Deep beneath Earth’s surface, at a depth of about 2,890 kilometers, lies the liquid metal core, a critical component of our planet responsible for generating the magnetic field that shields life from harmful solar winds. Scientists use seismic waves produced by earthquakes to probe the structure of this core, functioning much like an ultrasound, to …
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Deep within Earth lies a solid metal sphere that rotates independently from our planet’s rotation, a phenomenon that has fascinated scientists since its discovery by Danish seismologist Inge Lehmann in 1936. The rotation of this inner core, particularly its speed and direction, is at the heart of extensive scientific debate. Recent advancements have shed light …
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Earth’s inner core, a hot ball of iron the size of Pluto, has stopped spinning faster than the planet’s surface and may now be rotating slower than it, new research shows.
The Earth’s solid inner core spins at a slightly different rate than the rest of the planet. Research from about 20 years ago showed that it rotates a tiny bit faster, moving ahead of the rest of the planet by about a degree per year, which meant that it would lap the outer part of …
High-temperature and high-pressure experiments to simulate the core of the young Earth demonstrate for the first time that hydrogen can bond strongly with iron in extreme conditions. This explains the significant presence of hydrogen in the Earth’s core that arrived as water from bombardments billions of years ago.
New research led by Jo Stephenson at Australian National University in Canberra has revealed that there may be a hidden layer inside the Earth’s solid inner core. It is believed that it could have something to do with changes in the structure of iron under extreme temperature and pressure. The study shows that there may …
