Re: Earth's Crystal Core

Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Sun, 09 Nov 1997 04:51:58 -0500


CALYK@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-10-29 14:08:29 EST, you write:
>
> << I seem to remember reading an article that stated that the very centre of
> the core was a massive crystal(I think of iron) How was this determined?
snipping...

> Sorry I'm being so vague... has anyone else read the
> article to which I am poorly alluding?
>
> Geoff.
> >>
>
> Hi, Ive read it somewhere too but cant recall why they think its a crystal.
> A majority of their knowledge comes from earthquakes and hydrogen/nuclear
> explosions, and I've read a different article (discover(y?) magazine) on how
> they now know from waves from things like that, that the surface of the outer
> core is very jagged, definately not smooth, but they didnt say anything about
> a crystal, so puting the two together I've always thought of the outer core
> to be a crystal and the inner core being a much denser crystal, and the
> mantle being an ocean with currents and such playing off the energies of the
> core. The dynamic relationship between the two crystals and the mantle must
> be very interesting.
>

TO put this all to rest, I spoke with my cousin, Andrew Lorrey, who is a
graduate Geology student at U Maine, Orino. He said that the outer core
is molten, but the inner core is solid iron/nickel with a smidgen of
heavy elements. The inner core is NOT a single crystal, but as a solid
does have a crystalline structure, which is decidedly different than a
single crystal.

-- 
TANSTAAFL!!!
			Michael Lorrey
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