In 1692, Edmond Halley, of Halley’s Comet fame, first discovered that the Earth’s geomagnetic field drifted westward.
He concluded that Earth must have two cores spinning at different speeds, but no one knew why.
Science later realized that the Earth’s inner core of solid iron (about the size of the moon) spins eastward, but the outer core of liquid iron rotates in the opposite direction—but at a slower pace.
The relationship between the two remained a mystery, however.
This year, scientists at Leeds University were able to use a supercomputer to simulate this relationship 100 times more accurately than ever before.
They found the difference can be explained in terms of equal and opposite action (Newton’s Third Law of Motion).
The magnetic field pushes one way on the outer core and the opposite way on the inner core, causing the differing rotations.
He concluded that Earth must have two cores spinning at different speeds, but no one knew why.
Science later realized that the Earth’s inner core of solid iron (about the size of the moon) spins eastward, but the outer core of liquid iron rotates in the opposite direction—but at a slower pace.
The relationship between the two remained a mystery, however.
This year, scientists at Leeds University were able to use a supercomputer to simulate this relationship 100 times more accurately than ever before.
They found the difference can be explained in terms of equal and opposite action (Newton’s Third Law of Motion).
The magnetic field pushes one way on the outer core and the opposite way on the inner core, causing the differing rotations.
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