While most of us take the ground beneath our feet for granted, written within its complex layers, like the pages of a book, ...

Then there is the outer core, made of liquid metal, and the inner core, a solid ball of metal. At least, that is what scientists thought. New research published in the journal Nature Geoscience ...

Scientists have known for a while that Mars currently lacks a magnetic field, and many blame that for its paltry atmosphere – ...

In the Earth (see image below right), the liquid metal that makes up the outer core passes through a magnetic field, which causes an electric current to flow within the liquid metal. The electric ...

New research published by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics offers a compelling explanation for the strange ...

Above the inner core is the outer core, a shell of liquid iron. This layer is cooler but still very hot, perhaps 7,200 to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (4,000 to 5,000 degrees Celsius). It too is ...

When a sodium-filled model of the Earth’s outer core spins at full speed, it could generate a dynamo. Courtesy Daniel P. Lathrop In a large, warehouse-like laboratory on the University of ...

Tectonic plates float on the semi-solid mantle, which moves very slowly as a result of convection currents driven by heat energy from the hot core. The outer core is liquid iron and nickel and ...

Did Mars once have a full magnetic field in its ancient past like Earth does today, or was it lopsided and only covered ...

Explain that the core is divided into two layers: solid inner core and liquid outer core. Ask students how scientists know about the liquid and solid nature of the two layers. Explain that seismic ...