Outer Core - Effect On Life

Effect On Life

Without the outer core, life on Earth would be very different. Convection of liquid metals in the outer core creates the Earth's magnetic field. This magnetic field extends outward from the Earth for several thousand kilometers, and creates a protective bubble around the Earth that deflects the solar wind. Without this field, a larger proportion of the solar wind would directly strike the Earth's atmosphere. The presumed effect would be to strip the Earth's atmosphere away slowly. This is hypothesized to have happened to the Martian atmosphere, rendering the planet effectively lifeless.

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Famous quotes containing the words effect on, effect and/or life:

    To speak impartially, the best men that I know are not serene, a world in themselves. For the most part, they dwell in forms, and flatter and study effect only more finely than the rest.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

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    Then farewell, world; thy uttermost I see;
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