Why Earth’s inner core does not melt decoded

London: Scientists have discovered why the crystallised iron core of the Earth remains solid, despite being hotter than the surface of the Sun. Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden found that on the edge of the inner core, pieces of crystals’ structure continuously melt and diffuse only to be reinserted due to high pressure like “shuffling deck of cards”. Spinning within Earth’s molten core is a crystal ball—actually a mass formation of almost pure crystallised iron—nearly the size of the moon. At Earth’s core, where pressure is 3.5 million times higher than surface pressure—and temperatures are some 6,000 degrees higher—scientists have proposed that the atomic architecture of iron must be hexagonal. Anatoly Belonoshko from KTH said data shows that pure iron likely accounts for 96% of the inner core’s composition, along with nickel and possibly light elements.