What Happened to cause the earth to become layered?
Where do scientists think the heat in the early earth came from?
Links are appreciated. Thanks.
2007-09-25 11:11:11 · 7 answers · asked by HELP! 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The Earth is layered because of gravity. Denser material accumulated at the center of the still-molten earth, and progressively lighter material settled "above" it.
The heat in the early Earth came largely from the high-speed impacts of all the stuff the planet is made of. It was also generated by gravitational contraction and the decay of short-half-life radioactive material. Most of what we currently see is left over from those early sources (though cooled considerably), though an increasing proportion is generated by more recent radioactive decay of long-half-life material.
2007-09-25 12:27:47 · answer #1 · answered by skeptik 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well the earth is layered because in the core which is molten rock emitting heat, gases & lava. The further out from the center you get the cooler the temperature is. so each layer starts to cool down causing some layers like the crust to be solid rock not liquid iron like the center of our earth. With the constant pressure of gases & the outside layers the earth keeps its heat. in a billion years or so the earth core will no longer be liquid, which will cause the whole earth to be solid & will also eliminate our magnetic field which helps us reflect a majority of radiation from space. The earth will no longer be a hospitible place to live
2007-09-25 18:19:58 · answer #2 · answered by seamonkey_has_da_loot 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Earth is layered is the same reason why oil and water separates into layers. The light stuff rise to the top and the heavy stuff sink to the bottom. As to the heat, scientists are not sure why.
2007-09-25 19:04:16 · answer #3 · answered by zi_xin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the earth became layered from the cooling of the core. If i understand ur question right the heat of the core either came from compression and gravity.. or if you meant the chemicals from the combining of hydrogen and helium, this is how the sun makes its heat and how our early earth got started. forgive me if im wrong, just keep searching encyclopedias like answers.com
2007-09-25 18:21:26 · answer #4 · answered by bgmarketman 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Hi. The layering is obvious, but a lot -if not most - heat comes from radioactive decay.
2007-09-25 18:21:49 · answer #5 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
scientist arent really sure where the heat of the early earth cam from (probably from the big bang)
2007-09-25 18:15:37 · answer #6 · answered by omydorego 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
idk
2007-09-26 04:05:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋