Re: air blowing out of an old mine

[David Bone <dbone@scnc.bas.k12.mi.us>]

The Quincy mine at Hancock in Michigan's copper country has a grated
opening (one of many) at the surface out of which a flow of cool air
moves.  This air flows day and night, year round ( or at least it has
everytime that I have been there)  The air coming out is about 50 degrees
( educated guess )  but the old timers say that the temperature at the
bottom of the mine ( it is extremely deep) is almost too hot for comfort.
Maybe the hot air from the bottom cools as it rises and expands but that
doesn't explain why it would blow straight up into the 90 degree air of a
hot summer day.  This is just an observation that I have made for which I
have no definitive explaination


Dave Bone                "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend
                          Inside of a dog it is too dark to read"-Groucho




On Tue, 15 Sep 1998, Herbert H Gottlieb wrote:

> On Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:28:13 -0700 (PDT) jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu (James
> Mclean) writes:
> > Instead of heating sources, what about the simple enormous thermal 
> > resevoir that is the earth?  What is it, about 58 F?  Does the air flow 
> > possibly reverse in winter?
>
> In which part of the earth's interior is the temperature 58 F?
>
> Herb Gottlieb from New York City
> (Where winter temperatures are usually less than 58 F and hot air rises)