Posted on 04/25/2013 6:43:23 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Earth's internal engine is running about 1,000 degrees Celsius (about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than previously measured, providing a better explanation for how the planet generates a magnetic field, a new study has found.
A team of scientists has measured the melting point of iron at high precision in a laboratory, and then drew from that result to calculate the temperature at the boundary of Earth's inner and outer core now estimated at 6,000 C (about 10,800 F). That's as hot as the surface of the sun.
The difference in temperature matters, because this explains how the Earth generates its magnetic field. The Earth has a solid inner core surrounded by a liquid outer core, which, in turn, has the solid, but flowing, mantle above it. There needs to be a 2,700-degree F (1,500 C) difference between the inner core and the mantle to spur "thermal movements" that along with Earth's spin create the magnetic field.
(Excerpt) Read more at ouramazingplanet.com ...
Bless you.. I usually don’t, or at least as thoroughly as I should most times. ;-)
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