Now there are no methods that would allow us to directly study the structure of the Earth’s core. The problem is that even in the 12 km deep Kola well, the temperature is already 220 degrees Celsius, and if you go further down the temperature will be higher. To date, there is no equipment that can withstand such heat.
However, scientists still managed to learn a little about the Earth’s core. This happened thanks to seismography. To do this, experts studied vibrations from nuclear tests or earthquakes. Thus, it was possible to understand the composition and properties of the nucleus.
In the 1990s, it was known that the core is ahead of the Earth’s rotation and sometimes lagging behind it. It also turns out that the core can also change the direction of rotation. Also, different layers of the core rotate in different directions: for example, the outer liquid core – from east to west, inner – vice versa.
Today, scientists know that the radius of the core is 3.5 thousand km. The core is divided into liquid outer and solid inner. Additionally, the core itself makes up 15% of the planet’s volume, and the core’s mass is 30%.
Experts determined that about 85% of the core is occupied by iron and 10% by nickel. The remaining 10% is still unclear, but scientists think it’s oxygen or carbon.
The temperature of the inner core is 6000 degrees. The core remains solid and does not melt due to high atmospheric pressure. It was also revealed in 2015 that there is another one inside this core.
The outer core is also composed of nickel and iron. However, they are in liquid form. Chaotic electric currents occur in this core due to the flow of liquid metal. They create a magnetic field.
Source: Ferra
