The Earth's Core is Cube-shaped?

That's what a bunch of scientists from the Uppsala University in Sweden are claiming.

Rubik's Cube In Center Of Earth? Computer Simulations Support New Model Of Earth's Core

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2008) — Swedish researchers have presented evidence to support their new theory about the structure of the earth's core. The findings may be of significance for our understanding of the cooling down of the earth, and of the stability of the earth’s magnetic field.

It has long been known that the inner core of the earth, a sphere consisting of a solid mass with a radius of about 1,200 km, is mainly made up of iron. However, seismic observations have shown that elastic waves pass more rapidly through this core in directions that are parallel to the earth’s axis of rotation than in directions parallel to the equator­-a phenomenon that has not been previously explained. At the high temperatures that prevail in the core of the earth, these waves should pass at the same speed regardless of their direction.

[...]

“We found that the body-centered cubic structure of iron is the only structure that could correspond to the experimental observations,” says Börje Johansson, professor of condensed-matter theory at Uppsala University.

That's wild! Would a spinning cube explain the weird magnetic fields related to spots like the Bermuda Triangle?

It makes sense seeing as the universe is self-similar on all scales. From a grain of sand to the center of the earth, the basic shapes reiterate themselves.

A cube spinning fast enough would take on the appearance of a cylinder. A cylinder, situated at an angle, spinning fast enough takes on the appearance of a sphere.

The vortex seems to be the motor that drives existence.

That's bizarre, what process would create a cube ?

I think the general theory regarding planet formation is accretion and I had always thought of that as a sphere, even irregular shaped moons have smooth edges.

I look forward to the theories offered by the scientists to explain this

The core is round as the Earth is round; because of gravity acting upon it from the Sun.

End of.

While I find this interesting, I am somewhat skeptical. This would also change existing models of the formation of planets in general IMHO. When matter accumulates in zero gravity, they naturally form spheres. That is because the attraction of matter is equal in all directions. That would also be true for iron in the center of the Earth, even though it is surrounded by slightly lighter material around it.

I think there would also be a problem with how the core generates the magnetic field by spinning slightly faster than the outer crust. It would also show up in the magnetic field with points of concentration at the corners, but we don't see that pattern. Instead of one devils triangle, we would have 8 equidistant points.

However, we have seen examples of strange shapes in nature, like the hexagon shaped clouds of Saturn, so I will keep my mind open to possibilities.

interesting read.


isn't there a 'metatron' cube in kabbalism? what about those energon cubes or the allspark in Transformers? or the cube in Hellraiser?

Our planet is not round. It's the result of a billion years reshaping process.

Can anyone say our planet has only been spheric?

Also, I think the idea of crystallization is not that awkward. Since the planet started to cool down the nucleus, if it is mainly composed of iron, may assume an iron crystal shape.

www.webelements.com...

Hoagland, as crazy as he sounds to many including me at times, is onto something with his hyperdimensional physics. I wonder if those points of the cube are at 33.5 degrees or whatever the number is.

I would ask the reader to look at the hexagon on Saturns pole(s?). We are about to make some pretty giant leaps if we can avoid destroying ourselves.

Peace

Gravitational field of the Earth has been mapped with great precision due to its importance in various crucial problems facing humanity, e.g. sending nukes onboard ICBM half way around the globe in order to incinerate some people somewhere. The precision of such measurement is such that they see a "dip" in the satellites' trajectories when the satellites are passing over the Himalayas, which just happen to be heavy and protruding some 24,000 ft into the atmosphere.

It is hard to imagine that the effects of a heavy cube-shaped core of the Earth would go uinnoticed in these and similar measurements.

reply to post by novrod


That was my thought, that the intense pressure or other effects could create something crystalline in nature.

I suppose it might make more sense if it was a bit rounder geometric shape like a hexagon or the like.

Here's a site which shows a CNN report from 1996 where a crystalline iron core was theorized, but not in this shape. (the site is not strictly all scientific so I can't vouch for this report, but it is of interest and gives the scientist's name)

Here's an interesting couple quotes:

The scientists have learned that the Earth's core is turning in an eastward direction and spinning faster than the Earth itself. Every 400 years, the core is a full turn ahead of the Earth.
...
They estimate the core moves about 100,000 times faster than the movements of the Earth's tectonic plates.

This information about the Earth's core may shed new light on how the Earth works. For starters, the core's motion could help explain why magnetic north and south periodically wander or reverse over Earth's history.

Here's another cool site on this which confirms Xiaodong Song's Theory quoted above. He's was a geologist at the U of Illinois.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH,

That is nonsense, firstly the article states,

“We found that the body-centered cubic structure of iron is the only structure that could correspond to the experimental observations,” says Börje Johansson, professor of condensed-matter theory at Uppsala University"


"Body-centered cubic" refers to the arraingment of iron atoms within the crystaline latice, not the actual shape of the earths core.



What the researcher is talking about is that if the core is iron, then it would take a body-centered-cubic arraingment for the crystaline structure, to account for the difference in the speed of propgation of seismic waves.

It does not say anywhere that the core is cubic in shape


They are barking up the wrong tree, the core is a uranium ball 5 mi. in dia. that is surrounded by a nickle/ iron/silicon outer core, and new evidence points strongly in that direction.
Uranium decay accounts nice for the continued heat output of the core and keeps the outer core molten.
Molten metals moving generate electrical fields, which in turn generate magnetic fields. These magnetic fields guide the convective movments of the molten outer core and thusly the mantle.







[edit on 11-2-2008 by punkinworks]

reply to post by Badge01


The uranium core theory does well to explain the differences in the magnetic field. The inner core rotates opposite in direction to the outer core. This movement of molten metals past each other generates the intense electromagnetic fields of the earth.
Periodic build up of uranium silicide at the inner/outer core boundry explains the phenomenon of field weakining/reversal. Observational data closely matches with mathematical models and computer simulations, based on this theory.

Originally posted by punkinworks
What the researcher is talking about is that if the core is iron, then it would take a body-centered-cubic arraingment for the crystaline structure, to account for the difference in the speed of propgation of seismic waves.

It does not say anywhere that the core is cubic in shape

I was thinking that might be the case. I wasn't so sure what they meant by "body-centered cubic". This image I got from wiki didn't really help clear the confusion either:



So I guess the 'Rubiks cube' analogy is closer to the accurate description?

By the way, do you have a link to the uranium core theory? I've only heard about it on Discovery (and I don't trust stuff I see on TV).

I don't see how they can honestly be sure of any of this, considering nobody can actually see the core. At this point, it's all just theory based on experiments and measurements that may or may not be accurate.

Maybe there's a giant brain in the center of the Earth, or a giant CPU or something. We don't really know. We can only make educated guesses.

Absolutely phenominal. That is so cool. I love it when smart people think up such wonderful theories. What if the cube has "Made by Intel" on it? Very strange, yeah Hoagland is lovin this I'm sure. Too bad Sagan isn't around to comment on this, nice find.

The core is round as the Earth is round; because of gravity acting upon it from the Sun.

The Earth is round because of the gravity acting upon itself. The constant pressure of gravity is pushing down on itself equally. This same theory is why bubbles are round. Air, instead of gravity, is pushing outward equally in all directions.

This seems farfetched.

Hi,

You're comment really made me wonder if the angle was coincident with the 33.5º angle you've mentioned.

After half an hour searching (I'm getting old, I used to know this when I was in high school) , I managed to find the basics:

eaps3.iap.tuwien.ac.at...

Iron can have two crystallographic modifications:

* Body centered cubic (bcc) iron, also called alpha iron or the ferritic phase, and
* face centered cubic (fcc) iron, also called gamma iron or the austenitic phase.



According to this website this iron forms can have to bond angles:



False alarm stikkinikki

[edit on 02/11/2008 by novrod]

The point is we really don't know.

With our current knowledge we can only assume it is spheric but the truth is we cannot confirm it.

It someone can actually prove it otherwise I'll be glad to consider it and I'll not dismiss it immediately.

Other possibilities (assuming anything is possible):

A Borg-like ship, in order to hide form their pursuers long ago, could have parked it here, activated some kind of gravity drive, and pulled nearby debris towards them - concealing themselves with the rubble of a recently destroyed planet. Their pursuers somehow pinpointed their location and placed a force field around the planet (the Van-Allen Belt) so they can never escape. Still they wait. Once they have the technology to break through the force field, they'll expulse the mantle & crust and return home - leaving us floating amongst the rubble wondering what just happened...

...Or, given that they're Swedish researchers, this could be an Ikea promotion for their new space-saving cubicle range.

Indeed, the original article is about crystalline structure of iron inside the core and not about some cubic-shaped structure in the center of Earth.