Question

A short note on Magnetic behavior of Earth with the help of a diagram. please upload the diagram also

Answer 1

Answer:

The earth’s magnetic field extends millions of kilometres into outer space and looks very much like a bar magnet. The earth’s south magnetic pole is actually near the North Pole and the magnetic north pole is in Antarctica! This is why a compass magnet’s north pole actually points north (north and south poles attract). The Earth’s magnetic field extends far and wide but is very weak in terms of field strength. A mere 40,000 nT compared to a refrigerator magnet which has a strength of 10

The Earth’s magnetic field extends far and wide but is very weak in terms of field strength. A mere 40,000 nT compared to a refrigerator magnet which has a strength of 107 nT!

Theory of Earth’s Magnetism

There is one theory that explains how the earth’s magnetism is caused:

Dynamo effect: The earth gets its own magnetic field lines because of the presence of the metallic fluids that are present at the outer core as well as in the inner core. The outer core consists of molten iron, while the inner core has the solidified elements.

What Causes Earth’s Magnetism?

Earth’s Magnetism is generated by convection currents of molten iron and nickel in the earth’s core. These currents carry streams of charged particles and generate magnetic fields. This magnetic field deflects ionising charged particles coming from the sun (called solar wind) and prevents them from entering our atmosphere. Without this magnetic shield, the solar wind could have slowly destroyed our atmosphere preventing life on earth to exist. Mars does not have a strong atmosphere that can sustain life because it does not have a magnetic field protecting it.

The earth’s magnetic poles are not aligned to the actual geographic north and south poles. Instead, the magnetic south pole is in Canada while the magnetic north pole lies in Antarctica. The magnetic poles are inclined by about 10 degrees to the earth’s rotational axis. So, all this time your compass was really pointing to Canada, not the true North!