Why do scientist believe that the Earth's core is metal?

Question

Why do scientist believe that the Earth's core is metal?

Answer 1

The temperature of the Earth's core is so hot that it would not be able to stay intact in the heat if it were not metal.

Answer 2

I herd it's all lava like and extreamly hot.

Answer 3

it's not metal....

Answer 4

because to have a magnetic/gravitational field, there must be a core of metal to the planet.

Answer 5

because they are scientists.

Answer 6

because there is a magnetic field that would support this theory

Answer 7

i concur withxXEm0愛PandAXx

Answer 8

its molten metal and its because when earth was in the process of formation it was completely molten so when we mix two liquids which do not mix with each other, the one heavier in weight settles at the bottom, so earth's core contains metal..

Answer 9

The points related to this are highlighted here: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/earth...

Answer 10

Well Earths core is made up of an inner and outer core one liquid and one solid .It consists (or so us scientist infer ) that its composed of iron and possibly nickel. They do not firmly believe at this very moment but wait about a million years and Im sure they can give an 100% answer !

Answer 11

Kat, it is lava like due to the extreme temperatures. However if that lava were be cooled you would find that it is actually metal.

Answer 12

withxXEm0愛PandAXx is the only one here with the right answer.

Although the chap talking about waves from earthquakes sounds reasonable, this has nothin to do with the core (the rise and fall of heat within the magma causes pressure on the shelves above - slips cause the waves, not the core).

Answer 13

Wow, lots of answers.

We know that the core of the earth is a solid because of seismic waves.  There are 2 main types, P waves and S waves.  Long story short, the speed of the waves tells us the density of the material, and the material in the inner core of the earth is too dense to be a liquid.  We know the outer core is liquid because S waves can't travel through it.

We know what types of metals because of proxy data from meteorites.  There are a majority of rocky meteorites, some mixed rock and metal, and some that are all metal.  These relate to the mantle, a mixing zone between the mantle and core, and the core.

Check out this website from the University of North Dakota http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/...

Answer 14

An analysis of the periodic table of elements indicates such.

Answer 15

They can tell because of the way that earthquake waves travel through the earth.

Think about a long spring. If you take one end and wiggle it up and down you get longitudinal waves traveling along the spring. If you push it in and out from one end to the other then you get compressional waves. If you twist it around one way and then the other then you'll get another type yet. As it turns out, these different types of waves travel through liquids and solids in different ways. Sometimes they pass, sometimes they get blocked, sometimes they reflect and sometimes they get modified.

When an earthquake occurs you get several different types of waves all emanating from the epicenter. By setting up seismographs all over the world scientists can determine which waves made it to each part by traveling through the earth's core. By building up a database of many readings they get an indication of the structure of the core. The speed that the waves travel give an indication of elemental composition, and this is backed up by additional evidence from things like volcanic emissions which bring material from below the crust to the surface.

For the most part, though, it's largely educated guesswork, and the exact nature of the earth's core remains unknown.

Answer 16

Scientists don't simply sit around and think up these things as in the word "believe" you used. Our understanding of Earth's interior actually comes from our understanding of seismic waves. P & S waves, or body waves are the result of an earthquake. P waves or primary waves can pass through liquids, S waves or secondary waves cannot. S waves cannot pass through the center of the Earth so that is how we know it is a liquid.

Secondly, Earth has a magnetic field surrounding it. When similar studies were done in lab, we learned that heavy metals like Iron in motion were capable of producing similar magnetic fields. Much more can be said about this but I'll finish there.