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outer core–inner core boundary. Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 20% of Earth's radius or 70% of the Moon 's radius. [1][2] There are no samples of the core accessible for direct measurement, as there are for Earth's ...
The transition between the inner core and outer core is located approximately 5,150 km (3,200 mi) beneath Earth's surface. Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth . It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 19% of Earth's radius [0.7% of volume] or 70% of the Moon 's radius.
A planetary core consists of the innermost layers of a planet. [1] Cores may be entirely liquid, or a mixture of solid and liquid layers as is the case in the Earth. [2] In the Solar System, core sizes range from about 20% (the Moon) to 85% of a planet's radius (Mercury). Gas giants also have cores, though the composition of these are still a ...
The inner core is anisotropic, causing seismic waves to vary in speed depending on their direction of travel. P-waves, in particular, move more quickly along the inner core's rotational axis than across the equatorial plane. [42] This suggests that Earth's rotation affects the alignment of iron crystals during the core's solidification. [46]
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The findings open up new ways to investigate the inner core, according to lead author Thanh-Son Phạm. ANU also believes the innermost inner core hints at a major event in Earth's past that had a ...
The Earth's field originates in its core. This is a region of iron alloys extending to about 3400 km (the radius of the Earth is 6370 km). It is divided into a solid inner core, with a radius of 1220 km, and a liquid outer core. [55]
Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core. [132] Earth's inner core may be rotating at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year, although both somewhat higher and much lower rates have also been proposed. [133]