Eli5: How does the core of the Earth (or any planets) not cool and still give off tons of heat energy? Where is this energy coming from?

Question

Eli5: How does the core of the Earth (or any planets) not cool and still give off tons of heat energy? Where is this energy coming from?

In: 202

Answer 1

The core of the Earth (or any other planet) is still hot because of the energy generated by the process of radioactive decay. This process involves unstable atoms breaking down and releasing energy in the form of heat.