: The earth’s inner core is 9,800° F, almost as hot as the sun. Why is the core solid? Shouldn’t the iron and nickel liquify?

Question

I also read that it may be somewhere between solid and liquid in a “superionic” state. But I don’t really understand what they mean. Is there an animated video of this hypothesis?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Iron and nickel would be liquid at that temperatures *in atmospheric pressure*, i.e. if it was on the surface of the Earth.

However, with thousands of kilometres of rock (some of it molten) on top of it, it is under a lot of pressure, and under these circumstances the same materials are not liquid any more.