What Causes the Earth’s Magnetic Field?

-- | April 4, 2015

Question: Earth acts like a magnetic field that we all know. But firstly, the question which comes in our mind is what is the source of this magnetic field. After reading various articles and from sites about this, I got an answer which is now also not a proper answer because I just figured it out. Is the answer gravity? I read various papers on gravitoelectromagnetism but still I have a doubt. It would be great if you are able to answer this question. — Kanishk

Answer: The Earth’s core contains conductive material, such as iron, that when exposed to an electric current can produce magnetic fields. The Earth’s magnetic field is believed to be generated by just this mechanism. The electric currents are thought to be created by convection currents due to heat escaping from the core.

Jeff Mangum

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