The Earth's inner core grows by roughly a millimetre a year as molten iron freezes onto it, and that slow crystallisation releases the energy that stirs the outer core and keeps the planet's magnetic
A recent scientific study has clarified the process by which Earth's inner core grows by approximately one millimeter per year. This crystallization of molten iron is essential for maintaining the planet's magnetic field.
Why it matters
Understanding the core's growth provides insight into the fundamental geological processes that protect Earth's atmosphere from solar wind.
Roughly 5,150 kilometres beneath the soles of your shoes, at a boundary where pressure reaches around 330 gigapascals and temperatures rival the surface of the Sun, molten iron is freezing onto a solid ball the size of the Moon at a rate of about a millimetre a year.
The article is a purely scientific report based on academic research.
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