posted by Le Chevalier Blanc

Seems similar to the coal mine fire in Pennsylvania that's been burning for over 45 years.

Unfortunately, that's only the most well-known of a huge number of coal seam fires worldwide.

China's coal fires, which consume an estimated 20 – 200 million tons of coal a year, make up as much as 1 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels

Of course that's only a very loose estimate.

[DawnStorm]

Do you get there by going down the highway to Hell?



Dawn--well somebody had to ask!!--Storm

[Le Chevalier Blanc]

Originally Posted by Joostik

Unfortunately, that's only the most well-known of a huge number of coal seam fires worldwide.

Interestingly, at the bottom of that wiki entry is a reference to the OP:

See also

* Darvaza (also known as "Gates of Hell"), a location in Turkmenistan with a burning natural gas deposit

If I ever go there, I am so bringing marshmellows.

I think it is really quite pretty.

[Faith]

(Vaguely) relevant website:

Entrances to Hell UK

In addition, there's a nice sighting of the 'drilling for oil and finding hell' tale in Robert Rankin's 1994 novel The Greatest Show Off Earth where it is presented an urban legend everyone has heard.

[Eddylizard]

Originally Posted by Troberg

Which in turn seems suspicions. Science is about knowledge, not about getting into the Guiness book of world records.

Science is also about exploration. Many apparently pointless things have been done in the name of scientific experiment which has led directly to some useful technology, and some which turned out to be utterly usesless. The benefits of digging the world's deepest hole may not just have been limited to getting a place in the record books, but may have had more useful spinoffs which they may or may not have been actively pursuing to improve drilling technology in general.

ETA: In other words, maybe they suspected there might be something worth having (oil or gas) that far down, and were testing the feasability of drilling that far. Would a different alloy composition in the bit be more reliable, does the speed of the bit make any difference, how do the (presumably given the distance) jointed pipes hold up at those depths, is there anything down there worth extracting? Is it economical now, may it be possible and economical in the future when the oil and gas reserves run very low? etc, etc.

Which, in turn, is one of the greatest CO2-emission sources on earth that can be stopped, yet, for some idiotic reason, they insist on harassing the car owners that keep the economy going:

http://depletedcranium.com/?p=166

I'm not convinced that if it was that simple to control an underground coal seam fire as you and that article (partially) make out. If it was that easy, do you really think that the owners of the coalfields would sit by and watch each day hundreds or thousands of tonnes of coal that should have been theirs for the taking and turning into profit, burn away without taking action?

[Floater]

Originally Posted by Troberg

Which in turn seems suspicions. Science is about knowledge, not about getting into the Guiness book of world records.

It wasn't about getting into the Guinness Book of World Records either. As stated it was about seeing how deep you can bore and finding out what the crust of the Earth is like on those depths. Nothing strange at all.

Just exactly how would you put out a smouldering coal seam, anyway? The only way I could think of would be to flood the mine or whatever.

- Pseudo_Croat