new-scientific-study-believes-theres-something-unique-about-earths-core

New Scientific Study Believes There’s Something Unique About Earth’s Core

Without traveling to the center of the Earth, scientists have long been aware of our planet’s molten core. However now, with ever-changing and improving technology, a new study reveals there’s something unique about our planet’s innermost region.

The term “molten” is often associated with volcanic matter, composed of superheated rock contents. As we know, the contents rapidly cool after violent eruptions of magma burst through Earth’s crust. However, below Earth’s surface, original findings stated our planet’s molten core is composed “almost entirely of metal–specifically iron and nickel.”

Other significant components consist of “siderophiles,” with many of these classified as precious metals. In addition to iron and nickel then, Earth’s core possesses traces of gold, platinum, and cobalt.

Now though, a scientific study originating from the Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences proclaims our rocky planet’s core is actually “superionic.”

At first, the term seems like more perplexing scientific jargon. However, after reading the term’s definition, there’s no doubt the study’s findings make Earth even more unique than it already is.

Our Planet’s Core Lacks a Fully Solid Composition

According to ABC News, “Superionic matter…is somewhere between liquid and solid.”

We know that Earth’s primary states of matter are solids, liquids, and gases. However, the study’s findings create an interesting exception among these previously accepted scientific facts.

Interested Outsiders can read the full list of technical findings here. Meanwhile, researcher and physicist He Yu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences shared the most basic aspects of the study’s latest discovery.

“It is quite abnormal,” he began. “Our result shows that [in] the Earth’s inner core some light elements, such as carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, behave like liquids and diffuse freely in the lattice of solid iron.”

Essentially, he explained, this means “the inner core is not a normal solid but a composition of solid iron sublattice and liquid-like light elements.”

He further reported that both Earth’s inner core and its geomagnetic field have displayed “observable changes” within the last few decades. It speaks to our planet’s unique qualities in comparison to some of our closest neighbors.

Jupiter Storm Surpasses Size of Earth

Earth is remarkable simply for the fact that it’s the only known planet to boast life. However, our solar system’s other occupants all possess unique properties of their own. One of which is Jupiter, so large that its size surpasses those of all the other planets combined.

Among its stripes and swirls, the gaseous planet possesses a storm so large it could fit our own planet inside it.

NASA captured photos of the massive storm with its Juno spacecraft earlier last year. And while one of Jupiter’s storms could consume our planet, Juno’s image of the gas giant captures two supermassive storms.

The Earth-sized storm and its neighbor occupy areas within the iconic red spot prominent upon Jupiter’s surface. According to Space.com, the spot’s collection of storms measures a massive 9,800 miles from end to end.