what is the purpose of magnetism in the center of the earth/other planets?

Question

what does magmetism do in the middle of the earth? what does magnetic pull or push do to the atmosphere? i heard that if we lived on mars, we'd be at risk of developing cancers because there is no magnetic field around mars that would protect us against radiation when the sun flared.

i'd like the most elaborate of answers, with examples and links that would show me drawings, for example, so that i can understand this.

also:

does gravity have anything to do with the protection of a planet from radiation? how so?

does magnetism inside of a planet have anything to do with gravity? how? why?

Answer 1

"...what does magmetism do in the middle of the earth?..."
It doesn't 'do' anything; that's where Earth's magnetic field is generated by currents, eddies, and other motions of Earth's molten core.

"...what does magnetic pull or push do to the atmosphere?..."
The magnetic field doesn't do anything *to* our atmosphere, but it does held shield us from high-energy particles (..mostly protons and electrons..) streaming in from the sun. Earth's magnetism interacts with this so-called solar wind to focus it into belts of radiation several hundred miles above the surface (..these belts are called the Van Allen Radiation Belts..)

"...i heard that if we lived on mars, we'd be at risk of developing cancers because there is no magnetic field around mars that would protect us against radiation when the sun flared..."
Yep, this is true. Mars has no planet-wide magnetic field to protect all of its surface from the solar wind, even though there are areas of magnetism on the planet.

"...does gravity have anything to do with the protection of a planet from radiation? how so?..."
Not directly, no. However, without enough gravity a planet can lose much if not all of its atmosphere because gravity does help hold a planetary atmosphere in place. Mars is a good example. Without a fairly thick atmosphere, the quantity of high-energy particles like cosmic rays can threaten surface life.

"...does magnetism inside of a planet have anything to do with gravity? how? why?..."
No, the two are completely unrelated. Gravity is strictly a function of mass which magnetism doesn't have.

Finally, here's a good website for more info, along with graphics ==>
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/magnetic.html

Answer 2

I will answer your question about Gravity by first giving you an example from another planet, let us use Uranus. Compared to Earth, the atmosphere of Uranus is virtually empty. Why is that? Its because of the difference in their gravitational pull. Uranus's gravitation is poor, thus most of the gases that should have formed its atmosphere escape to outer space. So, the answer to your question is "YES", gravity does help protect a planet from radiation. HOW? - Gravity holds the gases that form a planets atmosphere intact in space, without gravity there will be no atmosphere.

The answer to your question about Magnetism is NO. First of all, consider the fact that the earths Core is composed of hot and Molten iron/ metals. Second of all Consider the Magnetic Induction properties of metals (You know, rub two metals together and you have magnetism by induction). The metals in the earths core are fast moving and I believe there must be a great deal of Induction magnetization going on down there, giving rise to the earths magnetism and magnetic North Poles.
To cut it short, the answer is NO. Magnetism has nothing to do with gravity. Why? Because according to Newton, Gravitational attraction exists between two or more bodies (Wether metals or non metals) which means that there is a gravitational attraction between you and the computer you are using right now). However, the force of gravity is directly proportional to the MASS-Difference of a body, which means that The gravity between you and your computer is minimal because of your small masses.

Answer 3

If you ask for elaborate answers you should go and google yourself or read wikipedia. Asking for elaborate answers in a kind you did is extremely impertinent !! Think about the generousity of the people here, we are all answering voluntarily, not being paid for knowledge. And you dare asking for being elaborate? You may kneel and beg, but not be so impolite and impertinent, especially when asking 5 or even more questions in one ...

No gravity has nothing to do with protection from radiation.
Gravity has nothing to do with the magnetism of an object.
Besides our magnetism isn't in the middle of the Earth ... it'S just initiated there. And if you want to understand about the Earth's magnetism, then read your science book carefully and you will.

Answer 4

Magnetism is a byproduct of the rotation of an iron/nickle core. It has no actual affect on the atmosphere per say but it does deflect solar winds arround the planet which prevents it from the atmosphere from being stripped away, as well as the radaion we are constanly bathed in. No. No.

Answer 5

If the earth didn't have an iron core (and therefore no magnetic field) life would have never have developed because the magentic field protects us from Solar particles and harmful rays from outer space.

Answer 6

light rays reaching are electromagnetic radiation so you can easily judge that inter-reaction with magnetic Field & light rays the high energy light rays are deviated by magnteic feild & thus protect us & also from solor wind

Answer 7

magnetizum is the property of an eliment not gravity the moon has gravity but no magnetic feild.

Answer 8

the primary function of gravity is to attract other planets

Answer 9

The Earth's magnetic field is shaped roughly as a magnetic dipole, with the poles currently located proximate to the planet's geographic poles. The field forms the magnetosphere, which deflects particles in the solar wind. The bow shock is located about at 13.5 RE. The collision between the magnetic field and the solar wind forms the Van Allen radiation belts, a pair of concentric, torus-shaped regions of energetic charged particles. When the plasma enters the Earth's atmosphere at the magnetic poles, it forms the aurora.

Earth's magnetic field
The magnetosphere shields the surface of the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. It is compressed on the day (Sun) side due to the force of the arriving particles, and extended on the night side. (Image not to scale.)
Enlarge
The magnetosphere shields the surface of the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. It is compressed on the day (Sun) side due to the force of the arriving particles, and extended on the night side. (Image not to scale.)

Earth's magnetic field (and the surface magnetic field) is approximately a magnetic dipole, with one pole near the north pole and the other near the geographic south pole. An imaginary line joining the magnetic poles would be inclined by approximately 11.3° from the planet's axis of rotation. The cause of the field is probably explained by dynamo theory. The magnetic field extends several tens of thousands of kilometres into space as the magnetosphere.

Field characteristics

The field is similar to that of a bar magnet, but this similarity is superficial. The magnetic field of a bar magnet, or any other type of permanent magnet, is created by the coordinated spins of electrons and nuclei within iron atoms. The Earth's core, however, is hotter than 1043 K, the Curie point temperature at which the orientations of spins within iron become randomized. Such randomization causes the substance to lose its magnetic field. Therefore the Earth's magnetic field is caused not by magnetised iron deposits, but mostly by electric currents in the liquid outer core (as it spins, electrons tend to stay behind, thus producing a small current).

Another feature that distinguishes the Earth magnetically from a bar magnet is its magnetosphere. At large distances from the planet, this dominates the surface magnetic field. Electric currents induced in the ionosphere also generate magnetic fields. Such a field is always generated near where the atmosphere is closest to the Sun, causing daily alterations which can deflect surface magnetic fields by as much as one degree.

A magnetosphere is the region around an astronomical object in which phenomena are dominated or organized by its magnetic field. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the magnetized planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Mercury and Jupiter's moon Ganymede are magnetized, but too weakly to trap plasma. Mars has patchy surface magnetization. The term "magnetosphere" has also been used to describe regions dominated by the magnetic fields of celestial objects, e.g. pulsar magnetospheres.

cited at the end.

General properties

Two factors determine the structure and behavior of the magnetosphere: (1) The internal field of the Earth, and (2) The solar wind.

1. The internal field of the Earth (its "main field") appears to be generated in the Earth's core by a dynamo process, associated with the circulation of liquid metal in the core, driven by internal heat sources. Its major part resembles the field of a bar magnet ("dipole field") inclined by about 10° to the rotation axis of Earth, but more complex parts ("higher harmonics") also exist, as first shown by Gauss. The dipole field has an intensity of about 30,000-60,000 nanotesla (nT) at the Earth's surface, and its intensity diminishes like the inverse of the cube of the distance, i.e. at a distance of R Earth radii it only amounts to 1/R3 of the surface field in the same direction. Higher harmonics diminish faster, like higher powers of 1/R, making the dipole field the only important internal source in most of the magnetosphere.
2. The solar wind is a fast outflow of hot plasma from the sun in all directions. Above the sun's equator it typically attains 400 km/s; above the sun's poles, up to twice as much. The flow is powered by the million-degree temperature of the sun's corona, for which no generally accepted explanation exists as yet. Its composition resembles that of the Sun--about 95% of the ions are protons, about 4% helium nuclei, with 1% of heavier matter (C, N, O, Ne, Si, Mg... up to Fe) and enough electrons to keep charge neutrality. At Earth's orbit its typical density is 6 ions/cm3 (variable, as is the velocity), and it contains a variable interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) of (typically) 2-5 nT. The IMF is produced by stretched-out magnetic field lines originating on the Sun, a process described in the section on magnetic storms and plasma flows, referred to in what follows as simply MSPF.

Magnetic Tails
A view from the IMAGE satellite showing Earth's plasmasphere using its Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) imager instrument.
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A view from the IMAGE satellite showing Earth's plasmasphere using its Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) imager instrument.

A magnetic tail is formed by solar winds blowing electrified gases, plasma, trapped in a planet's magnetosphere away from the sun. The magnetic tail can extend great distances away from its originating planet. Earth's magnetic tail extends beyond the orbit of the Moon, while Jupiter's magnetic tail is believed to extend beyond the orbit of Saturn. The plasma in the tail is revolving, reaching the end of the tail and then folding back in on itself and returning to the planet it originated from.