Earth’s Core: Importance, Magnetic Field, and Long-term Impacts
Explore the stars, dive deep into the ocean…but what about what’s right under our feet?
The center of the Earth is believed to be comprised of two layers: a solid inner core, and a liquid iron and nickel wrapped around that. The intense pressure is what keeps the inner core from liquifying.
Note I said “believed” because no one has actually made a visit down there to see for themselves. We use various methods of reading seismic data, mineral physics, computer modelling, experiments, and even meteorite analysis, to make scientific hypotheses.
The assumption that the core is mostly iron with nickel comes from analyis of the Earth’s magnetic field, among other things. But everything we believe we know could also be wrong.
That aside, it is quite remarkable that new revelations continue to occur about the composition of inner Earth. This article uncovers the discovery of a Doughnut-shaped region found inside Earth’s core.
Why is the Earth’s core so important? Well, it is keeping us alive. The movement of the outer (liquid) core creates Earth’s magnetic field, which provides protection around the entire planet from damaging solar winds and dangerous radiation.
For those who like to stay up late at night worrying about all the ways humanity can be destroyed, you can add the core cooling to the list along with the sun going nova. Without the magnetic field, solar winds could strip away our atmosphere and turn the Earth into an uninhabitable rock, like Mars.
The good news is that scientists believe it will take around 91 billion years before the core cools and solidifies completely, but the sun will go nova in only 5 billion years.
Guess you will all sleep well tonight after all!
What do you think about the mysteries of the Earth’s core? Please comment below!
