Thermal history of Earth
Okay little one, let's talk about the thermal history of our planet Earth!
Have you ever played with a hot potato right out of the oven? And then it slowly cools down and can be touched comfortably? Well, the same thing is kind of happening with our Earth, but on a much, much larger scale.
A really long time ago, when Earth was first formed, it was really, REALLY hot! So hot, that it was basically all melted rock and metal. This is called "molten" or "liquid" state. As time went on, the Earth started to cool down, just like our hot potato. As it cooled, the heavier materials, like the metals, sank down towards the center of the Earth, and the lighter materials, like the rocks, floated up towards the surface.
As Earth's temperature continued to drop, the rock on its surface started to solidify, forming a crust or a hard outer layer. This is like the skin on a potato that cools off first. The heat trapped underneath this crust was still very strong and created a lot of pressure. This caused volcanoes to form and release hot lava and steam. When this lava cooled, it became mountains and land masses that we see today.
Over millions and millions of years, the Earth continued to cool down more and more, until it reached a temperature where life could exist. However, the inside of the Earth is still very hot and still has a lot of activity going on, like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
So, that's the story of how the Earth went from being a super hot molten blob to a cooler, but still hot and active planet that we know today. Just like how you cool down your hot potato, our Earth had to cool down too!
Have you ever played with a hot potato right out of the oven? And then it slowly cools down and can be touched comfortably? Well, the same thing is kind of happening with our Earth, but on a much, much larger scale.
A really long time ago, when Earth was first formed, it was really, REALLY hot! So hot, that it was basically all melted rock and metal. This is called "molten" or "liquid" state. As time went on, the Earth started to cool down, just like our hot potato. As it cooled, the heavier materials, like the metals, sank down towards the center of the Earth, and the lighter materials, like the rocks, floated up towards the surface.
As Earth's temperature continued to drop, the rock on its surface started to solidify, forming a crust or a hard outer layer. This is like the skin on a potato that cools off first. The heat trapped underneath this crust was still very strong and created a lot of pressure. This caused volcanoes to form and release hot lava and steam. When this lava cooled, it became mountains and land masses that we see today.
Over millions and millions of years, the Earth continued to cool down more and more, until it reached a temperature where life could exist. However, the inside of the Earth is still very hot and still has a lot of activity going on, like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
So, that's the story of how the Earth went from being a super hot molten blob to a cooler, but still hot and active planet that we know today. Just like how you cool down your hot potato, our Earth had to cool down too!