Earth Structure

Inside the hot young Earth the heavy atoms such as iron were able to sink downwards to the center, forming a liquid metallic core of iron and nickel, possibly with a solid core at the very center. The central temperature is thought to be around 5,500 °C, about the same as the Sun's surface.

The lighter atoms, such as silicon, floated upward around the outside of the core and formed the mantle.

Above this floats an ever changing thin crust 10 to 30 kilometers thick.

Structure of the Earth