Wednesday, June 04, 2025 | 04:19 AM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

Source of half of Earth's internal heat is unknown: How to hunt for it

Known sources of heat are radioactive decays, residual heat from when our planet was first formed

earth, environment, climate, climate change, atmosphere, global warming
premium

Photo: Shutterstock

Jocelyn Monroe & Michael Leyton | The Conversation

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 –