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Earth's outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km (1,400 mi) thick, composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth's solid inner core and below its mantle.
The structure consists of an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous asthenosphere, and solid mantle, a liquid outer core whose flow generates the Earth's magnetic field, and a solid inner core.
The four primary layers are the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. However, geologists subdivide these layers into a complex structure that better describes the Earth’s intricate composition and behavior.
The churning metal of the outer core creates and sustains Earth’s magnetic field. The hottest part of the core is actually the Bullen discontinuity, where temperatures reach 6,000° Celsius (10,800° Fahrenheit)—as hot as the surface of the sun.
This magnetic field extends outward from the Earth for several thousand kilometers, and creates a protective bubble around the Earth that deflects the Sun’s solar wind.
Earth’s outer core is a layer of mostly molten metal that lies between the solid inner core and the mantle. This outer core primarily comprises liquid iron and nickel, with some other trace...
The outer core. This part of the core is also made from iron and nickel, just in liquid form. It sits some 5,180 to 2,880 kilometers (3,220 to 1,790 miles) below the surface. Heated largely by the radioactive decay of the elements uranium and thorium, this liquid churns in huge, turbulent currents.