Bethany 7B
By Irene Klotz
Thu Nov 22, 2012
Thu Nov 22, 2012
Rocky Exoplanets May Be
'Squishy' Worlds
Did you know that Planets beyond the solar system that are
bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune could have large areas of liquid
metal and life-protecting magnetic shields? As laboratory test shows, “Under
the heat and pressure that exist inside super-Earths, magnesium oxide and other
minerals commonly found in the rocky mantles of the terrestrial planets,
transform into liquid metals” Researchers are trying to figure out if these
metals could help medical conditions or help us in any other way. The liquid
metal might be able to stop a physics phenomenon called a "dynamo"
which means action, which is responsible for generating magnetic fields. "It
is often thought that a planetary magnetic field protects life on a planet's
surface from harmful space radiation, like cosmic rays. What we find is that
magnetic fields may exist on more super-Earth planets than expected, resulting
from the transformation of the planet's rocks to metals in the deep interior.
This could create new environments for life in the universe," geophysicist
Stewart McWilliams. This is really cool because who knew that there could be
another life in the universe! The article was really interesting since it
talked about different points of view. First the point of view of a scientist
and how they zapped a piece of metal to make it liquid, to the point of view of
researchers and then to the point of view of a geophysicist. I wonder what
would happen if there was another planet that is usable for humans! Would
everyone leave earth to go to the different planet?
This is related to science because
space is studied a lot in science! Also scientists were involved in this activity
by doing experiments with the metal! The article was really interesting and I would
recommend the article to anyone who is interested in space. I would also
recommend this article to people who enjoy reading a good article that is
interesting. This would definitely fit the description if interesting! I really
enjoyed it!
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