The core of the Earth is different from what was believed

New research refutes the theory that the nucleus internal from Earth It is a solid ball of compressed iron ingot surrounded by a liquid outer core and it was stated that the hardness of the planetary center varies from solid to semi-soft to liquid metal.

In a way, the Earth’s inner core is still as mysterious as it was when Jules Verne published his wonderful Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1864. Although scientists have known since the 1950s that planet It’s not hollow, as Verne predicted, the interior still unexplored because the immense heat and pressure are simply too intense for any human probe to travel there. However, to learn more about this topic, a team from the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Science in Hawaii, US, analyzed seismic waves generated by earthquakes.

By measuring these massive vibrations, scientists can reconstruct a picture of the inner workings of the planet in a way that is “like a CT scan of a human.” These waves come in two main types: straight line pressure waves and wavy shear waves. Each wave can accelerate, slow down, or bounce different media as it travels through the Earth. Geophysicist Rhett Butler, lead author of the work published in the prestigious journal Earth and Inner Planets Physics, observed seismic waves at five different locations on Earth and discovered that some were drifting in certain areas. Thus, the expert re-evaluated his basic assumption that the inner core is completely solid and discovered that instead of being a solid sphere, it had pockets of liquid and “soft” semi-solid iron near its surface.

The iron’s consistency was particularly surprising, according to Butler. We’ve seen evidence that not only is it smooth everywhere, it’s really tough in some places. It has hard surfaces against cast or soft iron. So we see many details inside the inner core that we have not seen before,” this is what the specialist revealed and confirmed that this research could revolutionize our understanding of the magnetic field of our planet.

Radius 3500 km

They are those who have, roughly speaking, the core of the earth. It is composed primarily of hard, semi-soft, and liquid iron, with 5-10% nickel and smaller amounts of the lighter elements, possibly sulfur and oxygen.