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Earth's Core Far Hotter Than Thought

Posted by timothy on from the might-as-well-be-walking-on-the-earth dept.

hessian writes "New measurements suggest the Earth's inner core is far hotter than prior experiments suggested, putting it at 6,000C — as hot as the Sun's surface. The solid iron core is actually crystalline, surrounded by liquid. But the temperature at which that crystal can form had been a subject of long-running debate. Experiments outlined in Science used X-rays to probe tiny samples of iron at extraordinary pressures to examine how the iron crystals form and melt."

13 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. Oh noes! by funwithBSD · · Score: 5, Funny

    Global warming has reached the core!

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    Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
    1. Re:Oh noes! by flibbidyfloo · · Score: 5, Funny

      He was talking in Fahrenheit degrees. I believe 6000 C is approximately equal to 2,000,000 F. At least if I remember what I learned from the American education system :)

    2. Re:Oh noes! by roc97007 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Q: "How many tree-huggers does it take to change a lightbulb?"

      A: "That's not funny!"

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      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    3. Re:Oh noes! by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Funny

      That core is so hot right now.

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    4. Re:Oh noes! by NatasRevol · · Score: 3, Funny

      Close enough.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    5. Re:Oh noes! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Funny

      Could you clarify? I certainly wouldn't wand some random stranger on the internet thinking poorly of me.

    6. Re:Oh noes! by pclminion · · Score: 3, Funny

      In physics, being wrong by a couple orders of magnitude is no big deal. Call me back when he's off by 10^20.

  2. Trip Planning by ButtonMashingGorilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thank goodness I saw this article. I have been planning my trip to the Inner Core, but my unobtanium suit is only rated for 5500C

  3. I can just see the creationists by Chrisq · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can just see the creationists saying "we always knew hell was down there"!

  4. only 1800F degrees by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Big deal. That's like the difference between December and July in the Midwest.

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  5. Re:That means by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just book a cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines. They offer cruises to Hell.

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  6. Re:So is Gwyneth Paltrow by mrbester · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's because everybody tends to use the metric Helen (1k ship launching capability) instead of the more accurate Troy Helen (1.186k ships)...

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  7. Re:I call BS by dpidcoe · · Score: 3, Funny

    For all we know Earth is dirt all the way down

    Are you sure it's dirt and not turtles?