Past exam of the physics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2021 / Section A / 5

The tunnel is taken thin enough that removal of its material does not significantly disturb spherical symmetry. For $a\le r\le 2a$, the enclosed mass isBy the spherical shell theorem, the inward gravitational acceleration has magnitudeThe released gravitational potential energy is the positive work done by gravity while the mass falls from radius $2a$ to $a$:By conservation of mechanical energy,Inside the cavity, the spherical shell theorem gives zero gravitational field, so the velocity stays constant. The original figure places B and C at opposite ends of a cavity diameter, a distance $2a$ apart. ThereforeThe quantity $G\rho$ has units ${\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$, so this is a time. There are no numerical values for $a$ or $\rho$ in the paper. The transit time is independent of $a$ and the falling mass $m$. The cavity's gravitational potential is constant, not necessarily zero; only its gradient vanishes. The calculation is a hollow-sphere gravitational transit.