ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — Earth’s outer core is a spinning, molten mass that generates the electromagnetic shield that protects all life on Earth. When the outer core cools and becomes solid, Earth will die like Mars died. So it is quite significant that researchers recently found that the core is losing its heat faster than previously thought.

Here is what they found.

Deutsche Welle reports that scientists have found that the Earth might be losing its precious heat much faster than previously estimated.

In a study published in the journal Science Direct, researchers say they found evidence that the structure of minerals in the Earth’s core is better at radiating the core’s heat outward than previously thought.

In order to simulate conditions in the Earth’s core, the scientists had to create a mineral called bridgmanite, which only exists in the inner parts of the planet — even though it is the most abundant mineral inside Earth.

To artificially create a synthetic version of the mineral, the scientists used a diamond anvil cell.

A mineral sample is placed in a small chamber, where it is compressed by diamond walls from all sides.

At the same time, the sample is heated by a laser that shines through the diamond.

By studying the synthetic bridgmanite, scientists found that the mineral’s thermal conductivity was 1.5 times higher than previously estimated, suggesting that radiative thermal conductivity plays a bigger role in the process of heat extraction from Earth.

Helen Williams, a geochemist at the University of Cambridge told Deutsche Welle that even if the Earth is cooling faster, it won't have an impact on the current climate crisis. She said: “This is planetary cooling taking place on billion-year timescales, whereas the current human-made global heating is taking place on decade timescales.”

SOURCES: Deutsche Welle, Science Direct, Weather.com
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