GOOD MORNING PRUDENCE

Earths Internal Heat

The Department of Geological Sciences at San Diego State
University names extraterrestrial impacts, gravitational
contraction and radioactive decay as the three main sources of
Earth's internal heat. However, Earth's internal heat is much lower
now than it was at the early period of the solar system’s
existence.
The Department of Geological Sciences at SDSU explains that the
kinetic energy of the collisions of metal, rock and ice fragments
converted into heat energy as the fragments impacted with the
growing Earth. As the Earth become compact, the gravitational
energy was converted into heat. The third source of heat is the
decay of radioactive elements that change to more stable forms,
releasing heat in the process.
The source of the Earth's
internal heat is a result of
gravitational compression
and to a much lesser
extent, the decay of
radioactive isotopes.
The heat present in the Earth is due to
several factors.
 The first source of heat is from the remnants of heat from impacts with planetesimals early in
Earth's history. Impacts with large bodies such as these (including the impact which led to
the formation of the moon) trapped the thermal energy of the collision in the surrounding
rock of the planet, and may have been enough in certain circumstances to completely
melt the early Earth.
 The second source of heat is also a remnant of an early Earth event known as the Iron
Catastrophe. With much of early Earth still molten, denser metals, particularly iron and nickel,
migrated to the center of the planet. Tremendous amounts of frictional heat was created,
enough to completely melt the planet once again.
 The third source of heat in the Earth is from compression due to gravity.
 The fourth and final source of heat in the Earth is from the decay of radioactive elements.
This source of heat is gradually declining due the decreasing amounts of radioactive
isotopes, the decrease being caused by the decay.
 1. Radio Active
The formation of the Earth 4.5 billion years ago was a
very dynamic process. When the Earth was very
young, it was an extremely hot and volatile place.
The processes that helped form the Earth so long ago
continue to affect the Earth today. These processes
include gravity and radioactivity. Recall that the
Earth formed in part due to accretion. The energy
from these high velocity impacts was converted to
heat energy. This heat is trapped inside the Earth and
is one part of the Earth's internal heat supply. Gravity
causes internal compaction of the Earth therefore
causing it to heat up internally. The heat trapped in
the Earth is slowly released to the surface.
Radioactive decay occurs as radioactive elements
break down over time. Elements trapped during the
early formation of the Earth are undergoing
radioactive decay. Heat transfer is the movement of
thermal energy from a warmer place to a cooler
place.
 The three (3) mechanisms of heat transfer

1. Conduction

 The molecules in a substance move faster as they become heated. These

fast-moving molecules cause other molecules to move faster. Collisions
between the particles result in the transfer of energy, which warms the
substance. The transfer of energy as heat from one substance to another is
called conduction. Solid substances, in which molecules are close
together, make relatively good conductors.
2. Convection
 The heating of the lower atmosphere is primarily the result of the distribution
of heat through the troposphere by convection. Convection is the process
by which air, or other matter, rises or sinks because of differences in
temperature. Convection occurs when gases or liquids are heated
unevenly.
3. Radiation
 is the transfer of heat in gases
 It may not be obvious while lying in the sun on a hot summer's day, but a considerable
amount of heat is also coming from below you – emanating from deep within the Earth. This
heat is equivalent to more than three times the total power consumption of the entire world
and drives important geological processes, such as the movement of tectonic plates and
the flow of magma near the surface of the Earth. But despite this, where exactly up to half
of this heat actually comes from is a mystery.
 It is thought that a type of neutrinos – particles with extremely low mass – emitted by
radioactive processes in the Earth's interior may provide important clues to solving this
mystery.
 The known sources of heat from the Earth's interior are radioactive decays, and residual
heat from when our planet was first formed. The amount of heating from radioactivity,
estimated based on measurements of the composition of rock samples, is highly uncertain –
accounting for anywhere from 25-90% of the total heat flow.
 Elusive particles

Atoms in radioactive materials have unstable

nuclei, meaning they can split up (decay to
a stable state) by giving off nuclear radiation
– some of which gets converted to heat. This
radiation consists of various particles with
specific energies – depending on what
material emitted them – including neutrinos.
When the radioactive elements decay within
the Earth's crust and mantle, they emit "geo-
neutrinos". In fact, each second, the Earth
radiates more than a trillion trillion such
particles to space. Measuring their energy
can tell researchers about what material
produced them and therefore the
composition of the Earth's hidden interior.
 The main known sources of radioactivity within the Earth are unstable types of uranium, thorium and potassium
– something we know based on samples of rock up to 200km below the surface. What lurks beneath that
depth is uncertain. We know that the geo-neutrinos emitted when uranium decays have more energy than
those emitted when potassium splits up. So by measuring the energy of geo-neutrinos, we can know what
type of radioactive material they come from. In fact, this is a much easier way to figure out what's inside the
Earth than drilling tens of kilometres down below the surface.
 Unfortunately, geo-neutrinos are notoriously difficult to detect. Rather than interacting with ordinary matter
such as that inside detectors, they tend to just whizz right through them. That's why it took a huge underground
detector filled with with about 1,000 tonnes of liquid to make the first observation of geo-neutrinos, in 2003.
These detectors measure neutrinos by registering their collision with atoms in the liquid.
 Since then, only one other experiment has managed to observe geo-neutrinos, using a similar technology.
Both measurements imply that approximately half of the Earth's heat caused by radioactivity (20 terawatts)
can be explained by decays of uranium and thorium. The source of the remaining 50% is an open question.
 However, measurements so far have been unable to measure the contribution from potassium decays – the
neutrinos emitted in this process have too low an energy. So it could be that the rest of the heat comes from
potassium decay.
Extraterrestrial
Impacts
 2. Extraterrestrial Impacts
 The cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact is the corpus of changes to terrestrial science, technology,
religion, politics, and ecosystems resulting from contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. This concept is closely
related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), which attempts to locate intelligent life as opposed
to analyzing the implications of contact with that life.
 The potential changes from extraterrestrial contact could vary greatly in magnitude and type, based on the
extraterrestrial civilization's level of technological advancement, degree of benevolence or malevolence, and
level of mutual comprehension between itself and humanity. The medium through which humanity is
contacted, be it electromagnetic radiation, direct physical interaction, extraterrestrial artefact, or otherwise,
may also influence the results of contact. Incorporating these factors, various systems have been created to
assess the implications of extraterrestrial contact.
 The implications of extraterrestrial contact, particularly with a technologically superior civilization, have often
been likened to the meeting of two vastly different human cultures on Earth, a historical precedent being the
Columbian Exchange. Such meetings have generally led to the destruction of the civilization receiving contact
(as opposed to the "contactor", which initiates contact), and therefore destruction of human civilization is a
possible outcome. Extraterrestrial contact is also analogous to the numerous encounters between non-human
native and invasive species occupying the same ecological niche. However, the absence of verified public
contact to date means tragic consequences are still largely speculative.
Scientists currently estimate that life first appeared between 3.8
and 4 billion years ago—coincidentally, the time period called the
Late Heavy Bombardment, when an abundance of asteroids
collided with all the planets of the inner solar system. These findings
piece together the story of how a series of collisions first created
amino acids and nucleobases, then formed the amino acids into
the very proteins that would assemble the nucleobases into DNA.
As if that weren’t exciting enough, an extraterrestrial basis for
abiogenesis opens up the possibility for life to form on other
celestial bodies. The moons of Jupiter and Saturn likely experienced
a similar bombardment by asteroids and comets, and their icy
conditions could also provide the perfect setting for chemical
evolution, and eventually biological evolution, to begin.
This discovery reinforces the dualism that seems to underlie many
phenomena in the universe: comet impacts have a reputation for
causing cataclysmic destruction and mass extinction, but they also
have the potential to sow the seeds of life.
 In 1938, Orson Welles narrated a radio broadcast of “War
of the Worlds” as a series of simulated radio bulletins of
what was happening in real time as Martians arrived on
our home planet. The broadcast is widely remembered for
creating public panic, although to what extent is hotly
debated today.
 Still, the incident serves as an illustration of what could
happen when the first life beyond Earth is discovered.
While scientists might be excited by the prospect,
introducing the public, politicians and interest groups to
the idea could take some time.
 How extraterrestrial life would change our world view is a
research interest of Steven Dick, who just completed a
term as the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress
Chair of Astrobiology. The chair is jointly sponsored by the
NASA Astrobiology Program and the John W. Kluge
Center, at the Library of Congress.
 Dick is a former astronomer and historian at the United
States Naval Observatory, a past chief historian for NASA,
and has published several books concerning the
discovery of life beyond Earth. To Dick, even the discovery
of microbes would be a profound shift for science.
“If we found microbes, it would have an effect on science,
especially biology, by universalizing biology,” he said. “We
only have one case of biology on Earth. It’s all related. It’s all
DNA-based. If we found an independent example on Mars or
Europa, we have a chance of forming a universal biology.”
 Dick points out that even the possibilities of
extraterrestrial fossils could change our viewpoints,
such as the ongoing discussion of ALH84001, a
Martian meteorite found in Antarctica that erupted
into public consciousness in 1996 after a Science
article said structures inside of it could be linked to
biological activity. The conclusion, which is still
debated today, led to congressional hearings.
 “I’ve done a book about discovery in astronomy,
and it’s an extended process,” Dick pointed out. “It’s
not like you point your telescope and say, ‘Oh, I
made a discovery.’ It’s always an extended process:
You have to detect something, you have to interpret
it, and it takes a long time to understand it. As for
extraterrestrial life, the Mars rock showed it could
take an extended period of years to understand it.”
Mayan decipherments
 In his year at the Library of Congress, Dick spent time searching for historical examples (as well as
historical analogies) of how humanity might deal with first contact with an extraterrestrial
civilization. History shows that contact with new cultures can go in vastly different directions.
 Hernan Cortes’ treatment of the Aztecs is often cited as an example of how wrong first contact
can go. But there were other efforts that were a little more mutually beneficial, although the
outcomes were never perfect. Fur traders in Canada in the 1800s worked closely with Native
Americans, for example, and the Chinese treasure fleet of the 15th Century successfully brought
its home culture far beyond its borders, perhaps even to East Africa.
 Even when both sides were trying hard to make communication work, there were barriers, noted
Dick.
 “The Jesuits had contact with Native Americans,” he pointed out. “Certain concepts were
difficult, like when they tried to get across the ideas of the soul and immortality.”
 Indirect contact by way of radio communications through the Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence (SETI), also illustrates the challenges of transmitting information across cultures. There
is historical precedence for this, such as when Greek knowledge passed west through Arab in the
12th Century. This shows that it is possible for ideas to be revived, even from dead cultures, he
said.
 It’s also quite possible that the language we receive across these indirect communications would
be foreign to us. Even though mathematics is often cited as a universal language, Dick said there
are actually two schools of thought. One theory is that there is, indeed, one kind of mathematics
that is based on a Platonic idea, and the other theory is that mathematics is a construction of the
culture that you are in.
 “There will be a decipherment process. It might be more like the Mayan decipherments,” Dick
said.
 The ethics of contact

 As Dick came to a greater understanding about the potential cultural

impact of extraterrestrial intelligence, he invited other scholars to present
their findings along with him. Dick chaired a two-day NASA/Library of
Congress Astrobiology Symposium called “Preparing for Discovery,” which
was intended to address the impact of finding any kind of life beyond
Earth, whether microbial or some kind of intelligent, multicellular life form.
 The symposium participants discussed how to move beyond human-
centered views of defining life, how to understand the philosophical and
theological problems a discovery would bring, and how to help the public
understand the implications of a discovery.
 “There is also the question of what I call astro-ethics,” Dick said. “How do
you treat alien life? How do you treat it differently, ranging from microbes
to intelligence? So we had a philosopher at our symposium talking about
the moral status of non-human organisms, talking in relation to animals on
Earth and what their status is in relation to us.”
 Dick plans to collect the lectures in a book for publication next year, but
he also spent his time at the library gathering materials for a second book
about how discovering life beyond Earth will revolutionize our thinking.
 “It’s very farsighted for NASA to fund a position like this,” Dick added. “They
have all their programs in astrobiology, they fund the scientists, but here
they fund somebody to think about what the implications might be. It’s a
good idea to do this, to foresee what might happen before it occurs.”
 3. What is gravitational contraction?

 Gravitational contraction is the mechanism originally proposed by Kelvin and Helmholtz in

the late 19th century to explain the source of energy of the Sun.
 Since antiquity scientists and philosophers have tried to explain the physical mechanism that
enable the Sun to shine. Because the correct answer, nuclear reactions, was unknown, the
main candidate for the source of solar energy was an increase in the Sun’s gravitational
potential through continuous contraction, or “gravitational contraction.”
 During the formation of a star, a gas cloud of mostly hydrogen is drawn together by mutual
gravitation. As the proto-star becomes more compact, the gravitational forces become
stronger. Compressing the material raises the temperature as well as the density (adiabatic
compression). If the temperature rises high enough a nuclear fusion reaction ignites and “a
star is born.”
 Gravitational collapse is the contraction of an astronomical object due to the influence of its
own gravity, which tends to draw matter inward toward the center of gravity. Gravitational
collapse is a fundamental mechanism for structure formation in the universe.
 THAT’S ALL THANK YOU


MASCULINO, KAREN MAE

DIZON, FROILAN