(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists have discovered helium-3, a rare primordial gas escaping from the Earth‘s core. This gas is mainly formed in the nebula when the star comes to life.
The earth has evolved over billions of years, yet the mystery of its formation remains shrouded. A leak at the planet’s core has now given hints of the formation of our world, which begins with the Big Bang, and the secret lies within the solar nebula.
Scientists have discovered helium-3, a rare isotope of helium gas escaping from the Earth’s core. This primordial gas was formed shortly after the Big Bang and was obtained from the solar nebula during the formation of the Earth.
Now scientists have figured out how much of that gas is leaking out, which was previously only visible in the middle layers, called the mantle.
The discovery of helium-3 indicates that there are deep reservoirs of the element on Earth, but its location and abundance remain uncertain. It is worth noting that helium-3 can also be formed as a result of some natural processes, such as the radioactive decay of tritium, but this primary element is formed mainly in the nebula.
The study, published in the journal AGU Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, says that volatile exchange during the formation and evolution of the Earth implies a metal core as a leaky reservoir that supplies the rest of the Earth with helium-3.
“Mainly derived from the decay of uranium and thorium, terrestrial helium-3 has a large primordial origin, was synthesized after the Big Bang (Bania et al., 2002) and entered the Earth mainly during its formation,” the article says.
A new study suggests the formation of the Earth in the solar nebula.
According to NASA, nebulae are made up of dust and gases mainly hydrogen and helium. The dust and gases in the nebula are very scattered, but gravity can slowly begin to pull the clumps of dust and gas together. As these clumps get bigger and bigger, their gravity gets stronger and stronger.
Eventually, the accumulation of dust and gas becomes so large that it collapses under its own gravity. The collapse causes the material at the center of the cloud to heat up, and this hot core is the beginning of the birth of a star.
The researchers simulated an event during the early formation of the Earth, when the planet accumulated helium, and after the formation of the Moon, helium was lost.
Scientists believe that about 4 billion years ago, an object the size of a third of the Earth hit the planet, which melted the Earth’s crust, allowing most of the helium to escape, which continues to this day.
The team calculated that about 2 kg of the rare gas helium-3 comes out of the Earth every year.
Now a team of researchers is trying to penetrate deeper below the surface to investigate the true nature of the leak and understand how the formation of the planet occurs.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.