Why Is the Centre of the Earth Hot

The center of the Earth is hot because of three main reasons:

• The heat from when the earth formed, which still exists.
• Frictional heat caused by core material in the interior of the earth.
• The heat from the decay of radioactive elements.

The Earth is similar to the other planets in the solar system and went through a violent start during its creation. It was formed by the process of accretion. Some areas in space are called “planetary nurseries”. They contain gas, dust, and different elements. When the pressure increases inside of them and combined with potential ‘triggers’ (such as old (stars) that blow up). As a result, all of the contents exploded outside, and that caused the creation of stars. During the accretion of stars and planets, a large amount of energy was released. This energy made the earth’s center part hot.

After the formation of our solar system, due to gravity, meteorites were attracted to each other and created the biggest object. This object attracted huge masses until our planet transformed into the current size and shape. The entire process required a lot of heat when objects crashed into each other and heat generated.

The main recourse of producing heat is the decay of radioactive elements. Radioactive decay is a natural process where unstable elements such as uranium or potassium stabilize over a period of time and generate some elements such as Lead, Uranium, Argon for potassium. This complete process generates heat, which states 90% of the heat in the center of the Earth.

Still, wondering why is the core of the Earth hot? The heat and chemicals started growing and became strong. Hence it produced radioactivity that made the interior of the earth like a “heat engine.”

Earth’s core Temperature

The core temperature of the earth is in between 4,400° Celsius (7,952° Fahrenheit) to about 6,000° Celsius (10,800° Fahrenheit). Earth’s inner core temperature is about 5,200 degrees Celsius (in Fahrenheit -9,392°). The inner core temperature is beyond the melting point of iron.

Do you know? The heat from the interior of the earth is constantly changing. It continues to produce heat.