Heat transfer & Earth's Interior

Indirect evidence of Earth's interior

Seismic waves produced from earthquakes and recorded on seismographs. Analyzed by seismologists that determined specific waves behave differently- S-waves travel through solids only; P-waves travel through solids & liquids. Speed of the waves & the paths they take reveal the structure of the interior & that it is made of layers.

nuclear fusion

Sun releases huge amounts of energy when hydrogen gas collides to form helium

Ultraviolet radiation

invisible form of energy that can cause sunburns; has wavelengths shorter than wavelengths for violet light

crust

layer of rock that forms Earth's outer shell that includes both ocean floor & dry land

asthenosphere

less rigid solid rock below the lithosphere that is somewhat soft where it can bend like plastic

core

made mostly of metals, iron and nickel

Insulators/ poor conductors

material that do not allowed heat energy to pass through them easily

Conductors

materials, such as metals, that allow heat energy to move through them easily

outer core

molten (liquid) metal that convects and surrounds the inner core

Infrared radiation

Can be felt as heat; has wavelengths that are longer than wavelengths of red light.

Magnetosphere

Earth's magnetic field hypothesized to be generated from the convecting liquid outer core. Magnetic field protects Earth's from solar winds.

Visible light

Form of electromagnetic radiation that includes all colors in a rainbow that have different wavelengths: red, orange, green, yellow, blue, and violet. Visible by humans.

convection currents in the mantle

Heat is transferred from Earth's interior causing heat to rise where solid mantle rock rises very slowing from the bottom of the mantle toward the top. Hot rock eventually cools and sinks back through the mantle. This cycle takes millions of years to occur.

Direct evidence of Earth's interior

Volcanic eruptions & rock samples

3 main layers of Earth's interior

crust, mantle, core

inner core

dense ball of solid metal due to extreme pressure and temperature

Radiation

direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves through space

Pressure

force pressing on an area

greenhouse effect

greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, etc..) absorb infrared (heat) radiation, which helps to keep Earth's atmosphere warm enough so living organisms can thrive

Relationship between pressure and depth in Earth's interior

pressure increases with depth due to weight of rock above

Convection

process by which heat is transferred by the movement of heated fluids (liquids or gases) where a hot, less dense fluid rises and a cold, more dense fluid sinks, forming a convection cell or current.

Types of electromagnetic radiation

radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light waves, ultraviolet waves, x-rays, gamma waves/rays

mantle

solid, hot rock that lies beneath the crust where some regions do have the ability to change shape due to heat transfer

Relationship between temperature and depth in Earth's interior

temperature increases with depth

Conduction

the transfer of heat through matter by direct contact (due to the movement of kinetic energy)

Thermal radiation

transfer of heat in the form of wave energy from a relatively warmer body outward to a cooler body

continental crust

type of crust that makes up the dry land or continents, made mostly of granite- light igneous rock, that is much thicker and is not recycled in the mantle

oceanic crust

type of crust that makes up the ocean floor that is much thinner due being denser and being able to be subducted into the mantle. It is made mostly of the rock basalt, dark igneous rock.

lithosphere

uppermost part of the mantle and crust that forms a rigid, cold layer that is above the asthenosphere