Our planet is hiding inside itself many secretswhich we never dreamed of. The latest discovery is the best evidence of this. Scientists were able to identify the next part Earth’s core structure. This is a very important discovery from the point of view of understanding the mechanisms of planet formation and their magnetic fields.
For more than half a century, scientists have thought so The inner core Our planet is a compressed ball of iron surrounded by a liquid outer core. Meanwhile, research published in Earth Physics and Planetary Interiors turns out to be something completely different.
The inner core has no fixed structureIt is not a boring mass of iron, and the degree of hardness varies. The basic information was obtained during the seismic search of our planet. Dr. Rhett Butler, a geophysicist at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Science, admitted that strong earthquakes When seismic waves pass through a compressed ball of iron, they should not be deflected.
In fact, the opposite is true. Seismic waves travel largely between opposite sides of the planet. However, the scientist assures that this is not always the case. This means that the nucleus is not only There is no uniform steel structureNo liquid, just a changing surface in different areas, from steel, through molten, to soft iron.
Knowing more about the structure of the kernel and its creation history can help us Understand the stages of the formation of our planet And other worlds alien to us. The fact that magnetic fields depend on the core is also important. Thanks to them biological life can flourish safely on Earth.
This was not always the case in the future Magnetic fields may begin to fadeAs was the case on Mars, for example. This could mean the end of life as we know it. Scientists want to know exactly what affects it (is the sun?) and when such dangerous events could occur on Earth and our civilization.
