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Name: Nico
Status: student
Grade: 4-5
Location: NV
Country: USA
Date: N/A
Question:
How does pressure at the core of the Earth effect the temperature of the core?


Replies:
Nico,

Have you ever noticed that when someone is boiling water (for pasta) or maybe making stew or cooking rice, that they will put a lid on the pot for a while? This is done for two reasons, so that the water does not evaporate quickly as steam, and also so that the trapped steam can build up and pressure increases. With an increase in external pressure, the water will now boil at a higher temperature, higher temperatures mean that the food will cook faster.

So it is with the core of the Earth - although we are not cooking anything there. Because gases have nowhere to go, pressure builds up, the higher pressure causes the temperature to go up higher than if there were little atmospheric pressure.

Greg (Roberto Gregorius)
Canisius College

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