Given that the majority of the Earth’s interior is over 1000 degrees Celsius, how does the planet maintain a relatively cool surface temperature, considering it has a thick atmosphere?

Question

Given that the majority of the Earth’s interior is over 1000 degrees Celsius, how does the planet maintain a relatively cool surface temperature, considering it has a thick atmosphere?

In: 58

Answer 1

For the same reason a baked potato left out for a few minutes can feel cool on the outside, but still burn you when you bite into it. An object’s surface radiates heat into its surroundings. If the object’s material conducts heat poorly, then heat radiates faster from the surface that it is replenished internally.

Rock is not a particularly good heat conductor, which is why Earth has a nice crispy outer layer.