Earth's Core Has Stopped Spinning, What Now?

Bright Side

What if the Earth's core suddenly stopped spinning? Well, that would be wild! The magnetic field protecting us from harmful space radiation could weaken or even disappear, making Earth a target for solar winds. This could mess with our technology, causing major disruptions in communication and navigation systems. Climate patterns could go haywire, leading to unpredictable weather and possibly more extreme natural disasters. It's a pretty scary thought, so let's be glad the Earth's core is still spinning!  Credit: Martian Dynamo: by NASA/JPL-Caltech CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martian_Dynamo.jpg Jupiter diagram: by Kelvinsong https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jupiter_diagram.svg Jupiter interior: by NASA/R.J. Hall https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jupiter_interior.png https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia02873 Jupiter's Magnetosphere: by Tom Bridgman/NASA https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4664/ Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00Tell me the truth. You probably think that Earth's magnetic field is caused by a big ball of solid iron in the middle of the planet, right?

00:10Yep, I mean the inner core. But the problem here is that in the inner core, the temperatures are so high that the very magnetism of iron itself is changed.

00:22Once such a temperature, which is called the Curie point, is reached, atoms aren't able to align to a magnetic point anymore.

00:31So, in reality, Earth's magnetic field is created by the swirling outer core, and magnetism there is more than 50 times greater than it is on the surface.

00:42The liquid iron in the outer core conducts electricity perfectly, which helps it create electrical currents driving the magnetic field.

00:52Without it, our planet wouldn't be able to hold onto its atmosphere.

00:57As a result, we'd lose our main protection from extremely dangerous space radiation.

01:03But it wasn't the outer core that surprised us not so long ago.

01:07Scientists say Earth's inner core has likely stopped rotating relative to the mantle and the surface of the planet.

01:15Even more exciting, it could even go into reverse.

01:19But let's look into the details.

01:21Earth is formed of the crust, mantle, and outer and inner cores.

01:26The solid inner core is about 3,200 miles below the crust.

01:32It's separated from the semi-solid mantle by the liquid outer core.

01:37Yep, the one thanks to which we have the magnetic field.

01:41And since this outer core is liquid, it allows the inner core to rotate at a speed different from the speed of our planet's rotation.

01:50Earth's core has a radius of 2,200 miles and is almost as large as Mars.

01:57It mostly consists of iron and nickel and makes up around one-third of Earth's mass.

02:02The spin of the inner core is powered by the outer core.

02:07It turns out that the slowing of the core started in 2009.

02:12Since that time, seismic records, which had previously been changing continuously, have shown little difference.

02:20And it makes scientists conclude that the inner core's rotation has paused.

02:25But we're nowhere near the scenario of a disaster movie.

02:29Apparently, the inner core taking a temporary break is part of its 70-year long cycle.

02:35During this cycle, the core switches directions every 35 years or so.

02:40This might influence Earth's magnetic field and the length of the day, but some researchers are skeptical about it.

02:48And some scientists even go as far to say that the inner core isn't moving at all.

02:53Okay, but what would happen if Earth's core indeed stopped rotating?

02:58Well, if it was the solid inner core, the answer would be nothing dramatic.

03:04Even if it didn't just reverse the direction of its movement, like it's doing at the moment, but stopped altogether,

03:11it would just impact the speed of Earth's rotation.

03:14It'd slow down, making our days longer.

03:18Plus, with time, it could probably degrade our planet's magnetic field, and it would be bad news.

03:25But not as bad as they would be if the outer core stopped spinning.

03:29As you already know, without this layer's rotation, Earth would have to kiss its magnetic field goodbye.

03:36And that's how the downfall of the planet would begin.

03:39Things would start getting shaky.

03:41The tectonic plates would begin to slam into each other.

03:45You know, like when you're going by bus and the driver suddenly hits the brakes,

03:49and you end up flying into other unfortunate passengers?

03:52Yeah, like that.

03:54The sudden collision of tectonic plates would trigger destructive earthquakes along the plate boundaries all over the world.

04:01They would wipe buildings, bridges, and roads off the face of the Earth.

04:06Water systems, electricity, and phone lines would also be destroyed.

04:11But the worst would be yet to come.

04:13Without the protective magnetic field, cosmic radiation would start hitting the surface of our planet.

04:19These high-energy particles coming from the Sun would come in contact with oxygen and nitrogen in our atmosphere,

04:26effectively destroying our ozone layer.

04:29This would allow even more cosmic rays to reach the surface of Earth.

04:34The radiation would damage all kinds of electronic devices and disable power grids.

04:40And the consequences would be disastrous not only for people, but for all forms of life on Earth.

04:47The stationary core would make navigating the planet more difficult.

04:51People would have to start using trail maps again since compasses would become useless.

04:57It would also make it harder, if not impossible, for migratory animals to find their way.

05:03Birds would keep losing directions, and turtles would fail to find beaches where they used to lay eggs.

05:09Luckily, we don't need to worry about this kind of apocalyptic scenario.

05:14The planet's outer core is very unlikely to stop anytime soon, if ever.

05:19Now, do you want to find out something cool?

05:22Then listen to this.

05:23Our planet's inner core has a core of its own!

05:27Scientists have made this discovery just recently.

05:30They've learned that this core in the core could have developed around 500 million years ago

05:35as a result of some dramatic geological changes.

05:39What about other planets?

05:41Do they have the same cores as Earth?

05:44Let's look at Mars, one of our planet's closest neighbors.

05:47Its heart is the size of the Moon.

05:50It's also almost twice as dense.

05:53Scientists made this conclusion after they got some data about the first observed Marsquake and meteorite impact.

06:01Both these events were captured by NASA's InSight lander,

06:05which had been monitoring seismic activity on the Red Planet for four years.

06:10The researchers also estimated that Mars' core is probably made mostly of a liquid iron alloy

06:17with a smattering of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon.

06:21One day, Mars probably had a nice rotating core that supported the planet's magnetic field.

06:27There could be warm oceans swarming with life.

06:30But then something must have happened, and on one terrible day, the Red Planet's core froze in place.

06:37It could have led to the weakening of Mars' once-strong magnetic field.

06:42Its atmosphere was taken away by powerful solar winds,

06:46hitting the planet at a speed of several hundred miles per hour,

06:50and the Red Planet turned into a lifeless, dry desert.

06:54Now, what about gas giants?

06:57Let's take the largest and the most massive planet in the solar system, Jupiter.

07:02It's twice as massive as all other planets of the solar system combined.

07:07Almost 1,300 Earths could fit into this huge thing.

07:11Jupiter also has the shortest day in the solar system.

07:15It lasts a mere 10 Earth hours.

07:19At the same time, the gas giant needs 12 Earth years to complete an orbit around the Sun.

07:25Jupiter most likely appeared at the same time when the rest of our solar system formed,

07:30about 4.5 billion years ago.

07:33Probably the coolest thing about this gas giant is that it has the same ingredients as a star.

07:40But unfortunately, or should I say luckily, it hasn't grown massive enough to ignite.

07:47Scientists don't know for sure what Jupiter's core looks like.

07:51According to most theories, the gas giant has a dense core made up of heavy elements.

07:57During its formation, it was probably a collection of debris, icy material,

08:02and other small objects like comets and asteroids zipping around.

08:06Thanks to their mutual gravity, these bits of matter clumped together,

08:11forming larger chunks which later turned into Jupiter's core.

08:15At one point, it became massive enough to start attracting hydrogen and helium.

08:20More and more gases accumulated around the core until what we today know as Jupiter appeared.

08:28There's also a possibility that Jupiter doesn't have a core at all,

08:32or it might have existed once, but since then, it's eroded away.

08:36Hopefully, we'll find out the answers to these questions soon enough,

08:40since Juno, NASA's space probe, is orbiting Jupiter,

08:45collecting data about its gravitational and magnetic fields.

08:49So, what about the gas giant's magnetic field, you may ask?

08:54Does it even exist?

08:56Oh, don't worry.

08:57Jupiter is surrounded by a ginormous magnetic field called the magnetosphere.

09:06That's it for today.

09:07So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

09:12Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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