the core of the earth is believed to consist of 88.8 of oxygen.
the core of the earth is believed to consist of 88.8 of oxygen.
the core of the earth is believed to consist of 88.8 of what?
oxygen
metallic or native iron is rarely found on the surface of the earth because it tends to oxidize. however, both the earth's inner and outer core, that account for 35% of the mass of the whole earth, are believed to consist largely of an iron alloy, possibly with nickel. electric currents in the liquid outer core are believed to be the origin of the earth's magnetic field. the other terrestrial planets (mercury, venus, and mars) as well as the moon and are believed to have a metallic core consisting mostly of iron. the m-type asteroids are also believed to be partly or mostly made of metallic iron alloy.
iron
the earth has an observed magnetic field generated within its metallic core. the earth has a 5–10% mass deficit for the entire core and a density deficit from 4–5% for the inner core. the fe/ni value of the core is well constrained by chondritic meteorites. sulfur, carbon, and phosphorus only account for ~2.5% of the light element component/mass deficit. no geochemical evidence exists for including any radioactive elements in the core. however, experimental evidence has found that potassium is strongly siderophile when dealing with temperatures associated with core-accretion, and thus potassium-40 could have provided an important source of heat contributing to the early earth's dynamo, though to a lesser extent than on sulfur rich mars. the core contains half the earth's vanadium and chromium, and may contain considerable niobium and tantalum. the core is depleted in germanium and gallium. core mantle differentiation occurred within the first 30 million years of earth's history. inner core crystallization timing is still largely unresolved.
planetary core