The temperature of the earth's surface is not very high, it is very comfortable, and it breeds a variety of life, but under our feet-the core of the earth, it is an extremely hot place. The temperature at
may exceed 6,800 degrees Celsius, which is higher than the surface temperature of the sun.
drives the movement of the earth's plates and the earth's magnetic field requires huge energy, which comes from the high-temperature core of the earth. The huge energy loss causes the core of the earth to cool down one day.
Actually, Mars once had a high-temperature core, but it cooled down.
So the question is, how long will it take for the core of the earth to cool down?
Before we can learn more about this problem, we must first know where the heat from the core comes from?
What makes the center of the earth warm?
billions of years ago, in the early stage of the solar system, billions of rocks collided and stuck together for thousands of years, and finally formed the later earth.
However, every collision will bring more energy (because of friction), causing our planet to heat up. For a long time after the formation of the planet, the earth was consuming this heat. At that time, the earth was full of volcanoes. activity.
Until today, 6371 kilometers below the earth’s crust, the earth’s core continues to release heat from these collisions. This is one reason the earth’s core is so hot; another source of heat is the nuclear fuel that naturally exists inside the planet.
In fact, a large number of natural radioactive materials exist in the depths of the earth, and only a small part exists around the crust. These radioactive materials will release heat during the natural decay process. The main factor that guarantees the high temperature of the earth's core is the combination of these two energies, the original energy left over from the formation of the earth and the nuclear energy of natural radioactive decay.
Obviously, these two "fuels" are limited, and they have lasted for nearly 4.6 billion years.
How long can the earth’s fuel be used? A 1993 study by
showed that the earth loses heat with a power of 44×10^12 watts [1], but no one knows how much of this lost heat comes from raw energy and how much comes from radioactive energy.
In fact, there are many scientific models that can estimate how much "fuel" is left to drive the earth's engines, but these results vary greatly and it is difficult to draw a final conclusion.
In general, it is not clear how much raw and nuclear energy is left in the core of the earth, so it is impossible to predict how long they will last.
If the earth’s heat is mainly raw heat, its cooling rate will be much faster; if most of the heat generation is due to radioactive decay, then the earth’s heat may last longer.
However, some scientists believe that results will be obtained by 2025, thanks to the rapid development of modern technology and the construction of some large-scale neutrino detectors, including the Jinping Laboratory underground in Sichuan, China.
These detectors will help researchers detect Earth neutrinos (the smallest subatomic particle known to the scientific community, ), which is a by-product of nuclear reactions occurring in stars, supernovae, black holes, and man-made nuclear reactors. It is difficult for
to capture these particles, but through the Earth's neutrino data collected within a few years, researchers can accurately know how much radioactive energy is on the earth, which will tell us the earth's past consumption rate and future fuel budget.
What happens if the core of the earth cools?
Although no one knows when the energy of the earth's core will be consumed, but if it is really consumed, after the earth's core cools down, the earth will no longer be suitable for life.
The rotation of the earth causes the liquid iron and nickel in the outer core to move around the metal ball in the inner core. This movement is like a huge generator, which generates a huge magnetic field and extends into space. The
magnetic field forms an insurmountable barrier in space-the Van Allen belt, which prevents the fastest and most energetic particles from the sun (the charged particles of the solar wind) from reaching the earth.
It is this kind of protection that allows life on the surface of the earth to multiply. If the core of the earth cools, the earth’s magnetic field will alsoDisappear, when the violent solar wind will strip the earth’s atmosphere.
The earth at that time will be as desolate as the Mars photos you see now, lifeless and unsuitable for living things.
Finally, when
talks about the cooling of the core, we have to mention Mars. If transforms Mars , the most important thing is to solve its magnetic field problem. There are many theoretical solutions to
, but in summary there are two: either an artificial magnetic field or the igniting of the core. Whichever option
chooses, huge energy is needed. Obviously, there is nothing we can do.
However, most researchers remain optimistic that the "fuel" of the earth's core should be a bit more durable than the "fuel" of the sun, which means that the earth's core should not cool down before the sun expands to the orbit of Mars and destroys the earth.
Reference:
[1]Henry N. Pollack Suzanne J. Hurter Jeffrey R. Johnson .Heat flow from the Earth&39;s interior: Global dataset analysis. onlinelibrary.1993.8
