I'm doing a project on Uranus for science and one of the things i have to include is what the surface is like?? any help appreciated :)
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The planet, or the one that almost every human being has to have? Sorry, you were specific. Frozen methane and water (there are seven types of water ice on Earth) , surrounding liquid iron/nickel/sulfur outer core with a solid iron/nickel/sulfur core.
Why gas giants have to have solid cores
Jupiter and the Jovian planets cannot be made entirely of gas. If they were, the solar wind would have dissipated them long ago. It is impossible for any planet NOT to have a liquid/solid core to provide the mass and gravity that hangs onto an atmosphere for millions to billions of years.
All of the Jovian planets (there's a reason I am NOT using the term "gas giants") have strong magnetic fields with higher dipole moments than the Earth's magnetic field. This means they all have inner solid iron/nickel/sulfur cores surrounded by a liquid outer core just like the Earth has. All of the Jovian planets rotate rapidly, which is required to maintain a magnetic field. Jupiter and Saturn MAY have layers of metallic and liquid hydrogen. It is physically and chemically impossible for the element with the lowest atomic weight and specific gravity (note that I did NOT say "density") to settle underneath iron and nickel to form the core of ANY planet. Liquid and metallic hydrogen also cannot maintain an electric current strong enough to create a magnetic field because of electron degeneracy. That means that when the electrons become dissociated from the protons and neutrons of their nuclei they just wander around aimlessly. They do not create much of an electric current, therefore no or very low strength magnetism.
Yes, Jupiter radiates more IR radiation than it receives from the sun. All that means is that it has a hot iron/nickel/sulfur core. Look up "geothermal gradient" online. You'll probably be surprised how much IR radiation/energy Earth gives off per square meter or foot because it has a hot iron core.
Why gas giants have to have solid cores
Jupiter and the Jovian planets cannot be made entirely of gas. If they were, the solar wind would have dissipated them long ago. It is impossible for any planet NOT to have a liquid/solid core to provide the mass and gravity that hangs onto an atmosphere for millions to billions of years.
All of the Jovian planets (there's a reason I am NOT using the term "gas giants") have strong magnetic fields with higher dipole moments than the Earth's magnetic field. This means they all have inner solid iron/nickel/sulfur cores surrounded by a liquid outer core just like the Earth has. All of the Jovian planets rotate rapidly, which is required to maintain a magnetic field. Jupiter and Saturn MAY have layers of metallic and liquid hydrogen. It is physically and chemically impossible for the element with the lowest atomic weight and specific gravity (note that I did NOT say "density") to settle underneath iron and nickel to form the core of ANY planet. Liquid and metallic hydrogen also cannot maintain an electric current strong enough to create a magnetic field because of electron degeneracy. That means that when the electrons become dissociated from the protons and neutrons of their nuclei they just wander around aimlessly. They do not create much of an electric current, therefore no or very low strength magnetism.
Yes, Jupiter radiates more IR radiation than it receives from the sun. All that means is that it has a hot iron/nickel/sulfur core. Look up "geothermal gradient" online. You'll probably be surprised how much IR radiation/energy Earth gives off per square meter or foot because it has a hot iron core.
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