The Density Of The Earth. The study of the planet

The Land is part of the Solar system, located at a distance of 149,8 million kilometers from the Sun and is the fifth in size among the other planets.

A Little about planet Earth

The Velocity of a celestial body around the Sun is 29,765 km/s. a Full rotation it makes the 365.24 solar days.Our planet Earth has one satellite. That's The Moon. It is orbiting our planet at a distance of 384 400 km. Mars has two satellites, Jupiter has sixty seven. The average radius of our planet is 6371 km, while it is similar to ellipsoid, slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator.

Mass and density of the Earth

It is the mass of 5.98*1024 kg, and the average density of Earth is 5.52 g/cm³. At the same time, the rate of the earth's crust is in the range of 2.71 g/cm³. From this it follows that the density of planet Earth is greatly increased toward the depth. This is due to the peculiarity of its structure.

For the First time, the average density of the Earth was defined by Newton, who found her in the amount of 5-6 g/cm³. Its chemical composition is similar to the planets of terrestrial group, such as Venus and Mars and the mercury. Soil composition: iron - 32%, oxygen 30%, silicon 15%, magnesium 14%, sulfur 3%, Nickel 2%, calcium 1,6% aluminium and 1.5%. For the remaining elements in the sum accounts for about 1.2%.

Our planet-the blue traveler in space

The Presence of the Earth near the Sun affects the presence of those or other chemical substances both in liquid and gaseous state. Due to this diverse composition of the Earth, formed the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. The atmosphere mostly consists of a mixture of gases: nitrogen and oxygen 78% and 21% respectively. And carbon dioxide is 1.6% and trace amounts of inert gases such as helium, neon, xenon, and others.

Hydrosphere of our planet consists of water and occupies 3/4 of its surface. The land — the only known planet of the Solar system has a hydrosphere. Water played a crucial role in the process of the emergence of life on Earth. Thanks to its circulation and high heat capacity of the hydrosphere balances the climatic conditions at different latitudes and forms the climate of the planet. It represents the oceans, rivers and groundwater. A solid part of our planet consists of sedimentary formations, granite and basalt layers.

Structure of the Earth and its structure

The Earth and other terrestrial planets, has a layered internal structure. In its center is the nucleus. Next is the mantle, which occupies a large part of the planet, and then the crust. Between the formed layers differ in composition. For the period of existence of our planet over 4.5 billion years old, more heavy rock and elements under the influence of gravity penetrate farther and farther into the center of the Earth. Other items are lighter, remained closer to the surface.

The Complexity and inaccessibility of exploration

Very difficult to penetrate deep into the Earth. One of the deep wells drilled on the Kola Peninsula. Its depth is 12 kilometers.
The distance from the surface to the center of the planet is more than 6,300 kilometers.

Use indirect research tools

From the depths of our planet, placed at a considerable depth, analyze the results of the seismic survey. Every hour in different parts of the Earth occurs in about ten oscillations of its surface. Based on these data, thousands of seismic stations are conducting a study of wave propagation during an earthquake. These fluctuations are exactly the same as the ripples from a thrown object. When the wave gets more compacted, its speed is drastically affected. Using this data, scientists were able to determine the boundary of the inner shells of our planet. In the structure of the Earth there are three main layers.

The crust and its properties

The Upper shell of the Earth is the crust. Its thickness can vary from 5 kilometers in oceanic areas up to 70 kilometers in the mountainous regions of the mainland. In relation to the entire planet, this shell is no thicker than an egg shell, and beneath it a raging underground fire. Echoes of deep processes occurring in the bowels of the Earth, which we observe in the form of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes cause great destruction.

The crust is the only layer that is available to people for life, and full investigations. Crustal structure under continents and oceans.

The Continental crust occupies a much smaller area of the earth's surface, but has a more complicated structure. She has been under the sedimentary layer of the exterior granite and lower basalt layers. In the continental crust Dating of older rocks, the age of which almost two billion years.

The Oceanic crust is more thin, only about five miles, and contains two layers: a lower basalt and upper sedimentary. The age of oceanic rocks no more than 150 million years. This is the layer where life could exist.

The Mantle and what we know about her

Beneath the crust lies a layer called the mantle. The boundary between it and the bark is quite sharply marked. She is called the layer of Mohorovich, and it can be detected at a depth of about forty kilometers. The boundary of Mohorovich consists mainly of basalts and silicates in the solid state. With the exception of some “lava pockets”, which are in liquid form.

Thickness of the mantle is almost three thousand kilometers. The same layers are discovered on other planets. At this boundary there is a clear increase in seismic velocities from is 7.81 to 8.22 km/s. the Mantle is divided into upper and lower components. The boundary between the Geosphere is the layer of Galitsin, which is located at a depth of about 670 km.

How to create knowledge about the mantle?

At the beginning of the 20th century extensively discussed the border of Mohorovich. Some researchers believed that there is a metamorphic process by which rocks are formed with high density. Other scholars have explained the sharp increase in the velocity of seismic waves change the composition of rocks from relatively mild to more severe types.

Now this view is considered fundamental in understanding and research methods of the processes occurring inside the planet. The very mantle of the Earth directly inaccessible to direct research because of deep-lying, and she never comes to the surface.
Therefore, the information obtained geochemical and geophysical methods. In General, reconstruction using existing sources is quite a challenging task.
Gown, receiving radiation from the center, heated from 800 degrees up to 2000 degrees around the nucleus. It is assumed, in fact, that the substance of the mantle is in continuous motion.

What is Earth's density in the region of the mantle?

The density of the Earth within the mantle reaches about 5.9 g/cm³. The pressure increases with increasing depth and may reach 1.6 million atmospheres. In determining the temperature in the mantle of the scholars ' opinions are not unequivocal and somewhat controversial, 1500-10000 degrees Celsius. Such is the prevailing opinion in the scientific circles.

The closer to the center, the hotter it is

In the center of the Earth is placed the core. Its upper part is at a depth of 2900 km from the surface (the outer core) and is about 30% of the total mass of the planet. This layer has the properties of a viscous liquid and electrical conductivity. Contains about 12% sulfur and 88% iron. On the border of the core and of the mantle sharply increases the density of the Earth and reaches about 9.5 g/cm³. At a depth of approximately 5100 km recognize its inner part, the radius of which is about 1260 kilometers, and the mass is 1.7% of the total mass of the planet.

The Pressure at the center is so enormous that iron, and Nickel, which have to be liquid, are in the solid state. According to research, the center of the Earth is a place with surextremely conditions with a pressure of 3.5 million atmospheres and temperatures above 6000 degrees.

In this regard, iron-Nickel alloy becomes liquid, despite the fact that the melting point of such metals equal 1450-1500 degrees Celsius. Due to the huge pressure in the center of the mass and density of the Earth is large enough. One cubic decimeter of a substance weighs about twelve and a half pounds. This is a unique and the only place where the density of the planet is much higher than in any other layer.

To Reveal all the mechanisms of interaction inside the Earth would be not only interesting but also useful. We would have understood the formation of various minerals and their location. Perhaps complete they would understand the mechanism of occurrence of earthquakes, which would give an opportunity to warn them. Today, they are unpredictable and bring much death and destruction. Accurate knowledge of the convection flows and their interaction with the lithosphere may shed light on this issue. Therefore, future scientists have a long, interesting and useful work for humanity.