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Scientists Detect Signs of a Hidden Structure Inside Earth's Core
- dredmorbius 6y agoI'd be interested to hear from someone with geological expertise what the likelihood of a dense inner core of fissible elements (uranium, plutonium, etc.), and/or their decay products (ultimately lead), within the iron-nickel inner core might be. I'm aware that radioactive decay from such heavy elements accounts for about half of the heat production within the Earth (the remainder being the legacy of gravitational potential energy of formation). But it's been unclear whether density differentials and plasticity are sufficient for heavier elements to sink within or remain distributed throughout the nickel-iron of the imputed interior.
- airhead969 6y agoAlso, how strong are the convective forces in those materials to upwell heavy elements? Can heavy elements circulate towards the crust?