The Earth's core is neither solid nor liquid as we have long believed, but something "grossly abnormal", scientists claim. In fact, they believe the Earth's core was formed from a mysterious mixture of elements that makes it somewhat solid and slightly liquid.
Professor He Yu of the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who led the research, said experts call this condition of the Earth's core a "superionic state".
Deep within the Earth's core lies a mixture of "lighter" elements, alongside extremely hot solid and liquid states. These include hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon molecules, which swirl in an area shaped like an iron lattice.
"This is very abnormal. The solidification of iron at the boundary of the inner core does not change the mobility of this light element, and light elemental convection continues in the inner core," Professor He Yu was quoted as saying by The Sun.
The temperature of the Earth's core is estimated to be over 5,500 degrees Celsius, which is roughly the same as the scorching heat that can be felt on the surface of the Sun.
Scientists cannot study the Earth's core directly to make their findings. So, they turned to another way by utilizing earthquake data.
However, the discovery left more questions than answers. Many questions make you more curious, wondering why is it like this? But at the very least, the research, published in the journal Nature, could provide new insights into Earth's magnetic field.
"I think more research is needed to elucidate other seismic features, such as seismic anisotropy, in the Earth's inner core," said Professor Yu.