Earth's layers: Exploring our planet inside and out
Composition:The primary contributors to the inner core's heat are the decay of radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium and potassium in Earth's crust and mantle, residual heat from planetary formation, and heat emitted by the solidification of the outer core.
Earth's inner core rotates in the same direction as the surface of the planet but rotates ever so slightly faster, completing one extra rotation every 1,000 years or so.Earth's outer core is sandwiched between the inner core and the mantle. The boundary between the inner and outer core is known as the Lehman Seismic Discontinuity, according toThe outer core is approximately 1,367 miles thick and composed of liquid iron and nickel.
. The solidification of the outer core releases heat which drives convection currents in the outer core that helps to generate Earth's magnetic field. The swirling motion of the outer core generates Earth's magnetic field in a process called geodynamo, according toEventually, the entire core will solidify and Earth's magnetic field will cease to exist. That will be bad news for our planet as the magnetic field protects us from harmful cosmic radiation. We still have a few billions of years of protection left though.
Heat and pressure in the lower mantle are much greater than in the upper mantle. The immense pressure
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