A study carried out by researchers at the University of Zurich (Switzerland) revealed that the Earth’s core is cooling at a faster rate than had been projected until the moment.
Experts explain that the core of our planet is composed of molten metals which are at a temperature close to that which exists on the surface of the Sun . This dates back to the very creation of the planet, and over millions of years it has been undergoing a slow cooling process that in millions of years will end with its solidification once it cools completely.
This will be very bad news for the planet because it is thanks to its core that the Earth has its magnetic field, which is responsible for deflecting cosmic radiation . Without this kind of protective shield, life on our planet would be completely impossible, just as it happens on other planets in the solar system.
“Our results could give us a new perspective on the evolution of the Earth’s dynamics. They suggest that the Earth, like the other rocky planets Mercury and Mars, is cooling and becoming inactive much faster than expected”, said Professor Motohiko Murakami who is the lead author of the study.
These conclusions were produced thanks to the study of bridgmanite, a mineral that can be found between the core and the mantle of the Earth. One of its qualities is that it serves as a perfect conductor of heat.
As part of an experiment, scientists experimented with a sample of bridgmanite and discovered that its thermal conductivity is approximately 1.5 times higher than The expected. This means that bridgmanite helps heat from the core dissipate at a faster rate than experts previously projected.
Murakami maintains that it is too early make some kind of estimate about when the total cooling of the core could occur, and therefore of life on Earth. However, it is not expected that this could present a problem for humanity, at least for a few thousand or million years.
“We still do not know enough about this type of events to specify its moment”, Murakami pointed out.
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