Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The temperature of the earth's innards

On the physical properties of bodies, if such exceptional circumstances, we have no idea. Based on laboratory studies, we can only say that the temperature of the Earth's core lies above the critical temperatures of all bodies. As we already know, this is called the critical temperature at which the gaseous body can not be translated into a liquid state even at very high pressures. Hence, if the interior temperature of the earth is calculated correctly - the Earth's core, despite the high pressure, can not be a liquid: it is a special form of the gaseous state, which can be called supercritical, and for all its density possesses the property of gases to fill the space in which it located. In the center of the Earth all the chemical states must be expanded, and the elements in a free state, the direction of the surface pressure decreases, and chemical compounds are formed again. Around the nucleus, which has the supercritical temperature is, apparently, gas shell, it gradually turns into a liquid mass, then placed a plastic substance that is a transition to the solid crust (the lithosphere). This idea of ??a terrestrial insides, of course, is not devoid of a hypothetical nature, but it satisfies the physicists and to some extent facilitates the geologists explanation of volcanic phenomena and processes of mountain building. Nucleus, located in the supercritical state, must possess a high density, and therefore this theory in its main features coincides with the views of Thomson, who admits the existence of the solid Earth's core. In retrospect, we can ask whether the large amount of positive knowledge about the state of our earth's innards, unfortunately, it is very modest. Based on what has been said we can come to one undeniable conclusion that either by mathematical analysis, by means of physical and geological speculations can not achieve the result, if all of the studies will not go hand in hand with the observations. Of course, the latter being a lot of difficulties, require a lot of time and patience, but an immeasurable advantage of the fact that all the conclusions, obtained by induction, have an undeniable value. Hopefully, the observations of the tides, the experiments with a horizontal pendulum, the study of phenomena of the procession and measuring the Earth's gravity over time will allow us to higher accuracy than now to talk about the physical properties of the crust and the status of the interior of the globe.

No comments:

Post a Comment