American geophysicists from the University of Texas at Austin have discovered that the Earth’s metallic core is much softer than previously thought. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).
At the center of our planet, there is a metal ball consisting mostly of iron, with a diameter of 1220 km. The inner core is surrounded by an outer core, a sea of bubbling liquid metals that lies beneath a huge layer of molten rock known as the mantle. The mantle lies just below the solid crust on which we live. Because the pressure in the inner core is so great, experts initially assumed that it must be completely solid.
To test this hypothesis, the researchers recreated the pressure inside the nucleus in the laboratory and studied the behavior of iron atoms under these conditions. Geophysicists then entered this data into a computer model. Calculations showed that the atoms were actively moving; This means that the structure of the Earth’s core cannot be a monolithic solid. In this case, atoms change their positions in all groups due to which the atomic lattice remains constant.
Experts believe that the new results can better understand the processes occurring in the core associated with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Previous scientists discovered Huge puddles deep in the bowels of New Zealand.