Earth's core is as hot as the sun, study claims

Earth's core is as hot as the sun, study claims

PARIS (September 30, 1999 10:40 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The temperature at the center of the Earth is approximately 9,900 degrees, about as hot as the surface of the Sun, the British weekly Nature reported Thursday.

The figure - generally higher than other estimates - was made by a team of scientists at University College London.

Using a Cray T3E supercomputer, they used the melting point of iron, the main component at the Earth's core, as the basis for the mathematics.

The inner core of the Earth is solid, but surrounded by a liquid outer core, which in turn is covered by a mantle and then a crust.

By using the melting point of iron, and factoring in the huge pressures that exist at the center of the planet, the scientists contended they could determine the temperature at the boundary between the inner and outer cores.

The melting temperature of pure iron at the core was estimated to be 11,500, but the presence of impurities such as nickel, sulphur and other elements reduces this to 9,900 degrees.

Knowing the right temperature at the center of the Earth could be of vital help in understanding such phenomena as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This is because the intense heat from the center radiates outward, in turn having an effect on the planet's crust and the tectonic plates that ride on it.